A Ruston man was arrested Saturday after Lincoln Parish deputy sheriffs responded to a report of domestic abuse on Fletcher Lane. A caller reported she witnessed two people in an argument followed by the victim being “snatched” inside followed by sounds that resembled the victim being beaten.
When deputies arrived, they heard an active disturbance inside the residence, including a man saying something along the lines of “we’ll see how it feels when you’re locked in a cage.”
Deputies knocked and identified themselves, and a short time later James Morales, 35, answered the door. Morales showed indications of narcotics use, according to deputies, and when asked when he last consumed drugs, he said the day before.
A woman in the residence displayed red marks on her neck and facial injuries. However, she stated the confrontation did not get physical. Based on the woman’s injuries and the statement of witnesses, Morales was arrested and taken to the Lincoln Parish Detention Center and booked for domestic abuse battery.
During booking procedures, Morales was placed on an X-ray scanner that showed a non-anatomical shape in his stomach. Morales stated he swallowed approximately one gram of methamphetamine earlier. He was taken to the North Louisiana Medical Center where he was evaluated by staff and cleared for return to the detention center.
This information has been provided by a law enforcement agency as public information. Persons named or shown in photographs or video as suspects in a criminal investigation, or arrested and charged with a crime, have not been convicted of any criminal offense and are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
