Florida sandwich shop worker helps officials save domestic violence victim

The Guardian

2 days ago

A Navarre, Florida, sandwich shop employee reportedly helped authorities save a domestic violence victim who had allegedly been kidnapped by her abusive, pro-wrestler boyfriend after the worker recently found a note in a store bathroom that read 'HELP!'
At the center of the incident is Eleanor Coffee, who was at her job making sandwiches for a shop belonging to the Jersey Mike's chain when she noticed a 'little piece of crumpled up paper' that had been discarded next to one of the business' toilet paper dispensers, as she put it to the local news station WEAR-TV.
Coffee at first thought it was a piece of trash but then realized the paper contained a plea for help, a woman's name, a phone number and an address for a nearby home.
'Please help me get home!' the note said in part, according to an arrest report reviewed by Law & Crime. The note's writer ominously also asked for someone to 'get' her before Friday, adding: 'HELP!'
Coffee alerted her manager to the note and called the Santa Rosa county sheriff's office, whose jurisdiction includes Navarre, she told WEAR. After reviewing security video at the Jersey Mike's shop, deputies established the note had been left by a woman who entered the store with her boyfriend, identified as 34-year-old Jordan Williams, a statement from the sheriff's office said.
The sheriff's office said it was familiar with Williams from prior domestic violence cases. Deputies then obtained a warrant to search the address mentioned in the note at Jersey Mike's before encountering a woman at that home 'who confirmed she authored the note and detailed a prolonged period of abuse'.
'She detailed repeated assaults, threats involving weapons, and being held in isolation by Williams for a span of several months,' the sheriff's office said. The agency added that the woman had 'visible injuries', and paramedics brought her to a hospital to be treated for 'suspected broken bones and other trauma'.
Deputies ultimately booked Williams – who reportedly wrestled professionally under the ring name Jayden Steele in the local independent circuit – with various felonies, including kidnapping, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and battery by strangulation. A judge ordered Williams held without bond after an initial court appearance on Thursday.
In a statement, Santa Rosa sheriff, Robert Johnson, praised the note writer for 'the bravery' she displayed in making herself heard. 'Thanks to her courage and the deputies' swift actions, she is now safe and receiving care,' Johnson's statement said.
Coffee, meanwhile, said she would never forget finding the note that led deputies to arrest Williams and find the woman whom he had allegedly kidnapped.
'My heart goes out to her and her family,' Coffee said. 'And I'm just … hopeful that really doesn't happen again.'