8-year-old gives investigators the clues to his dad’s arrest

Reporter: Gina Tomlinson
Published: Updated:
Mugshot of Brian Ryerson, 46. (Credit: Lee County Sheriff's Office)
Mugshot of Brian Ryerson, 46. (Credit: Lee County Sheriff’s Office)

A veteran was run down in front of an 8-year-old.

On Wednesday night, we are learning that the child gave investigators the clues that ultimately led to his dad’s arrest.

A new full booking report states Brian Ryerson talked to his friend about “a felony.” Then, Ryerson said he was afraid he would lose his job. That was minutes after the crash earlier this month along Cape Coral Pkwy.

John Allard and his wife vividly remember the morning Cape Coral veteran Gregory Moore, 71 years old, died.

“It affected my wife quite a bit,” Allard said. “For a several days, she couldn’t sleep….had nightmares over it.”

They were the first people to get to Moore after a hit-and-run driver hit him at a Cape Coral intersection.

“I’ve been in the military; I’ve seen a lot of death, dead bodies,” Allard said. “But to this degree, it was initially pretty shocking.”

We now know the driver accused of Moore’s death, Ryerson, had his 8-year-old son with him. According to the police report, the child told authorities he remembers his father suddenly “swiveled” on the road.

Then, he stopped to pick up a co-worker. Ryerson’s son said he heard his father and the co-worker talking about a felony. He said that his father was going to be fired and he needed to tell his boss.

Cape Coral Police Dept. has surveillance video of Ryerson checking his car for damage later on the same day.

Also within the arrest report were a dozen written witness statements and several of them wrote that Ryerson told them he hit someone and left. But, he was freaked out about the situation.

Ryerson entered a not guilty plea and is back in court next month.

Moore’s good friend, Mark Shanika, said his fellow vet was known in their neighborhood as Pepper.

“You had to know Pepper,” Shanika said. “Pepper was a really unique individual.”

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