One man was arrested by BPD following a domestic disturbance that got physical and damaged property in a parking lot in downtown Bloomfield last Friday. A witness called 911 and was able to describe the altercation in detail.

Cody Ray Byers, 24, Bloomfield, was arrested by Bloomfield Town Marshal Ken Tharp on Friday morning, October 7.

Around 9:00 AM last Friday, Tharp responded to a report of a domestic battery that was occurring in the parking lot of the Spot Lounge which is located west of the Farmers and Mechanics Bank in Bloomfield.

When he arrived, the witness who called police was still in the area but the two people involved in the altercation had left the scene.

According to Tharp, the witness said she saw a Ford Mustang fishtailing when it turned onto Judge Street then pulled into the parking lot located behind the Spot and the driver, later identified as Cody Ray Byers, and his female passenger, then got out and got into a verbal argument which became physical.

The witness said Byers grabbed the woman by the waist and shoved her into a fiberglass weather barrier owned by Bloomfield Rentals LLC located on the west side of the parking lot. This broke the weather barrier. The witness said two children were present with the couple during this altercation and one of the children was beside the woman when she was shoved into the weather barrier.

At that point the woman noticed the witness calling 911 and told Byers that they needed to go. According to the witness, the couple threw the children into the Mustang and did not take time to properly buckle them into their safety seats. The vehicle then exited the parking lot in a hurry heading north on Judge Street before turning east on State Road 54. The witness said the Mustang accelerated at a high rate of speed until it had to apply the brakes heavily to keep from running into another vehicle.

Officers looked for the vehicle but failed to locate the vehicle or the occupants until around 10:00 AM when Tharp saw the vehicle pull back into the parking lot where the altercation took place.

When Tharp talked to the driver, Byers allegedly said they had an argument but it was not physical.

When Tharp talked to the woman, who had taken the children inside a residence then came back out to talk to the officer, she said they had an argument and Byers had been going through a rough time. When asked if he had shoved her into the weather barrier, she allegedly said he did not shove her. Tharp told her there was a witness and he advised her not to lie. Then she allegedly said, “Well, it was broke anyway.”

Tharp reported he saw fresh red marks and scratches on the woman's left shoulder and neck area.

Byers was taken into custody and transported to the sheriff's department where he was booked into the Greene County Jail at 10:25 AM with bond set at $4000 surety with 10% cash allowed. Byers has since posted bond and been released.

A criminal case has been filed against Byers and he is scheduled to appear at his initial hearing in Greene Superior Court on October 20 to face charges of:

• Domestic battery committed in the presence of a child less than 16 years old, a Level 6 felony,

• Criminal mischief, a Class B misdemeanor, and

• Reckless driving at an unreasonable speed that endangers safety, a Class C misdemeanor.