A Dunnellon man who allegedly threatened to kill a woman and burn down the house during a domestic squabble was arrested Wednesday by Marion County sheriff’s deputies, who found him hiding behind a railroad car.
Steven Lee Johns, 40, was charged with simple domestic assault with a threat to do violence and taken to the Marion County Jail, where he’s being held on $5,000 bond.
Deputies received a call about a domestic disturbance at the home on Southwest Soundview Drive where Johns and the victim live. When they arrived, the victim told them an argument started when she asked Johns if he still had the money she had given him to replace a tire on her vehicle. She said Johns became agitated when she told him she couldn’t afford to keep giving him money.
Johns then told the victim he was going to leave, but she told him he couldn’t take her vehicle. That’s when Johns became furious, allegedly telling her several times he was going to kill her and burn the house down, a sheriff’s office report states, adding that he then punched the inside of the front door, causing a small piece of wood to break off.
The argument continued onto the front porch, where the victim said Johns got in her face, clenched his right hand into a fist and threatened to knock her out. He then walked about 10 feet away and threw the vehicle keys in her direction, nearly hitting her. The keys hit the side of the house, with the key fob breaking into several pieces. Johns then retrieved the keys and left the scene, the report says.
The victim told deputies Johns has threatened her in the past but had never been so irate and aggressive. She said she was concerned for her safety and a witness corroborated her story.
After checking several locations in the Chatmire subdivision, deputies found Johns hiding behind a railroad car about 200 yards northeast of the intersection of Southwest 109th Lane and Southwest 197th Court. He was arrested without further incident.
Johns, who has prior arrests for battery, assault, burglary and criminal mischief, is due in court Jan. 16.