‘I’m going to jail’: Georgia man travels to Hillsborough County, kills woman’s dog after threatening to kill her, complaint says
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A Georgia man was indicted after he traveled from Atlanta to Hillsborough County and killed a woman’s dog after threatening to kill her, according to prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida.
Timothy Crawford, 52, allegedly left Atlanta on Dec. 7 and headed toward the woman’s home on Carden Drive in Odessa, prosecutors said. Crawford broke into the woman’s home with a pistol and a stun gun and waited for her to return.
Crawford and the woman knew each other.
When the woman got home, Crawford allegedly used the stun gun on the woman in addition to punching and kicking her, according to prosecutors. He reportedly told her he was going to kill her and her children.
The woman used a dumbbell to defend herself and escape from the home, prosecutors said. Crawford shot and killed the woman’s Maltese before he left the home.
A neighbor called 911 and said she heard the woman screaming. Crawford was taken into custody by the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office after he later returned to the home. In his truck, officers found an empty 750ml bottle of vodka and a partially empty larger bottle on the rear floor, according to a criminal complaint.
Several weapons were found around the home and his truck, along with a bloody cellphone.
The woman had “severe” injuries, including bruising, stun-gun burns and several broken bones, according to prosecutors.
Crawford reportedly admitted to breaking into the home, using a taser on her and killing her dog, prosecutors said. Before the attack, Crawford searched “do you get the death penalty if you kill a woman.”
Prosecutors allege that Crawford entered the state of Florida between 7 a.m. and 4:49 p.m. based on surveillance video. He was supposed to attend a work-related barbecue in Tampa the following day, and had checked into a hotel in Lutz hours before the attack, according to the criminal complaint.
After the attack, Crawford called his ex-wife and said he attacked the woman.
“I attacked [the woman],” he reportedly said. “I love you and the kids. I’m going to jail.”
Crawford admitted to the attack in recorded phone calls to his ex-wife from the detention center, according to the complaint. When she asked how he got inside the woman’s home, he said he couldn’t talk about it because the call was being recorded.
During one of the calls, Crawford told his ex-wife, “I planned it to a degree,” the criminal complaint states.
Crawford was indicted on charges of interstate domestic violence, discharge of a firearm during and in the commission of a crime of violence, and interstate stalking. If convicted, Crawford faces a minimum of 10 years in federal prison.
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