LYNN HAVEN — A waffle shop cook has been arrested for allegedly calling the cops on a cop, according to Lynn Haven Police Department reports.

Jamie Annette Simonsen, 22, was arrested Thursday at about 4:45 p.m. for allegedly misusing the 911 system, police reported. Officers claim she called the authorities on an officer who’d blocked the entrance to her work, the Waffle House at 2502 State 77, while conducting a traffic stop.

Simonsen did not return a request for comment.

LHDP officers reported they were conducting a traffic stop in the parking lot of the Waffle House that blocked an entrance to the business. Simonsen allegedly came out and told the officer to move, despite a separate entrance being open to customers, police reported.

“I told her it would be a few minutes and to go back inside,” Sgt. Karen Nusbaum reported. Simonsen “did go back inside, and immediately called 911 to complain.”

Additional officers responded, but they were interested in talking with Simonsen. However, when police asked her to come out from behind the counter, Simonsen refused to stop cooking, so the officers went in to get her, LHPD reported. Simonsen allegedly pulled away from officers’ handcuffs and struggled amid the open faces of the sizzling stove tops.

The police eventually arrested her. In addition to being charged with using 911 to place a non-emergency call, Simonsen, of Panama City, also was charged with resisting an officer without violence. The charges are misdemeanors.

Information is provided by the Bay County Sheriff’s Office on people arrested on charges May 13-20. Those arrested can contact The News Herald if charges are dropped or if they are acquitted. Addresses are those given by the defendant during arrest.

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Brian Keith Ensminger, 44, 110 B Lakeside Drive, Panama City, possession of cocaine

Jessica Marie Taylor, 27, Hwy 98 Panama City, aggravated battery causing bodily harm or disability

Wyatt Donald Kingry, 53, 1407 Ayrter Ave., Panama City, abuse child without great bodily harm

Brian Robert Bungay, 42, 10901 Front Beach Road, Panama City Beach, burglary

Aletra Lewana Elizabeth King, 22, 608 E. Ninth St., Panama City, burglary, aggravated battery with use of a deadly weapon

Thai Van Nguyen, 21, 1203 E. 25th St., Panama City, possession of controlled substance without prescription

Sara Angela Espinoza, 26, 4508 W. Hwy 98 Tween Bay Hotel, Panama City, possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, manufacture, sell or deliver

James Edward White, 66, 7426 Harvey St., Callaway, possession of cocaine

Brian Wayne Joins, 40, 4122 Corbin Road, Panama City, possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, manufacture, sell or deliver, burglary with assault or battery

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Shawn Thomas Roehm, 34, possession of controlled substance without prescription

Michael Ray Williams, 50, 1615 Allison Ave., Panama City Beach, possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, manufacture, sell or deliver

Desmond Lewis Crawford, 22, 9410 Sayers St., Tampa, possession of controlled substance without prescription

James Cecil Miller, 42, 1629 Mckenzie Road, Southport, grand larceny

Michael Ray Williams, 50, 1615 Allison Ave., Panama City Beach, possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, manufacture, sell or deliver

Desmond Lewis Crawford, 22, 9410 Sayers St., Tampa, possession of controlled substance without prescription

Kenisha Marie Balthazar, 30, 145 Big Oak Drive, Panama City, grand theft

Jason Alan Jarrard, 29, 1925 Skinner Road, Westville, possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, manufacture, sell or deliver, possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, manufacture, sell or deliver, burglary, grand theft, hit and run at a crash involving injury

Alyssa Paige Childree, 24, 12808 Clear Creek Road, Youngstown, burglary with assault or battery

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Harold Pennington Bruner, 81, 538 Camellia Ave., Callaway, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without the intent to kill

ClintonAllen Peaden, 36, 4443 Brannon Road, Panama City, burglary with assault or battery

Clinton  Whitfield, 70, 615 E. Eighth Court, Panama City, burglary

David Alan Marshall, 24, 213 Alpine Way, Panama City, aggravated battery causing bodily harm or disability

Brenda Jean Causey, 56, 815 1/2 N. Macarthur Ave., Panama City, burglary

Joshua Timothy Rivers, 22, 4919 South Lakewood Drive, Panama City, possession of controlled substance without prescription

Eddie Renae Wright, 33, 901 N. Church Ave., Panama City, felony or domestic battery by strangulation

Charles Mitchell Bruner, 62, 538 Camellia Ave., Callaway, burglary, homicide

Rachelle Nichole Mathias, 29, 4810 W. US 98, Panama City, possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, manufacture, sell or deliver

Robin Demetrece Watts, 39, 718 E. Ninth St., Panama City, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without the intent to kill

Charles Mitchell Bruner, 62, 538 Camellia Ave., Callaway, burglary

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Tacarra Hia Gant, 20, 201 E. 25th St., Lynn Haven, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without the intent to kill

Bobby Dean Frosch, 54, 217 Carol Place, Panama City Beach, possession of synthetic narcotics with intent to distribute, manufacture, sell or deliver

Tiara Dominique Young, 22, 4508 W. US 98 (Room 110,) Panama City, possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, manufacture, sell or deliver, selling cocaine

Turi Lamar Lawson, 25, 4508 W. US 98, Panama City, possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, manufacture, sell or deliver

Shequita Chantell Holt, 29, 9851 S. Thomas Drive, Panama City, felony or domestic battery by strangulation

David Lee Turner, 45, 4015 Silversands Road, Panama City Beach, possession of weapon or ammunition by felon

Vanessa Diane Arnold, 56, 2865 London Road, Cottondale, arson

Megan Kellie Balongue, 38, 5601 B Sunset Ave., Panama City Beach, possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, manufacture, sell or deliver, abuse child without great bodily harm

Eric James Jessie, 20, 817 Huntington Drive, Springfield, neglect child without great bodily harm

Johnny Floyd Copeland, 29, 9405 Sonya Circle Lot, Panama City, possession of controlled substance without prescription

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Marquis Demound Minor, 23, 137 Kilbourn Ave., Panama City, aggravated stalking

Charles Curtis Killingsworth, 37, Nashville, Tenn., grand theft, burglary

Jerald Eugene Overturf, 55, possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, manufacture, sell or deliver

Edward Kenneth Ross, 22, 6407 Sunset Ave., Panama City, possession of controlled substance without prescription

DeFUNIAK SPRINGS —  Barry Davis believed he could get away with murder.

He had said as much to his girlfriend, Tiffani Steward, some time after he killed John Gregory Hughes and Hiedi Rhodes the night of May 7, 2012, according to her testimony at Davis’ trial.

And while he might have gotten closer to it than most, or was at least able to stave off justice for a while, Davis was found guilty Monday on two counts of first-degree murder, along with 15 other theft-related charges.

A jury recommended Friday that he die for both killings.

“We have waited a long time for this day to come. Barry Davis is an evil person. Hopefully, our families will be able to finally have some closure. I feel that justice has been served,” Susan Hughes, Greg Hughes, first cousin, said after the recommendations were presented.

“Barry Davis has committed a heinous crime and he brutally took away our loved ones,” added Amy Hughes, Greg Hughes’ sister. “Today, we are satisfied with the jury’s recommendation of punishment to the fullest extent of the law.”

After more than a year of investigation, Davis was charged with the murders of Hughes and Rhodes in early 2013. The Walton County Sheriff’s Office alleged he beat and strangled the couple at Hughes’ home in Santa Rosa Beach, then left them face down in a bathtub to drown.

The jury of seven women and five men recommended by a 9-3 vote that Davis be put to death for the murder of Hughes and by a 10-2 count that he die for killing Rhodes, who prosecuting attorney Bobby Elmore had characterized as an innocent killed only because she happened to be present when Davis killed and robbed Hughes.

Circuit Judge Kelvin Wells will impose the sentence after a Spencer Hearing, which is required in all cases in which the death penalty is on the table. Neither the hearing nor the sentencing date was set Friday.

Davis’ confidence that he could walk away from the killings might have stemmed from his successful destruction of a great deal of evidence. Given weeks to cover up his crimes, he cut out blood-stained dry wall at Hughes’ home, removed every stick of furniture from the home, tore out the seats of the Cadillac where he stored his victims’ bodies and, most significantly, coldly and efficiently disposed of Hughes’ and Rhodes’ corpses.

What he didn’t count on was the dogged determination of investigators and prosecutors.

In September 2012 the state failed to win a conviction in a case in which Davis was accused of stealing Hughes’ Corvette and selling it in Orlando for $15,000. Authorities had hoped that with a conviction in hand and Davis in prison, they could get his reluctant associates to come forward and tell them what they knew about his involvement in Hughes’ and Rhodes’ homicides. But Davis’ attorney successfully established the possibility that the missing Hughes could be alive, and perhaps had even orchestrated the car sale from behind the scenes.

Walton County Sheriff Michael Adkinson said investigators doubled down on their efforts after the Corvette theft case to build a case for murder against Davis.

“Literally the whole Walton County Sheriff’s Office worked on the case in one form or another,” prosecutor Bobby Elmore said Friday.

 “We felt that he would have been convicted. When he was not, we knew that he was a serious threat to someone’s health and well being,” Adkinson said. “It just worried me that he would kill someone else before we could put the murder case together fully. I just felt like we had to re-double our efforts.”

Elmore got involved following Davis’ February, 2013, arrest for the murders. He said “this case has consumed my life” since then.

“It’s been on my mind when I get up in the morning and when I lay down at night,” he said. “It required that.”

Without bodies, Elmore said he was forced to prove an “absence of life” by providing the jury with evidence that Hughes and Rhodes simply had stopped doing things they did on a regular basis.

”It’s the most fact-intensive case I’ve ever had,” said Elmore, a prosecutor for 35 years.

Elmore said after Friday’s recommendation that he was confident the jurors who convicted Davis “were well satisfied we had proven the deaths.”

The families of Rhodes and Hughes praised the efforts of police and prosecutors.

“The family of Hiedi Ann Rhodes would like to thank the Walton County Sheriff’s Department and Bobby Elmore for all the long hours and hard work they’ve put into the investigation and prosecution,” Rhodes’ sister, Sonja Rhodes, said in a statement. “Hiedi was a loving, forgiving, kind person who never met a stranger. She was taken away from us too soon and will be missed every day.”

Adkinson said the successful conclusion to the Davis case “demonstrates the determination of the Walton County Sheriff’s Office to see justice done.”

 “We knew this would be difficult, but we were unwilling to let it go. It took over three years, but we were able to bring some level of closure to the family and protect the public from a ruthless killer,” he said.

PARKER — A woman was arrested on drug charges and authorities are seeking a second suspect, the Parker Police Department reported.

Officers reported they discovered drugs in a room at the Parker Inn on Friday night and arrested Tannessa Lachey Murray of Springfield.

A large quantity of what is believed to be synthetic marijuana, methamphetamine, alprazolam and marijuana was found, police reported. Officers also found materials for drug distribution, according to police.

Murray was charged with possession of the drugs with intent to distribute, possession of a schedule II controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and renting a structure for the purpose of narcotics distribution.

The charges are enhanced because the motel is within 1,000 feet of a park, police reported.

Murray was taken to the Bay County Jail.

Parker police also are seeking James C. Bell of Panama City. Bell is wanted for the same drug charges as Murray and for battery on a law enforcement officer and resisting an officer with violence, police reported.

Bell, 32, is black, 5 feet, 8 inches tall and weighs 160 pounds. He has short black hair with a beard and multiple tattoos, according to police.

Other charges against Murray and Bell are possible, police say.

PANAMA CITY — Within a year, the criminal landscape of Bay County has shifted, and as the summer season arrives, officials in the area hardest hit by homicides last year are hopeful measures taken to prevent similar surges will prevent a relapse.

Bay County experienced an unprecedented spike in murders last year, from eight in 2013 to 17 in 2014 — 15 of which were carried out with firearms; two resulted from bludgeonings with hands or feet. Those figures surpass the closest comparisons in recent history from 2010 and 2011, when 12 people were murdered each year, according to Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) statistics released this month.

The deadliest area within the county was the city of Panama City, accounting for eight murders during its bloodiest summer on the books, FDLE reported. The surge in gun-related deaths prompted the Panama City Police Department to initiate a street crimes unit and community members also organized the LEAD Coalition of parents concerned with the violent outbursts.

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Those efforts have made headway into this year, according to Panama City Mayor Greg Brudnicki.

“We’re getting out in the community and letting people get to know their policemen,” Brudnicki said. The shootings “spurred us to do something that would hopefully deter something like that from happening again.”

Overall crime rates increased in Bay County by 2.8 percent from last year, FDLE reported. Panama City saw an 11.6 percent increase in all crimes, while Panama City Beach saw a decrease of 8.4 percent. But per capita, the Beach topped all other areas of the county in overall crime rates. PCB Mayor Gayle Oberst said those numbers do not account for surges during high-volume holidays on the Beach.

“We don’t have the same problems as the eastern part of Bay County,” Oberst said. “Especially when you think about the fact we can have about 200,000 people here at a time — we do a good job of handling those situations.”

Panama City Beach Police Department consists of about 55 sworn officers to police their year-round population of about 12,191, or about one officer for every 221 citizens. In Panama City, nearly 130 sworn officers police a year-round population of 35,773. Similarly, that comes out to about one officer for every 275 citizens.

During a holiday weekend, when visitors increase the Beach population to about 200,000 people, Beach Police are outnumbered by a margin of about 3,500 people to every officer, unless reinforcements are enlisted.

Different demographics: Several factors could have contributed to the disparities in crime figures between the counterparts of Bay County, separated only by 0.6-miles that make up the Hathaway Bridge.

The differences are contained in the demographics, Oberst said.

In Panama City, 85.8 percent of people graduated from high school and, of those, 20.9 percent went on to get a bachelor’s degree or higher accreditation, according to census figures. The median household income in Panama City is about $37,993, while 20.2 percent of people are below the poverty line. Home values average at $135,100.

On the Beach, 91.6 percent of people graduated from high school and 23.9 percent graduated from college. Home values are significantly greater at $211,900, and the average household income is $51,459. Only 11.4 percent of people are below the poverty line, census figures state.

Outside of those figures, much of the Beach’s crime Oberst attributed to visitors.

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“We’ve always had the situation where people think they can come down to Florida to run away from something and start over, but it isn’t as easy as that,” she said.

In Panama City’s case, several of the perpetrators in last summer’s shooting deaths originated from elsewhere, but most were Panama City residents. However, in the wake of Panama City’s surge in gun violence, officials and community members have put forth an effort to hopefully keep a similar trend at bay. According to Brudnicki, those efforts have yielded results in the absence in violent crimes this year.

“We’re doing everything we can to keep people safe,” he said. “We’re trying to make sure the public knows the police are their friends — regardless of where they live. All lives matter.”

TALLAHASSEE — Florida has received an array of applications for the top jobs at its environmental and law-enforcement agencies, with little more than a week remaining for people to submit resumes.

The job seekers for the Cabinet-level agencies so far range from a former York, Pennsylvania, police commissioner and Department of Environmental Protection environmental specialist to an Office Depot manager and Wal-Mart cashier.

The incumbent leaders of the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), both currently carrying interim tags, appear to remain the frontrunners even though they have yet to file their applications. Interim DEP Secretary Jon Steverson and interim FDLE Commissioner Rick Swearingen, who both have long ties to Florida and the state government, have said they intend to apply.

As of Friday afternoon, 34 applications to be the next law-enforcement commissioner had been posted on the Cabinet’s website as having been filed with the state’s “People First” employment system. Another 22 applications were online regarding the position of Department of Environmental Protection secretary.

Four of the applicants filed for both jobs. The deadline to apply is May 31.

Gov. Rick Scott and the Cabinet —- Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam, Attorney General Pam Bondi and Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater —- are expected to vote on the positions June 23.

As part of a new agency-head review process, Swearingen has also been directed at the June 23 meeting to provide a six-month update on accomplishments at the law-enforcement agency.

The requirements for an annual agency-head review and conducting a broad search for the new leaders came after Cabinet members voiced displeasure with the abrupt removal by Scott of former FDLE Commissioner Gerald Bailey in December.

Scott recommended Steverson and Swearingen to their $150,000-a-year positions in December, and both got Cabinet backing in January.

However, Steverson and Swearingen were among 16 agency heads who failed to get Senate approval during this spring’s regular legislative session. Steverson and Swearingen were designated interim leaders while the brief national search is conducted. The other 14 agency heads, not needing Cabinet confirmation, were reappointed by Scott.

Among the 34 submissions to run the FDLE are former York, Pennsylvania, police commissioner Mark Whitman; U.S. Capitol Police deputy chief Yancey Garner; and Herman Whaley, a former Putnam County deputy who now works as a federal Drug Enforcement Administration deputy chief inspector.

But not all the applicants may meet the desired job requirements.

For the FDLE commissioner, the state wants someone who has served at least five years as a police executive, possesses experience in police affairs or public administration and is “a bona fide” Florida resident.

The residency requirement could be an issue for some candidates. The experience requirement will allow quickly dispensing of resumes that include such experience as a retail specialist at JCPenney or as an Office Depot manager.

The desired applicants for the DEP post are expected to have knowledge of Florida’s environmental laws, hold a degree in a field that could include natural science, law or business, and have 10 years of related professional experience, according to the job posting.

Among those who have filed for the environmental post are David Bishof, who has served as president of Naples-based consulting firm United Environmental Services, and Alexander Bayevsky, a DEP environmental specialist. Otherwise, applications have come from an administrative clerk at a Tallahassee bail bonds company, the founder of a waste and recycling service in Indiana, a Florida Democratic Party field organizer and a Wal-Mart cashier.

PANAMA CITY BEACH — Bay County Fire Rescue responded to a fire Sunday afternoon on U.S. 98 near LeGrand Street.

No structures were involved, but officials said they were concerned that several might be threatened by the flames, which jumped U.S. 98. 

Officials closed the road and diverted traffic for a short time Sunday afternoon. The fire was quickly brought under control and the road was reopened shortly before 7 p.m.

PANAMA CITY — From cars to trucks to personal belongings or even pets — anything that can be stolen may be reclaimed with the help of a local theft-prevention social media page.

Stolen in Bay County, a community-based Facebook page, was started with the intention of catching thieves and reclaiming stolen property by spreading the word to more people than just law enforcement. Creator Julie Pardue said the page has a solid success rate so far. Contributing to that is the growing number of local participants, at 1,561 followers, since its genesis about a year ago.

“Before, there was no place to post stolen property — no place at all,” Pardue said. “But people have started to pick it up and pick it up. It’s really gone crazy.”
Pardue said the idea came to her after her son’s four-wheeler was stolen. He had worked hard to honestly earn the four-wheeler, only to have it stripped away from him. When Pardue turned to social media to ask the community to be on the lookout for the four-wheeler, social media had nothing local to offer, she said, so she created “Stolen Items of Bay County.”

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“Police just don’t have enough resources to be everywhere all the time,” Pardue said. “But social media does.”
The proof is on the page.

As recently as May 14, a Chevy Silverado was reported stolen from St. Andrews on the page. A day later, one of the page’s subscribers spotted it in the parking lot of a local walking park and sent a response to the posting. After Pardue made a brief call to the police, she had good news to report.
“Truck is found. Yippee,” Pardue wrote. “Thanks everyone for those watchful eyes of yours. We all can’t stand a thief.”

Most burglary or theft crimes are propelled by addictive drug use, according to law enforcement officials, so the amount of those incidents reflects a deeper issue relating to the pervasiveness of addictive drugs in the community. And with the increased presence of heroin and ICE methamphetamine in Bay County over the past several months, law enforcement has seen numerous reports of break-ins, thefts and the reselling of those items to feed addictions.

Scaling back the presence of addictive substances is important to decrease the amount of thefts countywide. But for Pardue, reuniting people with a possession they’ve worked hard to acquire is a benefit in itself, she said.

“I’m happy because they’re happy to get their stuff back,” Pardue added.

MARIANNA — Here’s a situation where body cameras helped a police department.

Marianna Police responded to a 9-1-1 call from a woman at 2 a.m., distressed, describing a crazed man knocking at her door. Once arriving at the residence they saw the man, lying, wedged between the screen door and door.

Already exhibiting unusual behavior, the man’s speech and demeanor clued officers that he was suffering from some type of medical emergency. They decided to transport him and he died in the officers’ custody before reaching the hospital.

Police Chief Hayes Baggett said the department has already received a promise of a civil suit. However, Hayes said his officers were wearing body cameras which show that they followed procedures and exonerates them of wrong doing.

The body cameras, the chest mounted style from Watchguard, cost about $13,000. Baggett thinks the department might have saved that in just legal fees for one case.

The 18 Marianna officers have been wearing cameras since November. The only complaint they have is that the videos take too long to load. Baggett said he hopes that problem will be cleared up with advancements in future technology.

“So far, so good,” Baggett said. “We’ve been real pleased. There have been no hiccups in the policy.”

Bay County law enforcement agencies are more wary of cameras in terms of cost, storage and privacy. As of yet, none of the four largest departments in the county use cameras.

“I’m not concerned from the stand point of our deputies, how our deputies conduct themselves,” Bay County Sheriff Major Tommy Ford said. “We’ve been evaluating them and there are a lot of areas to consider.”

Cost is an issue. The cameras themselves, whether they are the chest, shoulder or cap mounted versions are relatively inexpensive. Ford said there are versions that cost $400. However, storage of the video may create a need for additional spending. Marianna is using two servers. BCSO has over 200 sworn officers, Panama City has 95, Panama City Beach has 59 and Lynn Haven has 30. With terabytes of video needed to be stored, cloud storage makes more sense. Ford, Panama City Chief Scott Ervin and Lynn Haven Chief David Messer all said it would be necessary to hire at least one information technology person just to maintain the storage. 

Public records are also an issue. Marianna has a policy that if a video is not directly related to an investigation then it is deleted within 30 days. Their policy also includes requirements for when the cameras must be turned on: citizen encounters, enforcement and arrest actions, dispatched calls for service, self initiated contact and suspicious circumstances, traffic stops, crashes involving police vehicles and tactical activities such as structure searches, searches for suspects and responses to building alarms.

There are gray areas in that policy. Citizen encounters sometimes happen inside homes and there are privacy concerns about showing the inside of a person’s home, especially when it could become a public record and then be available for the public to view. A bill proposed by Chris Smith, D-Fort Lauderdale, SB 248, would make homes, health care services and social service providers off limits for public records. The bill passed the legislature and is being considered by Gov. Rick Scott.

“I didn’t say we couldn’t record just not as a public record,” Ervin said. “People don’t want an invasion of home.”

The Florida legislature also considered a bill to mandate body cameras to law enforcement offices.

State Attorney Glenn Hess and Ford suggested that departments would need to hire a representative just to edit videos, for instance blurring the faces of minors.

“Every department that does that would need to have videographer,” Hess said.

Hess is also suspicious of a bill like SB 248 being maintained. He said it is necessary to keep evidence in child abuse cases seven years, fraud for eight years and non criminal evidence for four years. Hess added that he will not have his department serve as the repository and editor of body camera videos for budgetary reasons and he understands the storage and privacy concerns. However, he also values camera videos as a source of evidence.

He gave the example of a shooting that happened at KJ’s night club in the summer of 2014 and how a crowd gathered that officers described as threatening.
“City managers love them because they help cull out erroneous claims of police brutality,” Hess said. “The idea that we can have good quality video, can’t be faulted. The problem is its one good acorn in a forest of thorns.”

Hess’ primary recommendation for law enforcement agencies considering body cameras is to put a policy in place that can at least serve as a baseline under legal questioning. Hess ran through a bevy of scenarios – the batteries in the camera expire during an incident, the officer forgets to turn the camera on, the footage is accidentally destroyed and the camera captures the incident at an unfortunate angle – that would cause a defense attorney to have a field day.

“We’re in such a hurry to implement the technology that we have not had time to come to grips with all the issues,” Hess said.

Hess also recommends the head mounted cameras to show the best angle. The Michael Brown situation in Ferguson likely would not have provided a clear video from a chest mounted camera, Hess said.

Panama City Beach already have a policy in place for officers who want to invest in a body camera on their own. The policy requires officers to turn on cameras for vehicle pursuits, suspicious vehicles, arrests, suspicious persons, DUI investigations and field sobriety tests, consensual encounters, responding to an in progress call, traffic stops, domestic violence calls, disorderly conduct and offenses involving violence or weapons. The video must remain on until the incident is concluded: when arrests have been made and all interviews with witnesses have been conducted.

All video needs to be included in an officers report. Assistant Chief Chad Lindsey said no officer in the department uses a camera.
For now, Bay County law enforcement agencies feel their budget resources will be better spent in other areas than body cameras. Ford and Ervin want to continue to replace aging vehicles in their fleet. Messer said equipment is also a concern for his department.

“A lot of agencies are playing catch up to the lean years,” Ervin said.

A current piece of the police uniform also received some push back before it was accepted and incorporated by officers. Ford cannot remember when it became BCSO policy for officers to wear bullet proof vests, but it is standard. He said he wears his vest whenever he is out in the field to set an example for all the officers.

Similarly, Ervin wore a vest underneath his police uniform when he was at the Panama City Commission meeting on Tuesday. The most dangerous situation he dealt with was a resident being impolite to the commission.

Ford said there was pushback because the vests are hot, and summer time in Florida is sweltering.

“Back in my younger days, I wouldn’t wear one,” Baggett said, Marianna officers having a less official policy about vests. “I would rather take a bullet than have heat stroke; it would be a quick death.”

Ford said he could see body cameras becoming a regular accepted part of the uniform, but it does not look like it will be a change in the next year.

“All of this points to the fact that this is a complicated issue,” Ford said.

PANAMA CITY — A man accused of shooting a 17-year-old in the head is scheduled to be on trial today for charges of second-degree murder, according to court documents.

Javares Cameron, 19, was arrested last October in connection with the death of 17-year-old Curtis Hunt. Hunt was shot in the head outside a residence on Kraft Avenue in what investigators called a “targeted attack.” Cameron faces second-degree murder charges and resisting arrest without violence charges as his trial begins today.

Cameron was arrested along with two, out of three juveniles, who rode along with him the day Hunt was gunned down on the roadside.
A juvenile witness traveling in the car told authorities that Cameron picked him up at Royal Arms Garden Apartments and drove to the “paper mill projects” with only sparse information about his intentions.

“He just told us he was going to sell some hats,” said Capri Brooks.

Brooks and Isiah Grady, 16, were arrested along with Cameron after a police foot pursuit following the shooting. Brooks saw the gun, a semiautomatic pistol, as Cameron left him and the other passengers behind in the car, he said. A gunshot rang out a short time later before Cameron returned to the vehicle, slightly winded, the juvenile told authorities.

Cameron didn’t say anything when he returned to the car, Brooks said. But he looked scared as he drove the group away from the scene.
Investigators never released a motive in the slaying.

Police pulled over Cameron’s car back at Royal Arms, on the other side of Panama City. Officers ordered the group out of the car and onto the ground at gunpoint before a foot chase ensued. Cameron fled first, and the other juvenile passengers in his car followed suit, Brooks told investigators. However, Brooks returned to the car to clean up some left behind evidence.

“A gun, well, a gun I had touched, so I was just, you know, going to remove my fingerprints from it,” he said.

Neither Brooks nor Grady admitted to knowing Cameron before that day and did not clearly tell investigators why they got in the car with him in the first place. Officers never announced the arrest of the fourth suspect. Both juveniles have given investigators conflicting statements about the presence of a fourth suspect, who can be seen fleeing police on dash cam video from their arrests.

Grady also claimed he did not even hear a gunshot that day, according to court documents.

Cameron is expected to appear in court today to begin jury selection in the trial.
 

WESTVILLE — A suspect is in stable condition after he was shot by a Holmes County Sheriff’s Office deputy on Monday.

HCSO received a tip at 9:45 a.m. Monday that two men with active Holmes County warrants were at a residence on Mt. Pleasant Road in Westville, police reported. Deputies arrived at the residence to make contact with John Earl Judah and Dylan John Weiler.

Weiler was sitting in a stolen vehicle in the yard of the home when deputies arrived, police said. As officers approached the vehicle, Weiler pulled out a handgun and pointed it at the deputy, according to police. The deputy fired his weapon, striking Weiler, and he was transported to a Bay County hospital, where he remains in stable condition, the HCSO reported.

According to HCSO, Judah remained barricaded inside the residence for five hours. When he did not respond to a deputy’s commands to exit the home, HSCO requested assistance from the Walton County Sheriff’s Office SWAT unit. Judah was apprehended without incident and transported to Holmes County Jail, police reported.

Weiler has multiple charges against him in Bay and Holmes counties. He is charged with violation of probation, possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, burglary and dealing in stolen property, felon in possession of a firearm and aggravated assault with a firearm on a law enforcement officer.

Judah was charged with violation of probation, possession of methamphetamine and failure to pay child support.

PANAMA CITY BEACH — An Alabama man has been arrested for brandishing a gun in front of a group of nightclub employees, according to court records.

Gino Santana Matos, 27, was arrested Monday at about 1:15 a.m. after staff members at Club La Vela, 8813 Thomas Dr., told police he produced a 9-mm Beretta in the presence of the employees, Panama City Beach Police Department officers reported. Witnesses told officers he did not point the gun at the employees but turned toward the group, charged the pistol and said: “Go do your (expletive) jobs,” police reported.

Matos, of Cottondale, Ala., was charged with improper exhibition of a firearm.

PANAMA CITY — Authorities are asking the public for help identifying a suspect who attacked a man and then used his stolen credit cards at local businesses, according to a Bay County Sheriff’s Office news release.

On Monday, the victim left a bar on Thomas Drive and was approached in the parking lot by a man driving a white SUV who offered him a ride. The victim declined the ride and walked to North Lagoon.

While walking on North Lagoon between the crossroads of Rusty Gans Drive and Laurie Avenue, the victim suddenly heard footsteps behind him and when he turned, was hit on the head. The victim fell, dazed, but realized his wallet was being taken and opened his eyes to see a white SUV driving away.

The stolen credit cards were used at several businesses in Bay County. The suspect was captured on security cameras using the cards. The suspect is described as a light-skinned black male. His vehicle, the white SUV, also was caught on camera and appears to be a white Escalade.

Anyone with information about this suspect is asked to contact BCSO Investigator Michael McCrary at (850) 747-4700 or Crime Stoppers at (850) 785-TIPS.

PANAMA CITY — A case of mistaken identity led to the broad daylight shooting death of a 17-year-old in what authorities called “a targeted attack,” prosecutors told jurors Tuesday.

In opening statements in a second-degree murder trial, prosecutors said their case would show Javares Cameron, 19, intended to shoot another man in October of last year when he killed 17-year-old Curtis Hunt. However, Cameron’s defense argued the bullet that ended Hunt’s life was fired in self-defense.

Prosecutor Bob Sombathy opened his case Tuesday by telling jurors that Cameron and 20-year-old Tyquan Anderson had “beef” about a stolen pistol and exchanged words the night before Oct. 14, 2014 when Hunt was shot in the back of the head outside Anderson’s home at 204 Kraft Avenue. Sombathy said Hunt was using the wifi connection from outside the house while waiting for a ride when he was mistaken for Anderson and killed.

“In broad daylight, Hunt is sitting on a bench … his back is to the road,” Sombathy told jurors. “Suddenly, through the back of his head comes a .40-caliber bullet … and he slumps forward — 17-years-old.”

However, defense attorney Kim Jewell set the scene differently. She told jurors that Anderson, Hunt and an unknown man shrouded in black clothes were outside Anderson’s home when the incident a took place. The unknown man jumped on Cameron. He pulled a gun in self-defense and fired blindly, Jewell told the jury.

“He had no idea where that bullet went — what it hit,” she said.

Anderson testified that was not the case, but the jury could have a difficult time accepting his testimony as truthful.

Anderson was brought out on the stand shackled and clad in the black and white stripes of inmate attire. He’s currently in jail for violating his probation on burglary charges. Anderson said the two men had a confrontation at the Bay County Fair over a stolen pistol. The night afterward, Anderson said he spotted Cameron “creeping” by the Kraft Avenue home.

“When we came out, he sped off,” he said. “That’s when I called to ask him why he was driving by my grandma’s house.”

Cameron came back to the home and talked with Anderson and another man present at the time. Cameron was dressed in all black with black gloves, Anderson said.

“We was outside and he asked a question: What we would do if one of our friends got killed,” he said. “It sounded like he was trying to be funny.”

Jewell highlighted that Anderson sent a text message to Cameron after the “so-called beef” to ask for a ride to Lynn Haven. Cameron declined and the next day was going to Anderson’s house to sell him some hats when he was attacked and forced to defend himself, Jewell said.

Cameron was arrested along with two, out of three, juveniles who rode along with him the day Hunt was gunned down. Capri Brooks, 15, and Isiah Grady, 16, have both said they were in the car when they heard a gunshot but did not see the shooting. All four fled officers when they were pulled over in Cameron’s car after the shooting.

The fourth suspect was never apprehended. But police found a trail of scattered guns, including one near where Cameron was arrested with traces of his DNA on the .40-caliber pistol.

Cameron is charged with second-degree murder and resisting officers without violence. He is expected to testify on his own behalf later in the trial. Cameron faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted.

PANAMA CITY — The Bay County Sheriff’s Office is warning people to watch for a scam involving a person impersonating a BCSO employee.

A complaint was filed from a victim of the scam. She said she received a phone call on her house phone from a man using the name of an employee of BCSO.

The man told the victim she had neglected to show up for jury duty and a warrant had been issued for her. The victim denied receiving a notice to appear for jury duty, but eventually agreed to pay to avoid arrest.

The caller instructed the victim to go to a specific discount store and purchase $978 in PayPal cards. The victim did as the caller told her and then gave transaction code on the back of the cards to the caller.

BCSO says it does not contact anyone with an outstanding warrant to get payment to cancel the warrant.

If anyone receives a phone call from someone who claims to represent the BCSO and asks for payment, contact the BCSO immediately at (850) 747-4700.

A Fountain man has been sentenced to life in prison for the violent rape of a woman in Calhoun County, according to a State Attorney’s Office news release.

James Michael Clark, 47, was found to be a habitual felony offender Wednesday and ordered to life in prison.

In a two-day trial, prosecutors showed jurors that Clark attacked a woman in the early morning hours of May 18, 2014 in a residence on NW County Line Road. That morning,  Clark came to the home after a night of drinking and tried to have sex with the woman.

She told him she wasn’t interested and Clark grabbed her by the throat, threw her to the ground, dragged her to the bed and forcibly raped her. When he passed out from drinking, the victim ran from the residence and called authorities. The victim described Clark as a “family friend” and told deputies he had allowed her to stay at his sister’s residence for a few days at the time.

Clark was found guilty as charged of false imprisonment and sexual battery with threat of force.

Charges are pending against a Jackson County deputy who fell asleep at the wheel and crashed his police cruiser, according to a Florida Highway Patrol report.

Deputy John E. Ellerbee, 24, suffered minor injuries in the crash, FHP reported.

Ellerbee was driving a 2010 Crown Victoria patrol car Wednesday at about 1:20 a.m. on State 71 near Simsville when the crash happened. He was driving south when he fell asleep, he told FHP officers. The car drifted onto the east shoulder and continued for about 387 feet in the bottom of a ditch before careening into a culvert at 1071 State 71, FHP reported.

Ellerbee was taken to Jackson Hospital for treatment of the minor injuries.

FHP is investigating the crash to determine charges.

NEW YORK (AP) — In accusing soccer federation leaders of tarnishing the sport by taking $150 million in bribes and payoffs, U.S. prosecutors laid out a sweeping corruption case that hinges on the testimony of insiders, including some who have agreed to cooperate in plea deals.

Prosecutors announced the racketeering conspiracy and other charges Wednesday against 14 defendants — nine current and former officials with global soccer governing body FIFA, four sports marketing executives and an accused intermediary.

They also revealed four others had pleaded guilty in secret proceedings dating to July 2013. It's believed some or all are cooperating in the investigation.

The fact that some guilty pleas came almost two years ago speaks to how long authorities have been gathering evidence, likely some of it from those defendants, said Alfredo F. Mendez, a former federal prosecutor who now is a white-collar criminal defense lawyer.

A long time between a first round of pleas and their disclosure is “a signal that cooperation is going on,” Mendez said.

Prosecutors sealed the guilty pleas so they wouldn't “flag that there was investigation going on,” said Timothy Heaphy, another former federal prosecutor and defense attorney. “That happens all the time in organized crime cases, whether white-collar or blue-collar.”

Also telling is the extent of the allegations prosecutors have unveiled — the indictment runs 161 pages — indicating they're confident they have voluminous evidence, experts said.

Heaphy said such detail sends a message to defendants: “They know what we did. They have good information. That could be incentive to plead guilty and cooperate.”

U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch announced the charges at a news conference packed with foreign journalists. The charges were filed by the U.S. attorney's office in Brooklyn, which she ran before becoming a cabinet member.

The indicted soccer officials “were expected to uphold the rules that keep soccer honest and to protect the integrity of the game,” Lynch said. “Instead, they corrupted the business of worldwide soccer to serve their interests and to enrich themselves.”

With soccer officials gathered in Zurich to elect a new president, seven of the U.S. defendants were arrested there. Six of those arrested were opposing extradition to the U.S., the Swiss justice ministry said, without naming them.

Former FIFA Vice President Jack Warner turned himself over to police in Trinidad, and he was later released on $2.5 million bail. Warner did not enter a plea, but he denied any wrongdoing.

The others had yet to be arrested.

Meanwhile, Warner's two sons, Daryan and Daryll, entered secret guilty pleas in 2013. The indictment points to their possible cooperation by detailing how, in a scheme to fix a vote awarding the 2010 World Cup tournament to South Africa, Warner directed an unnamed co-conspirator — identified only as “a member of Warner's family” — to fly to Paris to “accept a briefcase containing bundles of U.S. currency in $10,000 stacks in a hotel room from a high-ranking South African bid committee official.”

“Given the allegations that we've seen just in the papers, there seems little doubt who the payments went to and for what reason,” said Andy Spalding, an international criminal law expert at the University of Richmond School of Law.

Prosecutors outlined 12 different schemes dating to 1991, most involving marketing and media rights to various events.

FIFA said it was cooperating with investigators and that it had already taken steps to root out corruption.

While the case has an international scope, prosecutors have noted that one entity at the heart of the case is headquartered in Miami, they've said some illegal transactions passed through U.S. banks, and some defendants are U.S. citizens.

“When you look at all of that, I think the government will argue that they have a reason for involvement in this,” Mendez said.

“The Department of Justice is trying to send a message to FIFA: ‘If you're not going to police yourself, we're going to police you, if you're doing this kind of business in the United States.’”

Associated Press writer Tony Fraser in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, contributed to this report.

PANAMA CITY — A man accused of mistakenly killing a 17-year-old during what authorities called a “targeted attack” on a different man took the stand Wednesday to try to convince jurors he fired the fatal shot in self-defense.

Javares Cameron, 19, is charged with shooting Curtis Hunt last October. Hunt was shot in the back of the head while sitting on a bench outside a home on Kraft Avenue, according to prosecutors.

But Cameron told jurors during the second day of the trial that he fired the shot during a fight with two other men and inadvertently killed Hunt.

Cameron said he’d gone to the home of Tyquan Anderson, 20, to sell some hats. Anderson and Hunt were outside along with another man he didn’t recognize who was dressed completely in black and who commented that Cameron usually wore “flashy jewelry,” Cameron testified.

At some point a fight began.

“The person wrapped his arms around my waist and slammed me to the ground,” Cameron told jurors. “He was trying to get the upper position … I seen a gun in his waistband and I snatched it away.”

After getting to his feet and calling Anderson and the other man “every name in the book,” Cameron said Anderson pulled a gun on him and leveled it at his head. Cameron said he then fired blindly at Anderson.

“I felt like I was dead right there, like I was going to be shot,” he said.

But prosecutor Bob Sombathy argued that Cameron had designs on shooting Anderson because of “bad blood” over a stolen pistol. Sombathy also told jurors that Hunt didn’t stand up, turn around or remove his ear buds during the fight and armed stand-off.

Sombathy called several witnesses Wednesday, including 15-year-old Isiah Grady,   passenger in the car Cameron drove to Anderson’s house.

Sombathy said all four of Cameron’s passengers had knowledge of the plot to shoot Anderson. Almost all of them carried a firearm, but the juveniles backed out at the last moment.

Grady said he, his 14-year-old brother Capri Brooks and a kid named “Rod,” who has never been apprehended, rode with Cameron that day to “go sell some hats.”

Grady said Cameron had a gun in his lap as they drove toward the “paper mill projects,” but nothing else seemed out of place. After Cameron parked the car on Kraft Avenue he got out with the gun.

He ran back about 15 minutes later, Grady said. He told jurors he remembered Cameron say, “I think I hit him.”

Nothing else was spoken between the passengers until police pulled over the car at Royal Arms Garden Apartments on Balboa Avenue.

“I’m about to run,” Grady recalled Cameron saying before most of the group ran off.

Cameron’s defense team pointed out several inconsistencies in Grady’s statements with police and his story Wednesday.

Grady was handcuffed and had an agreement with the prosecution to testify in exchange for leeway against the charges against him. When police initially questioned Grady, he said Cameron didn’t have a gun and that he saw Cameron leave the car with hats in hand. On the stand, he claimed the opposite.

“What leads us to believe you would not lie under oath to save yourself,” defense attorney Kim Jewell asked.

After a pause Jewell asked, “Any answer to that?”

“No ma’am,” Grady responded.

However, Sombathy told jurors that after police first questioned Grady, they showed him a Facebook picture of himself posing with a silver revolver. The picture was taken the morning of the shooting.

Grady began to tell the truth at that point, Sombathy said.

Cameron is charged with second-degree murder and resisting arrest without violence. He could be sentenced to life in prison if convicted.

Attorneys will make their closing arguments Thursday and the jury is expected to return with a verdict.

FORT LAUDERDALE (AP) — A Florida man faces grand theft charges for allegedly trying to steal assault rifles from a pawn shop by stuffing them down his pants.

Nineteen-year-old Marlon Paul Alvarez of Fort Lauderdale made his first court appearance Wednesday.

The Sun Sentinel reports that Broward County Judge John Hurley, reading from an arrest report, said Alvarez had been seen taking an AK-47 from a display and sticking it down his pants. Hurley said Alvarez removed the weapon, then took another assault rifle off another display, put it down his pants and then limped out the door.

Police say the Davie pawn shop's owner confronted Alvarez.

Alvarez was held on $25,000 bond for grand theft and the violation of a domestic violence injunction. Jail records didn't show whether he had an attorney.

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