A Silver Springs man was arrested for allegedly fighting a man with a baseball bat during an altercation at the Stage Stop Motel.
Ryan Austin White, 26, who lives at the motel at 5350 E. Silver Springs Blvd., was charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon after the incident, which happened late Monday afternoon.
The victim, who also lives at the motel, told a Marion County sheriff’s deputy that he lives next door to White’s ex-girlfriend. He said White has come to the motel several times over the past few days and has been harassing the woman. The victim said White’s ex-girlfriend that White is not supposed to visit her and that she doesn’t want him at the residence, according to the sheriff’s office report.
The victim said he came out of his room on Monday and observed White banging on the woman’s door. He said he told White he needed to leave and that he wasn’t supposed to be there, and White started cursing at him. The victim said White charged towards him in an aggressive manner and made statements about beating and killing him, the report said.
The victim said he was in fear when White charged at him and he began backing up towards the doorway of his room. He said he turned around to grab the bat he for self defense and when he turned back around, White had reached him and began hitting him. The victim said he tried swinging the bat at White, but he was only able to swing it a few times before White wrestled the bat away from him, according to the report.
The victim said White took him down to the ground was on top of him, striking him multiple times. He said at one point, White had the bat around his neck and was pulling it upwards and choking him. The victim said he couldn’t breathe and thought he might lose consciousness before the motel manager came running and broke up the altercation, the report said.
White’s ex-girlfriend and another witness provided statements that matched the victim’s account. They said they saw White trying to choke the victim before the manager intervened. Two other witnesses said they heard the altercation taking place and they saw White on top of the victim, striking him multiple times. They said they didn’t witness the entire altercation, according to the report.
White, who was later located at another motel, said he went to the Stage Stop Motel to see his ex-girlfriend and that the victim told him to leave. He said the victim grabbed the bat and attacked him for no reason. White said he was hit several times before he was able to take the bat away. He admitted to striking the victim several times but denied using the bat to choke the victim, the report said.
The deputy observed multiple injuries on the victim, including swelling and redness on his forehead and near his left eye that he said were from being punched in the head. The deputy also observed redness around the victim’s neck that he said was from being choked, as well as several abrasions on the victim’s knees and elbows. White had a red and swelling contusion on his cheek and a small red mark on his arm that he said was from being struck with the bat, according to the report.
The deputy determined White was the aggressor in the incident and placed him under arrest. He was taken to the Marion County Jail, where he was being held Wednesday on $10,000 bond. He will appear in Marion County Court on Aug. 20.