Background: The Performance Luxury Sport car dealership in Marysville, Ohio (Google Maps). Inset: Todd Marrs (Tri-County Regional Jail).
In central Ohio, a man reportedly took a car saleswoman on a test drive with the ulterior motive of abducting her while he ran personal errands, according to law enforcement officials.
Todd Marrs, 51, faces charges of abduction and disrupting public services, as evidenced by court documents reviewed by Law&Crime. Marrs was detained at the Tri-County Regional Jail on the morning of January 4.
Authorities report that on December 19, Marrs visited the Performance Luxury Sport car dealership located in Marysville, around 35 miles from Columbus. He expressed interest in test-driving a Jeep Wrangler.
He took a sales associate along for the drive, but things took a concerning turn when Marrs deviated from the usual test drive route, according to CBS affiliate WBNS in Columbus, referencing court records.
Marrs is alleged to have stopped the Jeep near a warehouse by railroad tracks, remaining there for several minutes. When the saleswoman requested to return to the dealership, Marrs reportedly replied unsettlingly, “No, now you’ll sit there and wait like a good girl.”
The saleswoman sought assistance by texting her colleagues and sharing her location. She attempted to call them as well, but court records indicate that Marrs allegedly seized her phone and threw it onto the vehicle’s floor.
And Marrs apparently wasn’t done. Law enforcement said he drove to a hospital in Marysville to pick up a friend and refused to drop the associate back off at her job until his errands were completed. When Marrs finally did, he did so with his friend in tow.
Marrs was arrested on Jan. 4 and given a $250,000 bond after appearing in court. He is scheduled to appear before a judge again on Jan. 29.
Court records show that he has a criminal history, having been charged with assault — though he was later convicted of attempting to commit a crime — in 2023.
