Love-triangle crash suspect jumps bail

Moore

By Allison Scarbrough. OCP Editor.

HART — The 42-year-old Rothbury man who is accused of the love-triangle crash last month near Rothbury failed to appear for his pretrial hearing in 27th Circuit Court Thursday morning, April 2, and Judge Anthony Monton ordered that a bench warrant be issued for his arrest.

Robert Bernard Moore faces two felony counts of assault with a dangerous weapon; one count of reckless driving; and one count of leaving the scene of an accident after backing his vehicle into a car transporting a man, March 8, with whom he was allegedly fighting over the same woman.

Oceana County Prosecutor Joe Bizon said he had received word that “Mr. Moore and his girlfriend left the state and went to Minnesota.” Monton increased Moore’s bond to $50,000/cash/surety.

Moore’s arrest stems from an incident that occurred on Northland Crossing Drive in Grant Township. He and an acquaintance were fighting over a Rothbury woman while at a residence, Oceana County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Craig Mast said previously. He left the home in his Ford Expedition, with the woman as his passenger, and the other man left in a Dodge Neon with a different woman.

Moore was driving down the road, with the woman they were fighting over in his vehicle, when he noticed the other man in the Neon in the passenger’s seat, pull up behind him, according to Mast.

Moore immediately put the Expedition in reverse; accelerated; and struck the Neon with enough force to deploy the airbags, Mast said. He pushed the Neon back with the Expedition about 12 feet as evidenced by the 12-foot skid on the roadway, he said.

He then left the scene, but his license plate fell off the Expedition. The two people in the Neon were not seriously injured.

Police searched for Moore at houses in the area and finally located and arrested him.

Grant Township Fire Department and Oceana County EMS were called to the scene, but the victims declined medical treatment. Emergency radio dialogue indicated that a female suffered cuts to her arm due to a broken windshield.