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Correctional officer saves woman from fire

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CHIPLEY — A Florida Department of Corrections officer is being hailed a hero after pulling an woman from a burning home.

Rexann Duran, an officer employed with Jackson Correctional Institute in Marianna, was on the way to watch her daughter graduate from Pre-K in Washington County when she noticed a house fire on Cope Road. What Duran did in the next few minutes saved a life.

“Something told me to check the house,” said Duren, who immediately made a U-turn and was able to locate an elderly woman inside the burning home.

Duren pulled the woman to safety and waited for emergency responders to arrive.

“There is no doubt Officer Duren’s action saved this woman’s life,” said Warden Felicia Barnes of Jackson C.I. “This speaks to the caliber of men and women who work within our department, and we are proud to call her one of our own.”

Duren is a 16-year veteran of the Florida Department of Corrections.


Man gets 25 years for sex crime

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PANAMA CITY — A man who impregnated a juvenile, mentally-disabled family member during a forced sexual act has been sentenced to 25 years in prison, according to court documents.

Andres Pena, 48, was sentenced Wednesday after pleading no contest to a charge of sexual battery by a familial or custodial authority. Pena was sentenced under the Jessica Lunsford Act and sentenced to the maximum prison time of 25 years, court documents stated.

Prosecutors intended to use statements the child, a 17-year-old at the time with the mental development of a 15-year-old, told her mother and a Children’s Advocacy Center agent in the trial of Pena. During their taped interview, the girl said in September 2014 that Pena confronted her in their home one day and forced himself upon her, according to court documents filed by the prosecution.

Afterward, Pena told her not to tell anyone. He said the would go to jail if she did, the girl told investigators. However, the victim did tell her mother about the incident in the days that followed.

As an investigation began, the victim’s mother administered two pregnancy tests on the victim. Both came back positive, court records stated.

Pena received the maximum confinement of 25 years in prison Wednesday for the charge of sexual battery by a familial or custodial authority. Pena, of Panama City, also will permanently carry the label of a sex offender.

Convicted sex offender headed to trial in 20-year-old case

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PANAMA CITY — A judge has set a trial date for a twice-released sex offender for a sexual battery case authorities said stems back 20 years, according to court documents.

Horace Monroe Wood, 45, appeared in court Wednesday to set what his attorney called a “firm” court date for a sexual battery charge stemming from an alleged incident with a juvenile in 1995. Months earlier, prosecutors dropped three cases of alleged sexual acts of children under 12 against Wood. He pleaded no contest to the fourth case and was released on probation as a sex offender until authorities again arrested him in January for the alleged 1995 sexual battery.

Wood pushed back his June trial date during Wednesday’s hearing to July 27. Defense attorney Matthew Meredith said some witnesses that could testify on Wood’s behalf had yet to be located. However, they would be going before a jury regardless of whether the witnesses could be reached by the July court date, he said.

Wood previously had been released the day he was supposed to go to trial at the end of October, although he was accused of sexual battery by four underage victims. He pleaded no contest to one count of lewd and lascivious molestation while the other three charges were dropped.

Following Wood’s release, Sheriff Frank McKeithen criticized the handling of the case, stating Wood had “not been held accountable.” Wood later complained that authorities, under McKeithen’s direction, excessively monitored his activities during his release.

According to the prosecution’s notes on the case, the incidents took place as far back as 2006 on girls as young as 3 years old. The time lapse since the incident and the ages of the alleged victims both conspired to result in deficient memories among the girls. Several of their accounts conflicted with one another when pressed on details, which would be used at trial, according to the prosecutor Matt Pavese.

Attorneys reached a deal, and Wood was released with three years probation. Prosecutors also received a lifelong designation on Wood as a sex offender.

Eight days later, probation officers caught Wood without his court-required electronic monitoring device and apprehended him outside a Youngstown motel. Fensom ruled the nearly two hours Wood spent without the monitoring device was not a “substantial violation” of his probation and he was again released on probation.

A few hours later, however, Wood was rearrested and charged with a sexual battery after authorities filed a complaint from an alleged incident in 1995.

Wood appeared in court Wednesday to set a jury trial on July 27 against the sexual battery charge.

Feds indict, arrest 2 Franklin County prison guards

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TALLAHASSEE — Two Franklin County prison guards have been arrested and now face federal charges in the wake of an alleged assault on an inmate, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

William J. Ray, 40, and Corry B. Fletcher, 43, were arrested Wednesday morning and arraigned in federal court later in the day on charges they conspired to violate the civil rights of a Franklin Correctional Institution inmate, officials reported. A July trial date was set during the arraignment.

A federal grand jury returned an indictment, unsealed Wednesday, charging that correctional officers Ray and Perkins conspired to violate the civil rights of a state inmate and deprived the inmate of constitutional rights at the state prison. Fletcher was additionally charged with obstruction of justice.

The indictment alleges that, in July 2014, while acting as state correctional officers at the Franklin Correctional Institution, Ray and Fletcher conspired to intimidate a state prison inmate in the free exercise and enjoyment of the constitutional right not to be subjected to cruel and unusual punishment by correctional officers.

The indictment further charges that Ray and Fletcher physically assaulted an inmate at the Franklin Correctional Institution without justification and caused the inmate bodily injury. The indictment finally charges that, in April of this year, Fletcher obstructed justice by intentionally misleading FBI and Florida Department of Law Enforcement agents through false statements.

Florida Department of Corrections officials reported they assisted in facilitating the arrests.

“The Department has zero tolerance for misconduct of any kind and will continue to employ every available resource to investigate any violations of Department policy and procedure. The DOC will remain engaged in this investigation to assist the DOJ,” Secretary Julie Jones wrote in an email. “They will be held accountable and will face serious consequences.”

Ray, of Carrabelle, and Fletcher, of Bristol, were scheduled for trial July 13 in Tallahassee.

One hospitalized after vessel crash

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PANAMA CITY BEACH — An unidentified person was rushed to the hospital Wednesday evening following a crash at sea, according to U.S. Coast Guard officials.

Details of the crash were scarce as of press time. The condition of the one person in EMS care also was unavailable.

Coast Guard officials reported the crash between a boat and a single-person watercraft happened at about 5:40 p.m. in the waters of Grand Lagoon off the coast of St. Andrews State Park. Coast Guard officers transported the driver of the personal watercraft to an awaiting ground unit of EMS personnel, who then began administering CPR en route to a local hospital. CPR efforts continued up to arrival at the hospital. The patient’s condition upon arrival was unavailable, officials reported.

No further information was available Wednesday night. Details of this incident will be reported as they are made available.

Man wanted on sexual battery charge

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MARIANNA — Authorities in Jackson County are searching for a man wanted in connection with a sexual battery on a minor involving multiple perpetrators, according to Jackson County Sheriff’s officials.

JCSO is asking for the public’s assistance in locating Orinthid Jabbor Hayes Jr., who goes by the street name “O.J.” or “Juice.” Officials said he is from the Marianna area but has no permanent address, according to a news release. His co-defendant, Elliott Lashard Batson, was arrested Monday morning and lodged in the Jackson County Correctional Facility on the same charges.

Anyone with information regarding his whereabouts, officials are asking that you contact the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office at 850-482-9648 or CrimeStoppers at 526-5000.

Groups sue over Florida's 24-hour wait period for abortions

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TALLAHASSEE (AP) — Two groups sued the state of Florida on Thursday seeking to stop a 24-hour waiting period for abortions from taking effect, arguing that it imposes an unnecessary burden on women seeking to end their pregnancies.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida and the Center for Reproductive Rights filed the suit one day after Republican Gov. Rick Scott signed the bill into law. They argue that the law, which is to take effect July 1, violates the right to privacy guaranteed in the state constitution by interfering with their right to undergo the procedure.

“For many women, it will be difficult, if not impossible, to schedule an appointment on two consecutive days due to work and/or school schedules, child-care availability, and the need to secure transportation to and from a provider,” the suit says.

Plaintiffs listed in the case are Bread and Roses Women's Health Center in Gainesville and Medical Students for Choice, a Philadelphia-based group that advocates for abortion training for medical students.

The suit argues that most women seeking abortions have low incomes, adding the loss of salary or travel costs for what will be at least a two-day process are particularly harmful to them.

The law has exceptions for victims of rape, incest, domestic abuse or human trafficking if women present their doctors with a police report, restraining order or similar documentation backing their claim. But the lawsuit said requiring documentation in those cases is meaningless because the majority of victims don't report those crimes. The creation of a two-day process also increases the chances that a woman's abuser will discover the pregnancy and force her to not have the abortion.

Rep. Jennifer Sullivan, who sponsored the bill signed by Scott, noted that 26 other states already have waiting periods for abortions and that six states have identical language as Florida. She said the laws in five of those six states were challenged and upheld.

“I am confident precedent will be respected, and I look forward to seeing this effort to protect life and a women's health become the law of Florida,” Sullivan, R-Eustis, said in the emailed statement.

Scott's office didn't immediately comment on the lawsuit.

“This legislation was created just to put needless financial, professional and personal obstacles between Florida women and their right protected by the Florida constitution to seek an abortion if they so choose,” said Nancy Abudu, legal director of ACLU of Florida.

UF inquiry: Frat misbehavior might not have targeted vets

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PANAMA CITY BEACH — A University of Florida investigation has found evidence that members of UF fraternity Zeta Beta Tau behaved badly in Panama City Beach during Spring Break, but found nothing to indicate their behavior was intentionally aimed at disabled veterans at the same resort.

From interviews with more than 60 students, veterans and their spouses, hotel workers and guests, UF officials gathered a picture of Zeta Beta Tau students getting drunk, playing loud music into the early morning hours and other unruly behavior typical of Spring Break.

By their own admission, one student grabbed an American flag while intoxicated but returned it after a veteran yelled at him. Another popped open a bottle of champagne that might have accidentally spilled over the balcony onto guests below.

--- DOCUMENT: READ THE PCBPD REPORT»»

Veterans said they were blocked from entering elevators and bumped while walking down hallways with their service dogs.

The university has charged the fraternity with three counts of violating the student conduct code: causing harm or potential harm to others, obscenity, and public intoxication.

Officials met with fraternity members and their representatives Tuesday to explain the charges, their options and the procedure that follows.

“It was a very pleasant, collegial, open and sort of explanatory conversation where UF laid out the charges, the procedure, options and evidence and acted in very good faith,” said Lee Teichner, a partner with the Holland & Knight law firm in Miami.

Teichner, a UF alumnus whose son is a ZBT member, represents about 80 parents of UF ZBT members. He said the fraternity is weighing its options.

“Based on my review of the report, I do not see conduct on the part of the UF ZBT students that meets the charges levied against them,” Teichner said.

The fraternity has until Friday to decide if it will accept or dispute responsibility for the charges. If it chooses to dispute the charges, ZBT can request a panel or administrative hearing, UF officials said.

“The result of the conduct process decides what happens to the organization moving forward,” said Janine Sikes, assistant vice president for media relations at UF.

The fraternity has already been placed on probation twice, most recently for a hazing incident last fall involving sleep deprivation. ZBT likely will be suspended if found responsible, Sikes said.

“If they are found not responsible, then from UF’s perspective, they would be eligible to reopen,” she said.

The investigation was launched after allegations appeared on social media that ZBT fraternity members from UF and Emory University chapters insulted and harassed a group of disabled warriors at Lakewood Wharf in Panama City Beach the weekend of April 17.

About 600 students from UF and Emory were holding their spring formals the same weekend that 60 disabled veterans with their families and caregivers were attending the biannual Warrior Beach Retreat.

About 4,000 people were at the resort that weekend.

Facebook posts by the wives of two veterans alleging mistreatment by fraternity members went viral and sparked a national media storm. UF President Kent Fuchs also received emails urging an investigation into what was termed the “disrespectful and disgusting” behavior of the students.

UF immediately suspended the chapter pending the outcome of its own investigation.

Fuchs sent a letter to Linda Cope, head of the Warriors Beach Retreat to apologize for the alleged behavior, and Vice President David Kratzer, a retired general, said he was disgusted by the reports of how students allegedly treated the vets.

The National Headquarters of ZBT suspended both chapters and expelled three students from the UF chapter.

Within a week, UF and the national headquarters of ZBT agreed to close the UF chapter and evict the students from its house on Fraternity Row during final exams following dozens of death threats and anti-Semitic comments directed at the fraternity.

UF officials said they made the decision after university police in consultation with the FBI determined a safety risk to fraternity members, the Greek community and the university community as a whole.

UF and ZBT conducted independent investigations while the Panama City Beach Police Department conducted a criminal complaint into allegations of petit theft, simple battery, criminal mischief and launching a deadly missile.

Panama City Beach police last week decided not to file charges after finding no evidence of criminal wrongdoing, although it concluded that students had committed “vulgar acts of moral disrepute.”

PCBPD Capt. Robert Clarkson wrote that police did establish vulgar and inappropriate conduct by the fraternity members toward the veterans, but couldn’t identify members involved because of lack of cooperation.

In the police report, Cope said veterans told her that fraternity members had yelled at them, spat on them, tore flags off their cars and threw beer bottles at them.

Many of the veterans she named as witnesses either did not see the alleged acts or didn’t want to press charges, police said.

One veteran told police he saw “college-aged white males” throw a champagne bottle at veterans from a 19th floor balcony, but backed off after he agreed he couldn’t positively identify them from that distance.

The 147-page UF report was released to fraternity members Monday. The report includes summaries of interviews conducted by student affairs staff with more than 40 students, a dozen veterans and their spouses, a summary of the ZBT chapter’s internal investigation, the PCBP investigative report, and a deposition from the resort’s property manager.

Hotel workers received complaints of students pulling flags off veterans’ cars, throwing marshmallows, pushing a veteran out of an elevator, and using racial slurs.

Students admitted during interviews with UF officials that they were drinking alcohol on the beach and in hotel rooms, and that they had gotten a number of noise complaints Friday night.

Several said they were not aware a veterans’ group was even at the hotel until they got an email from the spring formal organizers. Others said that any mistreatment of veterans, like throwing beer bottles off balconies, must have been by their Emory brothers.

One student admitted to vomiting on his balcony. Another student said he saw a student start to urinate off a balcony for a second, but then stopped.

Another admitted he grabbed a flag while intoxicated but put it back after several older guests yelled at him. Veterans said he was trying to ride the flag like a pony.

One student said he went to the balcony to open a champagne bottle to make Mimosas. “The cork popped and some champagne may have fallen over,” he told investigators.

Students also admitted to playing a drinking game in which they would chug beer, put their forehead on a baseball bat, spin around and then try to hit the empty beer can with the bat.

One veteran said several students blocked him from getting into an elevator and bullied him and his wife. Another veteran and spouse claim they were shoulder-bumped in the hall.

They also reported trash — fast food wrappers, bottle caps and a used tampon — thrown from balconies. One witnessed a young woman vomiting on a walkway and another person vomiting on a balcony above her. The spouse of one veteran said she felt something wet hit her from above and thought it might have been beer or urine.

One veteran saw beer bottles being dropped or passed between balconies, but none fell to the ground.

One veteran who claimed on television that a student spit on him and his service dog declined to talk to UF officials.

But many of the veterans couldn’t identify whether the students were from UF or even associated with a fraternity.

“There was never any evidence that it was us,” said Brett Musser, a chapter alumnus who finished his master’s degree in finance this year and attended the spring formal. “There were thousands of other people at Laketown Wharf.”

Musser also said what the UF students admitted to was “nothing egregious or out of the ordinary in a spring formal trip.”

Musser and Teichner said they felt the national headquarters threw their brothers under the bus because of the intense national media pressure.

“Everyone was just dumbfounded,” Musser said. “They went on a trip to PC Beach with their dates, came back and a week later the whole chapter is shut down.”

Teichner said he hopes that Cope and others who accused the UF fraternity of mistreating vets will apologize.

--- DOCUMENT: READ THE PCBPD REPORT»»

“The investigation by both the PCB police and UF now confirms that there was no evidence of any intended disrespect or harmful or offensive conduct toward any veteran there that weekend,” Teichner said. “I’m hoping that … those who made such accusations will stand up with same fervor and apologize.”

The University of Florida has charged the Zeta Beta Tau fraternity with the following:

  • Violation of Student Conduct Code/4(a) Causing Physical or Other Harm to any Person/4a1 — Conduct causing physical injury or endangering another’s health or safety, which includes, but is not limited to, acts of physical violence, assault, and relationship or domestic violence
  • Violation of Student Conduct Code/4(d) Obscene Behavior — Conduct or behavior that the student knows or should know is reasonably likely to be considered obscene under the standards of the local community. Such behavior includes but is not limited to public exposure of one’s own sexual organs and voyeurism, including but not limited to video voyeurism
  • Violation of Student Conduct Code/4(i) Alcohol Beverages Violations/4i2 Public Intoxication — Appearing at a university activity or on the university campus in a state of intoxication.

Zeta Beta Tau has until Friday to accept responsibility or dispute the charges.


1 woman arrested, another sought after Target robbery

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PANAMA CITY — One woman has been arrested while police search for another woman accused of robbing a local store and abandoning her 16-year-old daughter in the parking lot, according to Panama City Police Department reports.

Jimmie Selisa Davis, 37, was arrested Wednesday after officers responded to the Target at 2340 State 77, at about 1:50 p.m. to a report of a woman fleeing from the parking lot in a car after stealing a bag from inside the store. Davis was arrested shortly after on charges of principal to robbery and contributing to the delinquency of a minor for allegedly driving the getaway car after police found in the parking lot the daughter of a woman identified as Crystal Flowers, according to PCPD reports.

Flowers, who police said was inside the store, had not yet been arrested Thursday, court records indicated.

One Target security guard momentarily hindered the woman’s escape by confronting her, authorities reported.

“The subject attempted to run, pushed into me and said, ‘I have AIDS,’ and bit me,” said Matthew Imel, assets protection officer.

The woman then fled in a Nissan Altima, of which Imel caught sight of the license plate number.

Target employees noticed the woman and her 16-year-old daughter when they entered the store. They walked around awhile before the woman selected a bag and put it on her shoulder. Security watched as they then passed all points of sale without an indication of intending to pay, police reported.

After confronting security, the woman ran outside and jumped into a car that rushed from the scene, leaving behind the 16-year-old in the parking lot, PCPD reported.

Davis, Flowers and the child were trespassed from the property after police interviewed the minor. Davis was arrested a few hours later while Flowers could face charges of simple assault, strong-arm robbery and contributing to the delinquency of a minor, according to police reports.

The child was turned over to the Department of Children and Families.

Man charged with lewd and lascivious behavior

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CHIPLEY — A man has been charged with lewd and lascivious behavior against an 8-year-old boy, according to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office.

Matthew Allen Finch, 25, of Chipley, was arrested Thursday.

WCSO received information in reference to an incident that allegedly occurred between Finch and the victim during a recent trip to a park.

Finch, well known to the family, had driven two children to the park to play. While in the vehicle, he allegedly exposed himself to one of the children and requested that child expose himself to him in exchange for gifts, officials said.

Anyone with additional information is asked to cal the Sheriff’s Office at 638-TIPS (8477) or by email at tips@wcso.us.

Two charged with stealing items from Wal-Mart

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CALLAWAY — Two people were arrested Wednesday afternoon after they allegedly stole numerous items they put in two shopping carts at Wal-Mart, according to the Bay County Sheriff’s Office.

Robert Riley Osburn Jr., 23, and Tracy Matthew McClain, 34, have been charged with grand theft of less than $3,000.

BCSO said they almost escaped with about $1,500 in merchandise, according to reports.

Osburn allegedly filled his cart with two TVs, motor oil, a socket set, protein shakes and several bottles of cologne before he tried to leave the store without paying.

McClain allegedly loaded one TV, a gas blower, an air compressor, two pairs of shoes, deodorant, mouthwash and several tools into her cart before she left, deputies reported.

Man charged in series of home burglaries

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CHIPLEY — A Cottondale man has been arrested following a series of home burglaries and recovery of more than $4,000 in stolen property, according to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office.

Chad Michael Morris, 40, was arrested Thursday on three counts of grand theft, WCSO reported.

Morris is accused of stealing property such as a zero turn mower, ATVs, aluminum boat, lawn care equipment, an air compressor, log splitter, gun, various tools, and a 1994 Ford F-350, according to reports.

Man charged with sex offenses against minor

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CHIPLEY — A man has been charged with sex offenses against an underaged girl, according to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office.

Carl Woodrow Rogers II, 27, was arrested Thursday on two counts of sex offenses on a victim between 12 and 15 years old.

Sheriff’s deputies were alerted to the incident by a family member of the victim who reported sexually explicit messages and pornographic photos of Rogers being sent to the girl by text and Facebook.

Rogers allegedly met the girl on two occasions to engage in sexual intercourse, WCSO reported.

Rogers was being held in the Washington County Jail on $60,000 bond.

Man arrested for bingo burglary in Alabama

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FOUNTAIN — A man wanted in connection with a bingo parlor burglary in Alabama has been arrested, according to the Bay County Sheriff’s Office.

Kevin Shane Ranew, 41, was arrested on a warrant from Houston County, Ala., for burglary of the Center Stage Bingo and Entertainment Complex. 

Information obtained from the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office indicated that Ranew reportedly was wearing a wig to disguise himself, and had been seen in the Greenwood area in Jackson County. 

Ranew also is a suspect in burglaries in Jackson County.

He was spotted in Bay County on Wednesday and deputies learned he was staying in a travel trailer at Pine Lake RV Park at 21036 U.S. 231 in Fountain.

Ranew was arrested Thursday without incident.

FSU deputy police chief rides to promote mental health

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PANAMA CITY — For the past two days, Jim Russell has been riding from Tallahassee to Panama City and back on a bike.

The Florida State University deputy police chief was completing the bike ride to and from the FSU campuses in support of mental health awareness, a topic close to home for him; he was diagnosed with major depressive disorder in 2010.

On Thursday, Russell left Tallahassee at 8 a.m. to travel to Panama City, and returned to Tallahassee on Friday morning. A lot of his work with the ride was countering stigmas against mental illness, he said. Ultimately he was trying to prevent suicides.

--- VIDEO: MORE ON THE RIDE»»

“I felt compelled to make people realize it is treatable,” Russell said. “They can thrive in work and life. The bike ride is a physical demonstration and symbol of that.”

Despite assumptions that depression is just feeling sad, the disorder makes you feel worthless and brings very negative thoughts, Russell said. There also may be physical symptoms such as muscle pains and lethargy.

“It makes you feel like you don’t matter,” Russell said of major depression. “But people do matter and have a place in the world.”

FSU supported Russell during his ride, though he financed the trip. When Russell told coworkers he had depression, he said, they offered their support.

As for the trip into Panama City, Russell said he took additional breaks because he was dehydrated. When he arrived at the Hathaway Inn across from Gulf Coast State College, Russell ate a pizza and chugged water as he lay in bed.

Thursday “was an effort in recovery,” Russell said.

Russell said the roundtrip was a matter of keeping a steady pace and saving energy. He has been involved in distance cycling for around 11 years and rides as often as he can. Weight loss was his original motivation for cycling, Russell said, and over time he found it made him physically and mentally fit.

The ride across the Panhandle was the first type of long-distance activist trip Russell said he’d taken. He is unsure if it will be an annual event. However, Russell said maybe the trip and idea behind it can be expanded.

“Luckily there’s a lot of convenience stores along the way,” Russell said.


Final suspect sentenced in fatal robbery attempt

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PANAMA CITY — The final suspect in a botched robbery over about 2 ounces of cannabis that turned deadly last year has been sentenced to 11 years in prison, according to court records.

Joseph Cannizzo, 27, appeared in court Friday in a back brace after an out-of-state car accident delayed the progress of his case. His plea of no contest to principal to armed robbery and tampering with physical evidence brings a close to a case prosecutors called a “senseless and stupid” loss of lives.

Cannizzo’s was the last pending case of six people charged in connection with the shooting death of 20-year-old Ryan Brooks. Brooks and Cannizzo had hatched out a plan in July to rob two men of about $200 for the marijuana at gunpoint. Unbeknownst to them, their targets, Randy Jackson and Joshua Heath Smith, also arrived at the drug deal armed. Cannizzo was sentenced to 11 years in prison Friday for his role in the mutual robbery plots.

Jackson, the man convicted of pulling the trigger several times on Brooks, was sentenced to 45 years in prison. Brooks’ family argued for a life sentence at the hearing and expressed discontent with the outcome.

Prosecutor Bob Sombathy said Friday the entire incident was a senseless loss of life for both sides.

“You always feel sympathy for the mother in a case like this even if their child was involved in the crime,” Sombathy said. “No one deserves to die over $200 worth of weed, but the truth is if he would’ve survived this he would be going to prison, too.”

Six people were arrested in the fallout of the July 10 shooting at the Club Apartments, 325 Richard Jackson Blvd., as the three survivors tried to cover their tracks.

Cannizzo initially portrayed himself as a witness when police arrived at about 1 a.m. to find Brooks face down on the asphalt with multiple gunshot wounds. Cannizzo said he pulled into the apartments shortly after the gunfire and saw a white Kia Forte speed away and a person running into the woods north of the lot before flagging down a taxi to call 911, he told police.

The white Kia reappeared at the North Lagoon Mart at about 4 a.m., and a female driver called authorities to meet her there. The woman, a roommate of Smith’s 23-year-old girlfriend Alyssa Watford, said Smith and Jackson had borrowed her car and returned it pockmarked with bullet holes, police reported. Smith had blood on him, she told police, and she could overhear him telling Watford that someone had been killed.

When police interviewed Smith at about 5:45 a.m., he said he and Jackson drove the Kia to the Waffle House near the Shoppes at Edgewater, where they planned to rob Brooks of the 2 ounces of marijuana.

Smith said he, Brooks and Cannizzo consolidated into Cannizzo’s green SUV to orchestrate a purchase of the marijuana. During the exchange, Cannizzo pulled a gun on Smith and ordered him to take off his pants. Brooks took his gun and walked over to the car Smith arrived in to search it.

Neither Brooks nor Cannizzo knew Jackson was in the car until gunfire roared from within.

Cannizzo fired upon the car but Jackson sped off, according to investigative reports. Smith escaped through the woods without firing a shot. Brooks died a short time later from the multiple gunshot wounds.

Because of the delay in his case due to the car wreck, Smith has yet to be sentenced to a 10-year prison sentence as part of his plea agreement. Cannizzo was ordered to not be placed in prison with Jackson and Smith. He will have to serve at least 10 years of the 11-year sentence.

BCSO arrest log June 4-10

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Information is provided by the Bay County Sheriff’s Office on people arrested on charges June 4-10. 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.

--- MUGSHOTS»»

Casey Eli Sanders, 42, 104 N. James Ave., Panama City, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without the intent

Jordan Tackett Listi, 25, 309 S. Palo Alto, Panama City, felony battery or domestic battery by strangulation

David Herman Gipson, 25, 607 Allen Ave., Panama City, possession of cocaine

Anthony Scott Pilipick, 30, grand theft

April Dawn Porter, 37, 24 Harrison Ave., Panama City, possession of controlled substance without a prescription

Michael Wayne Jr Stein, 34, 111 Nautilus St., Panama City Beach, felony or domestic battery by strangulation, aggravated battery

Amanda Jean Jones, 33, 5711 E. US 98, Parker, possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, manufacture, sell or deliver, possession of controlled substance without prescription

Robb Kayser Gould, 48, 411 Bayshore Drive, Panama City, possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, manufacture, sell or deliver

--- MUGSHOTS»»

Jacary Chazton Ghant, 23, 912 Huntington Drive, Springfield, possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, manufacture, sell or deliver, possession of opium or derivative with intent to distribute, manufacture, sell or deliver, possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, manufacture, sell or deliver, possession of synthetic narcotics with intent to distribute, manufacture, sell or deliver

Jason Cole Puckett, 38, 5711 E. US 98, Parker, possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, manufacture, sell or deliver possession of controlled substance without prescription

Michael Travis Odom, 37, 8030 Riley Road, Panama City, possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, manufacture, sell or deliver

Christopher Lynn Glass, 42, 7910 Gadsen Ave., Southport, possession of controlled substance

Alex Romy Alkhateb, 22, possession of controlled substance without prescription

Ivy Elizabeth Hauck, 18, 1604 Illinois Ave., Lynn Haven, possession of controlled substance without prescription

Robert Allen Neaderhiser, 50, 1117 Everitt Ave., Panama City. Possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, manufacture, sell or deliver

Michael Wayne Pilgrim, 49, 000 Airport Road, Panama City, aggravated stalking

--- MUGSHOTS»»

Bridgett Alexis (Beam) Manring, 28, 9902 S. Thomas Drive, Panama City Beach, burglary

Bobbi Clawson Zimmerman, 46, 1075 Hancock Creek Blvd., Cape Coral, possession of controlled substance without prescription

Ryan Caress Reshard, 27, 3900 W. 17th St., Panama City, possession of heroin with intent to distribute, manufacture, sell or deliver, possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, manufacture, sell or deliver

Mario James Bertucci, 27, 3348 Cardinal Place, Chipley, possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, manufacture, sell or deliver

Franklin Eugene Green, 52, 12110 Pinecrest Road, Fountain, possession of controlled substance without prescription

Eric Bernard II Henley, 19, 2721 E. 11th Court, Panama City, possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, manufacture, sell or deliver

--- MUGSHOTS»»

Matthew Lee Cotton, 31, 3717 Mystic St., Panama City Beach, aggravated battery causing bodily harm or disability

David Michael Launderville, 51, 10741 E. Highway 388, Youngstown, possession of controlled substance without prescription

Elizabeth Voncille Bellande, 24, 4437 Garrison Road, Panama City, possession of controlled substance without prescription

Police: Woman killed by onetime love interest following reunion

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SEMINOLE (AP) — A woman who flew from Colorado to Florida to reconnect with an old flame turned up dead days later, and her onetime boyfriend killed himself as investigators zeroed in on him as the prime suspect, authorities said.

Charlie Enice Brooks, 36, was found dead in a canal Monday, her skull bashed in with a rock, said Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri. A day earlier, surveillance video at Tampa International Airport showed her hugging and then holding hands with Joseph Pope at an airport terminal.

Her body was found near a dock two doors down from where Pope lived with his parents and siblings.

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Police had identified Pope, 36, as the killer — but he shot and killed himself before they could make an arrest. Gualtieri said the case is now closed.

Pope told investigators he didn't know Brooks. A neighbor had seen a woman fitting her description at his house, but Pope said it was probably one of his sisters.

Investigators found a plastic bag containing gloves, bloody clothing and a large, bloody rock. In a second plastic bag, officers found more bloody clothes and pieces of Brooks’ skull.

How Brooks and Pope reconnected, and why he would have killed her, remain unclear. The nature of their relationship years ago as teenagers was also unclear. No one answered the door at Pope's mint green home on the Intracoastal Waterway in an upscale neighborhood on Thursday morning.

“There's a lot of things here we'll never know the answers to,” Gualtieri said at a news conference Wednesday.

Man killed in Jackson County crash

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MARIANNA — A crash killed a Jackson County man Saturday morning.

Hector Hernandez, 31, of Altha, struck a tree on the side of the road while traveling State 71 at about 1 a.m. south of Rocky Creek Road, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. Before Hernandez struck the tree, the FHP reported, the front of his vehicle struck a grass culvert on the shoulder of the road and began to overturn.

Police: Man beat another man, took his cash, socks

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A Louisiana man has been arrested for allegedly beating a man down and taking cash and the socks from his feet, according to Panama City Beach Police arrest reports.

Ira Oniel Jones, 20, was charged Thursday with strong-armed robbery and battery.

Police reported that Jones attacked a man in Panama City Beach at about 1:30 a.m., beating him until he went to the ground. Jones then allegedly took $20 from the man and the pair of blue Nike socks he was wearing, according to PCBPD reports.

Jones, of Florence, Louisiana, was taken to the Bay County Jail to await first appearance after being arrested in connection with the incident.

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