Gene Patrick Tomlinson
Bartow County deputies arrested a 34-year-old man accused of wrecking his SUV into his girlfriend’s SUV, kidnapping her four-year-old child, and leaving the scene.
The girlfriend stated she and her three children left Gene Patrick Tomlinson’s home on Bells Ferry Road near White at around three a.m. on Sunday.
She said Tomlinson started following her when he passed him at the stop sign at Bells Ferry at State Route 20. Tomlinson allegedly got in front of her and slammed on his breaks. She said she avoided hitting his SUV, and Tomlinson got out and starting hitting her window. She said she drove away, but Tomlinson again pulled in front of her on State Route 20 near Branton Road, and this time she hit his SUV.
She stated that while out of her vehicle checking on her kids, Tomlinson grabbed one, got into his SUV, and left. She said Tomlinson is not the father of the kidnapped child.
Tomlinson returned to his residence but jumped out a window and fled when he saw law enforcement arrive. They located the child in the home unharmed.
They eventually found Tomlinson and booked him into the jail later Sunday morning for multiple charges, including four counts of aggravated assault, kidnapping, five counts of false imprisonment, and three counts of cruelty to children in the first degree.