A birthday dinner ended with bloodshed Saturday after an argument over Domino’s pizza escalated into a brutal beating in a Marion County parking lot.
Deputies say Ricardo Ludlow Dyer Jr. was arrested after allegedly attacking his father in front of the Domino’s located at 9590 SW Hwy 200. The father, Ricardo Ludlow Dyer Sr., told deputies he drove his son to pick up food, but tensions over the younger Dyer’s upcoming birthday had already been simmering all day.
According to the arrest report, things boiled over when Dyer Jr. returned from the restaurant angry that he couldn’t pay for the meal—his phone had died. Witnesses say he began pacing “angrily” before reaching through the driver’s window and allegedly grabbing his father by the neck, then punching him repeatedly in the face.
Bleeding from the ear and with a deep facial laceration paramedics struggled to control, the victim managed to flee to the nearby Walmart parking lot and call 911.
Deputies later found Dyer Jr. back at the family home, allegedly banging on the front door with blood still on his clothes and hands. He was arrested without further incident and taken to the Marion County Jail.
His father was rushed to the hospital with an arterial bleed and suspected neck and spinal injuries. Doctors said the victim will likely have permanent facial scarring.
Dyer Jr. was charged with aggravated domestic battery. His birthday plans were not mentioned in the report. While aggravated battery typically involves a weapon, the report did not reference any object being used. Instead, the extent of the father’s injuries — including arterial bleeding and possible spinal trauma — appears to have warranted the felony charge.
