After Whitfield County deputies stun gun husband, wife says she exaggerated situation

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

After Whitfield County, Ga., deputies used a stun gun on a man on the run Monday morning, his accuser said she exaggerated her claims against him.

The sheriff's office arrested 31-year-old Thomas Christopher Mann after his estranged wife, Crystal Dawn Mann, told investigators that he came into her home, yelled at her, hit her and sexually abused her. The deputies charged Thomas Mann with simple assault, sexual battery and willful obstruction of law officers.

He remained in the Whitfield County Jail without bond Tuesday. But Crystal Mann said she made up several of the charges against her husband. She said she won't cooperate with prosecutors, should the case go to court.

"He did half the stuff he did in a joking manner anyway," she said. "I just thought they would file a report in case I ever needed it on record for my divorce. But he didn't attack me. They exaggerated half the stuff they put in there. ... I exaggerated some of the stuff. I just wanted him out of the house because he was acting belligerent."

Crystal Mann said her husband came over that night to spend time with their 4-year-old son. But Thomas Mann was drunk, she said, and his temperament upset her.

According to a Whitfield County incident report, Crystal Mann told investigators that her husband yelled at her, pushed her head into a door frame, made sexual gestures with his mouth, grabbed her and bit her. When she pulled away, he pushed her over an ottoman.

She was afraid for her life, she told deputies. Eventually, a Varnell police officer arrived at the house on Lake Kathy Road in Tunnel Hill around 2:30 a.m., but Thomas Mann ran away. The officer called for backup, and sheriff's deputies arrived.

About an hour and a half later, investigators spotted Thomas Mann trying to run away, and Deputy Dustin Taylor shot him with a stun gun.

On Tuesday, Crystal Mann said her husband did not attack her and has never attacked her. She said he has been struggling with the prospect of divorce, and he had a mental breakdown when officers arrived to arrest him.

"He was welcome into the home," she said. "He doesn't need to be in jail. He needs to get some help."

Contact staff writer Tyler Jett at 423-757-6476 or at tjett@timesfreepress.com.