Sanford man arrested after police say he blocked woman from officers

Sanford police arrested Morris Barber after officers say he grabbed a woman, blocked her from opening the door for them and pushed her back into a room at a Bob Thomas Circle home. The arrest followed a domestic disturbance call that turned into a forced entry and a kidnapping-false-imprisonment case.

Officers responded around 3:44 a.m. Wednesday after hearing a verbal argument between a man and a woman. Police said the argument grew louder once they announced themselves at the door, and the woman could be heard screaming for help and telling Barber to let her go. Officers forced entry through a carport door into a laundry room and then into the living room, where they found the woman walking toward the front door and Barber standing in the kitchen with his hands up.

The woman told police Barber woke her earlier in the morning and accused her of someone banging on a window outside. She said he kept yelling and followed her as she retreated to her room. When officers knocked, she said she tried to open the door but Barber intercepted her. According to the arrest report, he grabbed her with both arms, hugged her and told her not to open the door for officers. She said a struggle followed as she tried to get away, and police said Barber pushed her back toward her room.

Investigators said the facts supported probable cause for false imprisonment and simple battery. Barber was arrested on battery touch or strike and kidnapping-false imprisonment charges, then medically cleared before being taken to jail. A Seminole County booking report lists his booking number as 202600005307 and the arrest date as July 1, 2026. Florida law defines false imprisonment as forcibly, by threat or secretly confining, abducting, imprisoning or restraining another person without lawful authority and against that person’s will.

The Sanford Police Department says its mission is to work in partnership with the community to enforce the laws, preserve the peace, reduce fear and provide a safe environment, and the agency says maintaining accreditation requires compliance with more than 250 professional standards. Seminole County Sheriff’s Office victim advocates provide referrals and crime-scene response for domestic violence and sexual battery victims, and SafeHouse of Seminole says it has served survivors since 1995 and operates a 24-hour hotline at 407-330-3933. Florida’s certified domestic violence centers provided 624,269 nights of emergency shelter to 12,425 survivors and their children in fiscal year 2024-2025.