OAKLEAF PLANTATION, Fla. – The 47-year-old leader of the union that represents Jacksonville Transportation Authority bus drivers is accused of shooting his soon-to-be ex-wife Wednesday morning at their home in Oakleaf Plantation.
Neighbors told News4Jax they heard multiple gunshots coming from the home on Hawksmore Drive about 7:30 a.m., and one of the bullets hit a neighbor’s house.
Dwayne Maurice Russell was booked into the Clay County jail later Wednesday. He is charged with attempted murder.
A previous version of this story reported Russell was charged with murder, but that was later revised when the Sheriff’s Office released its initial report.
The Clay County Sheriff’s Office has not named the victim but said at last report she was hospitalized with life-threatening injuries. A neighbor, who did not wish to be identified, said she spoke to the couple’s son, who confirmed his mother was in critical but stable condition at the hospital.
“I think he was shaken up when I talked with him, so I told him if he needed anything to let us know," she said.
Court records show Mildred Russell, who lives at the home, obtained a domestic violence injunction last year against Dwayne Russell, who is listed to live at the same address. An incident report from March shows deputies were called to a disturbance at that home, but due to lack of physical evidence, no arrests were made.
In another court filing on Monday, Mildred Russell wrote about an incident Saturday night, saying, “My soon to be ex-husband followed me without my knowledge ... speed-chased me down the road, trying to run me off the road. I was in fear for my life.”
Mildred Russell said she went to the police department and her husband went to their home and spray-painted things in the house. Photos of spray-painted furniture and wallpaper were provided in the document.
“He has two guns in the home and I’m really scared for my life. He is getting out of control," she wrote.
According to her notes, a final hearing in their divorce was scheduled for June 3.
Dwayne Russell is president of the local chapter of the Amalgamated Transit Union, which represents JTA drivers.
“I am extremely shocked. I never knew they had issues to this extreme,” said James Walker, Dwayne Russell’s co-worker and neighbor of 15 years. "They were both pretty outgoing people. They were decent. They kept to themselves. They were easy to get along with.”
The JTA released a statement after learning of Dwayne Russell’s arrest:
Stacey O’Brien, director of domestic violence services at the Quigley House, Clay County’s domestic violence shelter, said they are seeing a jump in violence calls of all kinds. That follows a nationwide increase in domestic violence after stay-at-home orders kept people in close proximity for long periods of time.
“The calls have been more lethal. The situations are scarier for the survivors ... more of a chance that something lethal could happen,” said O’Brien.
Resources for domestic violence victims are available throughout Northeast Florida
- Hubbard House (Baker and Duval counties): hubbardhouse.org or 904-354-3114
- Family Life Center (Flagler County): familylifecenterflagler.org or 386-437-3505
- Micah's Place (Nassau County): micahsplace.org or 904-225-9979
- Betty Griffin Center (St. Johns County): bettygriffincenter.org or 904-824-1555
- Quigley House (Clay County): quigleyhouse.org or 904-284-0061
- Lee Conlee House (Putnam County): leeconleehouse.org or 386-325-3141
- Peaceful Paths (Bradford, Alachua & Union counties): peacefulpaths.org or 352-377-8255
In a separate Clay County case on Wednesday, a 41-year-old man was charged with second-degree murder after his mother’s remains were found in a home on Sherwood Drive in Middleburg, according to the Sheriff’s Office.