- December 20, 2024
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A Palm Coast man knocked three of his girlfriend’s teeth out after the two had argued because other men had whistled at her, she told deputies.
Volusia County deputies arrested Michael J. Ditaranto Dec. 14 after witnesses saw his car swerving on State Road 415 as he steered with one hand and beat a woman in the passenger seat with another.
The woman later told deputies that the whole thing began when the two were at the man’s job site in Orange City, “and he became jealous when other men were whistling at her.” The two argued, and things “escalated to a physical altercation.”
A witness told deputies that she first saw the black Dodge pickup driven by 47-year-old Rose Petal Lane resident Michael J. Ditaranto. Then the car pulled onto State Road 415, and she saw the man in the driver’s seat “leaning over to the passenger seat, striking the female.”
Another witness, who spoke with deputies by phone, said that as she was driving northbound on County Road 415, she saw a woman “laying on the ground outside of a black Dodge pickup truck with blood on the side of the vehicle,” and that she saw the woman with “a bloody face and several of her teeth on the ground.”
The witness said she saw the man grab the woman and try to force her into the truck as the woman struggled to escape.
Ditaranto “stated the female was going crazy, which was his reason for striking her,” according to the report. The witness told the two she’d called the police, and they got in the car and drove off.
Deputies spoke to the couple at their home. Both had injuries; Ditaranto’s face was scratched. Both were hospitalized. The woman fled the hospital, and Ditaranto was charged with aggravated battery and false imprisonment domestic violence.
