LAKE COUNTY ? On Friday night at 9:45 p.m. Lake County Sheriff”s deputies responded to a 9-1-1 call of a physical fight between a man and a woman near a home on Parnassus Drive in Cobb according to a press release provided by Captain James Bauman, public information officer.
Thomas William Miller, 37, of Cobb was reportedly assaulting his 30-year-old girlfriend outside of the home and while deputies were still responding, he used a handgun to threaten others who had tried to intervene before dragging his girlfriend off to his pick-up truck and leaving the area. The victim was reported to have been barefoot and bleeding from the face as a result of the assault when she was dragged off during the apparent kidnap.
Deputies learned from witnesses that the victim allegedly tolerated on-going abuse by Miller and was on the verge of seeking help from a domestic violence shelter. While deputies on scene processed the incident and gathered information, other deputies still responding to assist located Miller”s truck near his residence on Sugar Pine Drive with no one around. Deputies conducted an extensive search of the home and the surrounding area throughout the night but neither Miller nor the victim could be located.
On Saturday the Sheriff”s Department issued a telephonic public safety alert, warning 3,200 Cobb Mountain and Middletown area residents of the incident and the armed felon at large. Deputies continued to canvass the community of Cobb for information and worked leads as to the whereabouts of the two throughout the weekend.
On Sunday at about 10:30 p.m. information developed from the community lead deputies to a home in Whispering Pines where Miller was believed to be, along with several others, including a woman. While conducting surveillance on the home, deputies encountered a man approaching the house who ran when they attempted to detain him. Following a brief foot chase, the subject was arrested and positively identified as Miller.
Subsequent to Miller”s arrest, deputies searched the home they were watching and inside found the victim relatively unharmed along with several others including 22-year-old Corey Lee Burnezky of Cobb. Burnezky was also arrested as he had provided false information to deputies and aided Miller”s concealment throughout the weekend.
Miller was booked at the Lake County Jail on felony charges of kidnapping, spousal battery, threats, and misdemeanor charges of resisting arrest, possession of drug paraphernalia, brandishing a firearm, and a misdemeanor out-of-county warrant. He remains in custody with a combined bail of $258,000. Burnezky was booked for felony accessory to a crime and was released on a $10,000 bond.
The case remains open pending further investigation as to the motive for the apparent rampage.
