The Marion County Sheriff’s Office has fired a deputy who was arrested on charges of aggravated battery/use of a deadly weapon, felony battery/domestic by strangulation minor injury, and domestic battery.
Mark Justin Burwell Jr. was taken into custody by the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office on Jan. 3. At the time of his arrest, Burwell was suspended without pay from the MCSO. He was fired on Tuesday, the sheriff’s office said.
Though Burwell has been fired, an internal affairs investigation into the matter still has started, the sheriff’s office said.
Burwell, 29, has been with the agency since May 2024 and was a patrol deputy, sheriff’s officials said. He doesn’t have any disciplinary history, law enforcement officials said.
According to an arrest report, Josh Doctor, a domestic violence detective with the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office, met with the victim on Jan. 2. The woman said she was living with Burwell and they were in an on-again, off-again relationship. The two share a child together, the woman told the detective.
She told the detective Burwell has called her names, threatened to kill her, physically assaulted her and twice pointed a firearm at her, according to the report.
The woman said she was reluctant to report the incidents because of Burwell’s employment as a deputy.
Doctor was given multiple pictures that showed the woman’s injuries, the report says.
According to the report, the woman showed text messages she received from Burwell. One said “I love you and I’m sorry for hitting you.” In another message, the woman told Burwell that he scared her and he needed help. His answer was “I understand.”
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Doctor felt there was enough evidence for an arrest and obtained a warrant.
Contact Austin L. Miller at austin.miller@starbanner.com
This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: Marion sheriff’s deputy fired after arrest in domestic violence case