On February 3, 2024, just before 3:30 a.m., Douglas police officers responded to the Comfortel Inn on North Peterson Avenue in reference to a domestic incident and possible hostage situation.
Upon arrival, an officer spoke with a witness who said that he heard a commotion coming from a room, according to a report from the Douglas Police Department. He looked into the room, the report says, and he saw an individual identified as Marcus Winn, 44, of Douglas, standing in front of the door blocking it while a female was trying get out with three children.
The witness attempted to kick the door open, the report says, but was unsuccessful. He was finally able to get Winn to open the door. When Winn opened the door, he threatened the witness and said he was going to get a gun, according to the report. The witness and Winn struggled long enough for the victim and the children to escape. They ran into a nearby room.
When officers arrived, Winn was outside on the balcony. When he saw the police, he ran inside, the report states. An officer looked inside the room and saw Winn sweeping the floor. Winn let the officer in the room and the report says that the room was “in disarray and had lots of things scattered on the floor.” While speaking with Winn, he finally admitted that he pushed the victim and held her so she couldn’t leave, the report says.
The officer then spoke with the victim, who said she was in a room with another man when Winn, the father of her children, walked into the room “without permission,” the report says. He was angry and hit her in the head and then pushed her, according to the victim’s statements in the report. She ran into the room where the children were and he followed her. Winn locked the door, she said in the report. She then tried to leave with the children but he grabbed her by the wrists and held her. Then he threw her against the wall and the bed, the report says. After that, the witness showed up.
The victim’s wrists were swollen and she went to CRMC for treatment. Winn was arrested and charged with three counts of cruelty to children in the third degree and aggravated battery (family violence). He was transported to the Coffee County Jail but has since been released.