Jury Acquits Former MMA Fighter in 2023 Death of Tyndall Airman

A Bay County jury acquitted Ross Allen Johnson, 26, of manslaughter and aggravated battery on Wednesday in the 2023 death of Airman 1st Class Dayvon Larry. com. The case originated from an April 2023 altercation at Coyote Ugly Saloon in Panama City Beach that moved to the parking lot.

Prosecutors said Johnson struck Larry behind the ear as Larry ran toward the fight. The medical examiner ruled the death a homicide caused by blunt force trauma to the head.

Johnson testified that he believed he was protecting a friend and denied striking Larry in the back of the head. Defense attorney David Wheeler stated that Larry had armed himself with an empty beer bottle and that security allowed participants to leave the venue together.

Wheeler said both men were acting to protect friends. Johnson acknowledged during cross-examination that MMA rules prohibit strikes to the back of the head and that such strikes are wrong in a fight, but he maintained he did not hit Larry there.

Larry’s sister Tameka Williams told WMBB that the family had waited three years without receiving justice. “To wait for three years and still not have justice for my brother. It’s ripping my heart out. Justice was not served today,” she said. Wheeler said the defense recognized the family’s ongoing pain.

“While we are overjoyed that Ross has been reunited with his family, we recognize the profound heartbreak Dayvon’s family is experiencing,” he said. “We will pray for them and honor his memory this Memorial Day.