Man accused of kidnapping woman during fight

By ABBIE VANSICKLE, Times Staff Writer
Published October 17, 2007

ADVERTISEMENT Stanley L. Telfare said the woman jumped out of his van while he was driving.

TAMPA - A Hillsborough school maintenance worker faces kidnapping charges after he argued with a woman, hit her, then forced her to go with him in a van, police say.

Later Thursday night, the woman, 40-year-old Elalia D. Walker, was taken to Tampa General Hospital, where she remained Tuesday in critical condition with brain injuries, said Temple Terrace police spokesman Michael Dunn.

Stanley L. Telfare, 46, of 7711 Sumter Court in Temple Terrace remained in jail on felony charges of battery and kidnapping, records show.

Here's what police say happened Thursday:

Just before 10 p.m., a man was out walking his dog at the Orange River Estates subdivision when he noticed a man and a woman arguing near the clubhouse. The man struck the woman and shoved her into a van, the witness told police. By the time police arrived, the pair were gone.

About 11:30 p.m., dispatchers got a call from Tampa police. They were investigating a report of a traffic crash on Harney Road. A man told them he was driving when the woman jumped from a van. Temple Terrace police connected the crash with the quarreling couple from the apartment complex, said police spokesman Michael Dunn.

Police called paramedics for Walker. They had not been able to interview her because she was in a medically induced coma, Dunn said. Police arrested Telfare, who said Walker jumped out of the van as he drove.

"We don't really know if that's the true story or not," Dunn said.

Telfare was arrested in March 2005 and accused of hitting his girlfriend on the head and arm with an automobile steering wheel lock, police said.

The charges were later dropped, records show.

Telfare's name appeared in newspapers in 1998 after his girlfriend, Cynthia Verdell Howard, died.

Telfare, then 37, and Howard were wrestling over a gun when it went off, hitting Howard in the upper body, police said. Howard died in surgery. Telfare was not arrested.

Tampa police reopened that case in February, said police spokeswoman Andrea Davis. No charges are filed.

News researcher Carolyn Edds contributed to this report. Abbie VanSickle can be reached at vansickle@sptimes.com or 226-3373.

[Last modified October 16, 2007, 23:29:22]