A local physician was booked into Santa Rosa County Jail on battery and drug charges after a man alleged the doctor approached him and assaulted him at a Navarre Beach bar early last Sunday.
Dr. Christopher Cave, 45, was questioned following the altercation and booked into Santa Rosa County Jail on one count of misdemeanor battery, one count of marijuana possession (under 20 grams) and possession of drug equipment.
According to the arrest report, a man called the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office and told the responding deputy that he was standing at the bar at the establishment with another individual when he was approached by Cave and another individual.
That’s when the victim said Cave, and the other man (who was not identified), started punching him, according to the report.
Christopher Cave
The arrest report indicated the victim who called law enforcement had dried blood on his lip from the incident.
Another witness, who was allegedly standing with the victim at the bar, concurred with the victim’s statement.
The witness told the deputy he was standing at the bar with the victim when he was approached by Cave and the other man and “didn’t want anything to do with them” and ignored them. The witness said that’s when the two individuals started “swinging” at the victim, the report stated.
When the deputy left the establishment and was on his way to another call, he observed two subjects matching the description the witnesses had given him. One of the individuals was Cave. He approached Cave and the other man, and according to the report, the wives of the men told the deputy, “We won’t talk to you without lawyers present.”
Cave was subsequently arrested. While patting down Cave before being handcuffed, law enforcement recovered a “dug out box” in the physician’s front pocket, which contained a “one hit pipe” and a small amount of marijuana.
Cave’s wife, Jo Ann, told South Santa Rosa News that her husband was protecting her from harassment her during the incident.
“Chris was defending me…he did not hit the person who filed the report,” she told SSRN, adding, “He pushed him away from me…someone else hit the man who was harassing me.”
Cave was released from jail later that same morning after posting his $1,500 bail.
