An alleged act of road rage landed a Fort Walton Beach man behind bars last week after a woman claimed the man tried to run her and her friend off of the road when they were riding bicycles in Navarre back in April.
The Okaloosa County man, Ryan Morse, 28, was charged with misdemeanor Battery and put behind bars at Santa Rosa County Jail after Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s deputies served the warrant on the man last week.
According to the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office arrest report, a woman called 9-1-1 back in April claiming a man had punched her after the two got into an altercation on Laredo Street.
The victim claimed she was riding on her bicycle with her friend on Laredo Street at around 5 p.m. that day when a man, later identified as Morse, allegedly drove past the two women and attempted to run them off of the road, the report stated.
The victim stated she yelled at Morse to “watch where (he was) going”, at which point the vehicle stopped and Morse exited the vehicle and an argument ensued, the report indicated.
The victim claimed that during the argument, Morse punched her with a closed fist in her left ear and then fled the scene in his vehicle.
The woman that was riding her bicycle with the victim told the same accounts of what happened to the deputy.
A witness in a nearby home claimed they saw Morse swing at the woman as well. The same witness claimed he saw the vehicle Morse was driving and that it had a handy man decal on the back window.
The vehicle was later discovered on Laredo Street and the victim confirmed that was the vehicle Morse was driving. The victim later identified Morse in a photo lineup.
Deputies later spoke with Morse and he denied ever hitting the victim.
He was later arrested and posted $1,000 bond.
