Perry man sentenced for domestic attack on pregnant woman

PERRY — A Perry man received 10 years in prison for what the Houston County District Attorney’s Office called a violent domestic assault. 

On Monday, July 7, Marquavious Manning, 22, pled guilty to false imprisonment in the Superior Court of Houston County. He was sentenced to 15 years, with the first 10 years to be served in the Department of Corrections.

The charges stemmed from an incident on Dec. 16, 2024. The victim, pregnant during the incident, sustained multiple injuries.

According to the victim, she and Manning were in a car traveling from Montezuma to Perry, where Manning saw a text message on the victim’s phone from her sister’s male friend. 

Manning became enraged, accused the victim of infidelity and questioned the paternity of her unborn child, before he punched her repeatedly in the face. The victim also reported Manning strangling her while traveling in Macon County.

When they arrived at a Perry apartment complex on Kings Chapel Road, Manning smashed the victim’s phone and assaulted her in her vehicle. When she tried to flee, Manning chased her, dragged her back and continued looking through her phone before she was able to escape.

The victim was taken to the hospital by family after sustaining the injuries. Law enforcement observed strangulation marks, scratches on her ears, a busted nose and a busted lip that needed stitches.

Manning was located shortly after the incident and taken into custody. He was on bond for a separate incident with an unrelated victim.

Perry Police Department Officer Lucas Gates investigated the case. Judge Edward D. Lukemire sentenced Manning, who Assistant District Attorney Justin Duane prosecuted.

District Attorney Eric Edwards provided comments on the case:

“This year, our community has seen firsthand the deadly consequences of ignoring the warning signs of domestic violence. The facts of this case are horrifying and all the more tragic because they reflect a pattern we’ve seen too often: escalating violence and a victim trying to survive. This defendant beat, strangled, and terrorized a pregnant woman while he was already out on bond for pointing a loaded gun in someone’s face. There is no excuse, and there will be no tolerance. This office is fully committed to holding abusers accountable, and to supporting our law enforcement partners in using every available tool to prevent the next tragedy before it happens.”