A traveler from Maryland was arrested after his female companion was taken by ambulance to UF Health Spanish Plaines Hospital in The Villages.
Mark Deegan, 61, fled the Microtel Inn & Suites on U.S. Hwy. 27/441 prior to the arrival of police on Dec. 27, according to an arrest report from the Lady Lake Police Department.
A woman at the hotel told police she had traveled from Maryland to Florida with Deegan, her boyfriend of more than six years. She said Deegan became “aggressive” with her. He brought a wheelchair into their room, but she said she did not need the wheelchair. Deegan, who stands 6 feet tall and weighs 300 pounds, “got upset” and picked her up, then slammed her to the floor of the hotel. The woman told police she suffered a brief period of unconsciousness. When she attempted to use her phone to call for help, Deegan smashed the phone’s screen, rendering the device inoperable She said Deegan “walked around in the room naked for two hours preventing her from leaving or notifying law enforcement,” the report said. He fled the scene. The woman called the front desk for help.
Police summoned Lake County EMS and the woman was transported to the hospital in The Villages.
Hotel staff later spotted Deegan in the parking lot and called police. He was arrested on charges of battery, false imprisonment and depriving use of 911. The report noted that Deegan had been convicted of battery in 2020 in Maryland. He was booked at the Lake County Jail and released after posting $15,000.
