VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Dana Plummer, the 36-year-old father who was arrested for allegedly abducting his three children on Wednesday night after stabbing their mother — his ex-wife — and his stepdaughter, had "administratively separated" from the U.S. Navy less than two weeks before the incident, military records show.
Documents also show in March 2024, Plummer had multiple guns taken away from him after police said he was showing signs of paranoid schizophrenia.
Watch: Timeline of abduction that led to fatal crash
Military service records reviewed by News 3 show the administrative separation occurred on Aug. 2, 2024 — 14 years after Plummer enlisted in 2010.
An administrative separation is a way of removing service members "who are not fit" to serve, according to military news site military.com.
"In civilian terms, your commander is, in effect, trying to fire you, which has the effect of ending your military career," the article continues; however, it is not an honorable or dishonorable discharge.
Plummer's guns were taken away through a red flag law that allows law enforcement to take a person's guns if they believe the individual is a danger to themselves or others.
"The police officer or the attorney for the Commonwealth could go before a judge and request that this protective order be put in place," Mario Lorello, an attorney in Norfolk, said. "What the order does is it prevents them from owning or possessing a firearm during the pendency of those proceedings."
Back in March police were allegedly called out to a restaurant on Virginia Beach Boulevard where Plummer was with his two children and seemed to be going through a crisis.
Plummer informed officers he was concealing a shotgun in his pants and allowed police to take it.
He had told police he had the gun because he thought he was in danger.
The court document says Plummer told police he thought someone had been living in his attic and following him.
He allegedly also called the police earlier that day because he was hearing noises in his attic and thought someone was spying on him.
Police checked it out but found nothing.
The document says contact was made with Plummer's Naval command staff as he was on active duty and was to be transported to Portsmouth Naval Hospital.
According to the Virginia Beach Commonwealth's Attorney's Office, the order was set to expire on October 9 and the guns are still being held by police.
Plummer is facing multiple charges in Virginia Beach for the incident that sent his ex and stepdaughter to the hospital with multiple stab wounds and tragically ended with a crash in Prince George's County, Md. that killed his youngest child, Za'riyah Plummer. She was 1 year old.
Potential charges in Maryland related to the crash are pending an investigation by Maryland State Police.
Prince George's County Correctional Center confirmed to News 3 that they have Plummer in custody.
The region was alerted to the abduction early Thursday morning through a state police-administered AMBER Alert about the abducted children.
Watch: How does law enforcement decide when to send an AMBER Alert?
No further detail on Plummer's separation from the Navy was provided, however, records show he was a logistics specialist 1st class based out of NAS Oceana. He was also assigned to Helicopter Combat Squadron 28 in Norfolk, the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, and the USS Robert G. Bradley, which homeports in Mayport, Fla.
The Navy listed several awards and decorations, including:
- Enlisted Surface Warfare Specialist
- Enlisted Aviation Warfare Specialist
- Joint Service Achievement Medal
- Navy/Marine Corps Achievement Medal (3)
- Good Conduct Medal (3)
- Navy "E" Ribbon (2)
- National Defense Service Medal
- Global War on Terrorism Service Medal (2)
- Sea Service Deployment Ribbon (2)
- Pistol Marksmanship (2)
At the time of his divorce from his ex-wife, whom News 3 has chosen not to name, both were listed as active duty military.
