Subject of murder manhunt caught in Virginia

James Colley accused of shooting, killing wife, her friend in St. Johns County

ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. – A man suspected of killing his wife and her friend Thursday morning in St. Johns County was caught later Thursday by police in Virginia, deputies said.

James Colley Jr., 35, was arrested after a traffic stop by the City of Norton Police Department in Virginia.

Colley is accused of bursting into his wife's home and shooting her and one of her friends. Amanda Cloaninger Colley, 36, and Lindy Dobbins, 39, died at the scene. St. Johns County Sheriff David Shoar said four or five people were visiting with Amanda Colley at the house. All but Amanda and Dobbins were able to get away without injury.

James Colley, who works at a local bank, took off in his maroon Infiniti hard-top convertible (similar to one pictured) with the license plate "BEAT 58." Norton police who were responding to a 911 call from a female driver that another driver was attempting to run her off the road recognized the car's description from a St. Johns County alert.

Officers pulled over Colley and arrested him without resistance. He was also charged with DUI in Norton's jurisdiction and was taken to the Duffield Regional Jail in Duffield, Virginia.

St. Johns deputies said detectives from the St. Johns County Major Crimes Unit drove through the night and were working Friday with Norton PD in processing Colley's car and its contents in connection with the double homicide.

The original manhunt for Colley in St. Johns County prompted the lockdown Thursday of three schools in the area. The lockdowns were lifted before 4 p.m. and all three schools allowed students to be released.

"There were children of individuals that were involved in this case, and we didn't know the mindset of that individual at the time," SJCSO spokesman Cmdr. Chuck Mulligan said. "We did not know if he would go to a school to retrieve children or not, or to seek revenge on other individuals' children. We just did not know."

UNCUT: Sheriff Shoar's news briefing

Deputies said Amanda Colley called 911 early Thursday to report an apparent break-in. Deputies responded to the burglary call and found some damage to the house, but they left about 10 a.m. after investigating.

About a half hour later, neighbors on South Bellagio Drive called in reports of gunfire. 

Deputies said James Colley, who had a history of domestic violence, had appeared in court at 9 a.m. Thursday for violating a domestic violence injunction that Amanda obtained against him on Aug. 10.

"There certainly has been some history that we've been addressing and have dealt with criminal charges with relation to his marital situation," Mulligan said.

He was told to stay away from his wife and was given a 60-day suspended sentence. He had previously signed an affidavit saying that he didn't own any firearms.

"Here again we see another case where the no-contact orders only are as effective as the individuals that receive them," Shoar said.

James Colley (pictured with Amanda) enrolled in a batterers' intervention course after the injunction was filed. At one point, Amanda Colley testified that her husband had burned her clothes in the back yard. He texted her to say that he had driven by her workplace looking for her and from there, the threats intensified.

In the injunction request, Amanda claimed that she was scared of James and said he had burned her clothes, threatened to kill her dog and threatened to cut her if he caught her cheating. The couple was in the process of divorcing.

"It's sad. Here's people that at one point were in love, and they were married, and things went bad to the point where people get killed and children become orphans," Shoar said. "I can't explain it."

The Colleys had two children together, Shoar said. One of those children attends a nearby elementary school, one of the three schools locked down because of the shooting.

Mill Creek Elementary, Pacetti Bay Middle and Ward's Creek Elementary were all notified to keep their students indoors with the doors locked. The Sheriff's Office said there was no threat to the schools, but a lockdown is standard practice when there is criminal activity in the area. Deputies and state troopers were visible at the schools.

Because of the circumstances involved in the investigation, the SJCSO said it would maintain additional personnel both in the schools and around the community area.