A Leesburg man was arrested after kidnapping his wife who escaped to Wawa and possibly taking drugs to the point of unconsciousness and hospitalization.
An officer responded to a kidnapping at 412 Juniper Way around 2:50 p.m. Wednesday, according to an arrest report from the Tavares Police Department. Upon arrival, he spoke to a female witness who described an incident between 29-year-old Jeffrey Donald Sweeney and his wife.
The witness advised that she saw the couple arguing, and the wife asked Sweeney to give her a break. She also told him they were done because of physical and mental abuse. The witness asked Sweeney to leave her house, but he refused, the report said.
Sweeney started grabbing and pulling at the wife, and she stated multiple times that she did not want to go with him. He dragged her out of the house by the arm while she fought to stop him. She grabbed door jams, screaming no and that she did not want to go with him, the report said.
Sweeney still got her out of the house and into a car. She tried to get out, and he grabbed her by the arms, upper body and hair to keep her inside. He ultimately sped off with the passenger door open, the report said.
The witness gave the officer security footage of Sweeney forcefully taking his wife toward the vehicle and leaving the scene, as well, the report said.
At around 4 p.m., dispatch got a call stating there was a man with no shirt who almost hit a woman at Wawa, located at 17700 U.S. Hwy. 441, Mt. Dora. He yelled at her to get back in their vehicle, but she possibly went inside the store. The man left the scene headed north on U.S. Hwy. 441, the report said.
The officer responded to Wawa and found Sweeney’s wife. She corroborated the witness’s story, adding that Sweeney threatened to kill both of them before she could ever leave the vehicle. She feared for her life as they stopped at Wawa for gas, and she got out of the car to run away when he went inside the store, the report said.
At 4:55 p.m., dispatch got another call about a vehicle trying to drive with no front tire. The Eustis Police Department found the vehicle on Kurt Street and U.S. Hwy. 441, and Sweeney was identified as the driver. They walked up to the vehicle to find him unconscious with burnt tin foil and straw in his lap, the report said.
Sweeney was removed from the vehicle when he woke up. Fentanyl weighing 0.3 grams, a green leafy substance and another straw were found during a subsequent search of the vehicle. He was taken to Waterman Hospital for treatment under the custody of law enforcement at the time, the report said.
Once cleared, Sweeney was arrested on charges of kidnapping/abduction (domestic), simple battery (domestic), possession of fentanyl and use/possession of drug paraphernalia. He was transported to Lake County Jail.
Sweeney was also arrested in January for narcotics found in his hotel room, in Aug. 2022 for stealing a golf cart, in Feb. 2022 for stealing an e-bike and in Sept. 2021 when a 911 call backfired on him.