INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (WTTV) — LaQuandra Warren is the ex-girlfriend of Dawann Martin, who is on the run with active warrants related to the abuse that nearly killed her.
That is according to Warren and CrimeStoppers of Central Indiana.
“So, we’re looking at someone who has a real criminal past, a gang member,” said Dan Rosenberg with CrimeStoppers.
Police said Martin is easy to spot, but if you see him, do not approach him. Instead, call CrimeStoppers of Central Indiana at 1-800-262-8477.
“He’s a big guy,” Rosenberg said. “He’s not little. So, he’s very recognizable.”
Rosenberg said Martin has family in Fort Wayne, so they believe he could be there too. If someone sees him there, call the Greater Fort Wayne CrimeStoppers at 1-800-237-7867.
Martin has an active warrants for aggravated battery resulting in loss or impairment of a bodily function, domestic battery resulting in serious bodily injury, strangulation and domestic battery.
Police said the charges stem from the abuse of Warren on her birthday, December 17. Warren said she invited a friend to her house for her birthday, and Martin invited a friend named Rodney who she never met before.
Warren tells FOX59 Rodney left to go to work later in the night. Then, Warren said she went with a friend to a nearby bar for a drink to celebrate.
“My friend and I ask Dawann if he wants to go over to the bar with us and have a drink, and she’s going to pick her check up,” Warren recalls. “So he says ‘No, I don’t want to go.'”
She said Martin texted her, asking that she to come back to her house to spend time with him. She said she returned to the house in about an hour to see Martin.
“It’s the way that he grabbed my face,” Warren remembered. “He grabbed my face like this and said, ‘I’m trying to kiss you.’ So, when he does that, I tell him that’s not the way that you should grab someone if you’re trying to kiss them. He said, ‘I’m trying to kiss you.’ Even his voice was different.”
She said he grabbed her face again and “then he bites my lip off, on this side. Bites it off and spits it on the floor.”
Warren said the next half hour is when he nearly ended her life.
“Then, I was being strangled,” Warren said. “After being strangled, I think maybe 30 minutes later, I woke up to him telling me, ‘Babe, I messed you up really bad this time, like really bad.'”
She said when she woke up, Martin pressured her to lie about what happened.
“He said, ‘If you call the police, please don’t tell them it was me. Tell them it was Rodney.’ I’m like, ‘Are you saying the guy that was at our house earlier?’ He said, ‘Yeah, tell them it was Rodney.'”
Warren said she obliged in order to get out of her house. She said as soon as she could not see Martin anymore, she took off.
“Mind you, I can’t see at all,” Warren explained. “So, I’m running barefoot, I had on pajamas, no socks, no shoes at all, I didn’t even get a chance to put my shoes on or anything cause this had happened.”
Ultimately, a stranger protected her until an ambulance arrived and took her to the hospital.
“I wake up to the doctor trying to piece my lip back together as best as they could,” Warren said. “They were stitching up my forehead because they said my forehead was open to the skull.”
She said she spent five days in the hospital, had three facial surgeries and a wrist procedure. She said this is not the first time he abused her, but leaving an abusive situation is complicated.
“I couldn’t just walk out the door and get away from him like people just think you can get out of a relationship like that. It’s not that easy,” Warren said. “When you’re dealing with someone that is overpowering you, that is super, super manipulative, you can’t just walk away. There has to be a plan in action.”
The Domestic Violence Network said victims do not leave abusive relationships for a host of reasons. If you or someone you love needs help getting out of a volatile situation here are some resources:
- The Julian Center
- The organization’s 24/7 hotline number is 317-920-9320. Their website, linked here, is where you can also find resources to help others.
- The Domestic Violence Network
- This agency’s number is 317-872-1086. Their website, linked here, has additional resources to help.
- The National Domestic Violence Hotline number is 1-800-799-7233
- The National Dating Abuse Hotline is 1-866-331-9474
- The Rape Abuse Incest National Network (RAINN) number is 1-800-656-4673
