Brent Byng, 44, is charged with cruelty toward a child, obstructing justice, domestic battery by strangulation, and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill. The incident happened at Byng’s Navarre residence.
According to the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office, the incident occurred after Byng returned from a party at a friend’s house. Byng accused his wife of cheating on him and became irate, demanding she hand her phone over to him.
When she refused, Byng entered their bedroom and grabbed his wife around the neck, squeezing until she couldn’t draw breath. Two children were present in the room when this occurred. One of the children was identified as Byng’s 13-year-old daughter. No information is known about the other child, a male, who was in the room.
The wife passed her phone to the children and told them to run. Byng was allegedly holding an open pocket knife when he started advancing toward the children, demanding they give him the phone. The children, “in fear for their lives,” ran out of the house.
Byng placed the pocketknife in his pocket and went outside after them. While on the front porch, Byng picked up the boy by the neck, allegedly strangling him to get the phone. When a friend pulled up in the driveway, Byng let go of the boy.
Both children were ushered back into the house by the wife and told to hide while she called for help. The wife and the children indicated to law enforcement that Byng was attempting to take the phone to prevent them from contacting law enforcement for help.
In the arrest report, the boy and the daughter indicated they had to scale the backyard fence to get to their neighbor’s house to call 911.
Both the boy and the wife had red marks around their neck areas, according to the law enforcement officer on the scene. Byng was arrested following law enforcement’s initial investigation and booked into Santa Rosa County Jail on Sunday, June 23. He was released the following day on a $15,000 bond.
In response to the incident, a Hurlburt Field official released the following statement:
“Lt. Col. Brent Byng was the commander of the 19th Special Operations Squadron at Hurlburt Field, Florida. We are aware of the situation regarding the allegations about and the arrest of Lt. Col. Byng, and the Air Force is cooperating fully with the local authorities. The incident is under investigation by local law enforcement. Further details concerning the investigation should be referred to the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office.”
