Suspect in NK abduction, assault found in Oklahoma

A manhunt has ended for the suspect sought following a Sunday afternoon assault inside a Providence Forge auto dealership that sent a mother and her teenage daughter to a local hospital.

Authorities in Oklahoma arrested Donald Thomas Barone, 60, without incident around 9 p.m. local time Tuesday night. Police in Muskogee, Okla., found the fugitive hiding inside the residence of a relative.

Barone apparently had driven there in the same black 2001 Nissan sedan bearing Virginia tags DBARONE that New Kent authorities had been searching for since the incident.

Barone was living in a back room at the Car Guys dealership on Route 60 in Providence Forge and had been residing there for several months while employed by the business, New Kent Sheriff F.W. “Wakie” Howard Jr. said.

Sometime before 3 p.m., the mother and daughter, whose names were not released, arrived at the dealership for a visit and were accompanied by another teenage girl. All are from Caroline County, and Howard described the mother as Barone’s girlfriend.

Howard said the mother, 35, went inside alone. A short time later, Barone emerged, telling the daughter, 13, that he and her mother needed to speak with her inside. The other girl, 16, remained outside in the mother’s car, but after a period of time, she either became tired of waiting or sensed something was wrong and went inside.

“She observed what was going on and ran across the road to the Food Lion store,” Howard said. “The manager at Food Lion called 911.”

The sheriff said Barone gave chase as the girl ran toward Route 60. The suspect then ended the pursuit as the girl bolted across the highway. She narrowly missed being struck by a car.

The first deputies arriving at 3:18 p.m. found the mother and the friend in the dealership parking lot and the daughter inside. Both victims were transported to MCV Medical Center in Richmond for treatment. The daughter was released Monday morning, but as of Wednesday the mother remained hospitalized.

Both sustained injuries with the mother suffering “a lot of blunt force trauma and lacerations about the head,” Howard said. He declined to comment on the weapon used by the suspect.

“We were very lucky that the 16 year-old was able to get away to alert the sheriff’s office,” Howard said. “If not, I think it would have been a lot worse.”

As to what prompted the incident, the sheriff said investigators were told by the mother that she had “a very minor disagreement” with Barone. Howard added he was unaware if the suspect had been residing in the New Kent area for more than a few months.

Barone faces two felony counts each of abduction and aggravated malicious wounding. The suspect is scheduled to appear in court in Oklahoma to face extradition proceedings.