Two men were pepper sprayed and arrested in front of Irish Kevin’s Bar on Sunday after they began fighting in the street, reportedly due to one of the men running into the other’s friend with his bike.
Simon Ross, 26, of Key West and Ryan S. Steele, 33, of Newark, Ohio, were both charged with disorderly conduct. Around 12:14 a.m., a Key West Police Department officer was on foot patrol on Duval Street when he saw the two men start fighting on the sidewalk near Irish Kevin’s Bar. While Ross was standing near the bar’s front entrance, Steele reportedly stormed up and punched Ross in the face. From there, the two began pushing and pulling each other and throwing punches, according to the report.
As the fight moved into the street, the police officer ran up and ordered them to stop, but they continued fighting. Steele fell onto the ground, and Ross continued to punch him, leading the officer to pepper spray him. After Ross stopped fighting, Steele reportedly stood up and began punching him again, resulting in the officer pepper spraying him as well, according to the report.
The officer detained both men, requested medical attention for them and then assisted the two in washing the pepper spray off their faces. Fire Rescue responders arrived on scene, but both men denied medical treatment. The officer then learned the fight started after Ross allegedly ran into Steele’s friend with his bicycle.
Both men were transported to the Monroe County Detention Center, and they were released the same day.
Information in the Crime Report is obtained from reports provided by area law enforcement agencies.
If you have information that could help solve a crime in the Florida Keys, call Crime Stoppers, 800-346-TIPS.