PANAMA CITY — An attempt to repeal Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law was defeated by an 11-2 vote in committee earlier this month but the law remains controversial both in the streets and in the state’s courtrooms.

“The Florida Prosecuting Attorney’s Association told the Legislature in 2005 there were going to be problems with this and we were right,” said State Attorney Glenn Hess.

Hess pointed to a case in Tallahassee where Stand Your Ground was used to free rival gang members who got into a shootout with one another. The law was later made infamous during an incident in Sanford when George Zimmerman shot and killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in February of 2012 during an altercation.

The jury ultimately ruled that Zimmerman acted in self-defense and while Stand Your Ground was not used at trial it did affect the way the case was initially investigated by police.

The law also was cited in the Walt Butler murder case. Butler, a Port St. Joe man, shot Everett Gant when Gant knocked on his door, police said. Gant died from his wound six weeks later.

Gant was at Butler’s door because Butler allegedly had been using racial slurs at his apartment complex in front of children. Butler’s attorneys initially filed a Stand Your Ground motion but ultimately rescinded it. Self defense could come up again in front of a jury at trial.

“It’s a very slippery slope,” Hess said of the law.

Marion Hammer, a lobbyist for the National Rifle Association disagrees. She said opposition to the law during recent hearings came from people who had no grasp on what the law actually says.

“The law protects law abiding citizens who are under attack from criminals,” Hammer said. “It allows them to stand their ground and fight back if they choose.”

That defense doesn’t work for everyone.

Marissa Alexander of Jacksonville was convicted of aggravated assault in March of 2012 and sentenced to 20 years in prison for using a gun during an altercation with her husband. Alexander claimed her husband attacked her and was rushing toward her when she fired several “warning shots” in order to get him to stop.

No one was hurt in the incident.

Alexander has since been granted a new trial because an appeals court ruled the trial judge gave incorrect instructions to the jury on self-defense.

Prior to Stand your Ground, victims of violence had a duty to retreat that “often made them more vulnerable to criminals,” Hammer said. She added that Stand Your Ground puts the law “back on the side of victims where it belongs.”

However, Hammer declined to talk about hypothetical situations or ongoing cases in which Stand your Ground has been cited and used. Instead, she pointed to the justice system as a way to suss out whether or not someone is an innocent victim or a criminal under Stand your Ground.

“Criminals always say ‘we didn’t do it,’ ” Hammer said. “The prisons around this state are full of people who said ‘I didn’t do it and I’m not guilty.’ ”
 

DAYTONA BEACH — The remains of a teenager have been exhumed in the hopes that DNA tests will determine the youngster’s identity, the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office said Monday.

The boy, likely in his early teens, was stabbed to death in 1972, his body found on May 3 of that year in a pond near Indian Lake Road, sheriff’s spokesman Brandon Haught said.

Sheriff’s investigators working the cold case requested permission from a judge to have the remains exhumed, Haught said, and the painstaking process was launched Wednesday at the Cedar Hill Cemetery where the boy was buried under a headstone that reads simply, “John Doe 1972.”

When the teen’s body was discovered 41 years ago, his fingers were removed by detectives and sent to the FBI for fingerprint analysis, Haught said. That was the procedure back then, since DNA testing was not even on the horizon.

The youngster’s grave was located by Victor Lohman and Scott Seegert of Lohman Funeral Homes, Haught said. Sheriff’s investigators contacted the C.A. Pound Human Identification Laboratory at the University of Florida and the lab’s director, Dr. Michael Warren and a handful of graduate students, performed the exhumation along with staff from the county’s medical examiner’s office.

An official from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in Atlanta was also on hand at the grave site, Haught said.

When the exhumation began early last Wednesday with Warren and his students doing most of the digging, the first objects that were found were a series of glass jars, Haught said. Most were broken, but there was one jar that still held one of the teen’s preserved fingers that had been returned to the grave by the FBI. When the exhumation team finally reached the remains, they were inside a rubber body bag, Haught said. When the bag was opened, Warren discovered that the child was probably younger than had been originally thought, Haught said.

The wounds inflicted on the youth were also still apparent, Haught said. At that point, the remains were placed in a new body bag and sent to the C.A. Pounds laboratory, Haught said. DNA will be extracted from the skeleton and the results will be sent to the University of North Texas. The university participates in the President’s DNA Initiative. The Initiative, launched in 2004, aims to eliminate the testing backlog of DNA samples, improve DNA laboratories’ testing capacities, provide research and development of DNA technologies, provide training and assistance for criminal justice professionals, provide access to post conviction DNA testing and provide the use of DNA for missing persons cases and identifying human remains.

The University of North Texas Center for Human Identification — with support from the National Institute of Justice — has become a recognized national center providing scientific and technical support to law enforcement agencies, medical examiners and crime labs throughout the country.

Aside from the DNA testing, the C.A. Pound laboratory will do a CT scan of the boy’s skull and send that to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s National Forensic Unit, Haught said. There, a facial reconstruction will be done that could also help in identifying the youngster.

The effort will take several months, Haught said, but investigators hope the child’s identity could finally be revealed.
 

Jury selection began Monday in the second-degree murder trial of Walt Butler, with State Attorney Robert Sombathy and Deputy Public Defender Mark Sims interviewing 83 Gulf County residents. By the end of the day, 23 potential jurors had been released.

Circuit Court Judge John Fishel aims to have a jury of six with two alternates seated by noon Tuesday. Once the jury is empaneled, the trial will begin.

Butler is charged with shooting and killing Everett Gant in July of last year in Port St. Joe. Prosecutors say Gant approached Butler’s Pine Ridge apartment after Butler had been accused of using racial slurs directed at children in the apartment complex. Butler allegedly shot Gant between the eyes with a .22 rifle and left him bleeding on the doorstep before calling 911 and sitting back down to finish his dinner.

He expressed inconvenience at being arrested for shooting a “(racial epithet),” according to the arresting affidavit. Gant died of his injuries six weeks later.

PANAMA CITY

A Panama City Beach man who served prison time in the 1980s for murder is headed back to prison for his role in a boat crash that sent three people to the hospital, according to the State Attorney’s Office.

Brian Bruhmuller, 46, was sentenced Monday to a little more than 19 months in prison after he was convicted of felony criminal mischief and six counts of misdemeanor battery at trial two weeks ago. Judge Elijah Smiley could have sentenced Bruhmuller to up to 11 years in prison, but he said a minimum sentence was appropriate based on what he heard during the trial.

Jurors convicted Bruhmuller of intentionally piloting a 37-foot vessel into the side of a 21-foot boat that rear-ended Bruhmuller’s boat moments before. Christopher Hasty, the pilot of the smaller boat, was returning from Shell Island after dark June 23, 2012, and he had been startled to find the larger boat in his path because the larger boat didn’t have lights on.

Hasty tried to avoid the crash, but it was too late. Bruhmuller then swung his boat around and t-boned the smaller craft, which had six people on board.

Bruhmuller also will be sentenced to pay restitution for damages; the amount will be determined in a hearing at a later date. Smiley declined to sentence Bruhmuller to probation after his release and require restitution payments as a condition of probation.

Bruhmuller served 3½ years of a 17-year sentence after he was convicted in 1986 of second-degree murder and attempted arson.

DAYTONA BEACH — Police released a description and photos from surveillance of a woman officials say hid a small gun in her bra then displayed the weapon in a robbery of a bank.

The woman entered the TD Bank, 1590 S. Nova Road, at 2:39 p.m. Monday and approached the teller with a note written on a withdrawal slip that stated “Give me all your money,” according to a statement released Tuesday by Jimmie Flynt, police spokesman.

The suspect displayed a small firearm that was inside her bra, police said. She was given an unknown amount of cash by tellers.
After exiting the bank, the suspect entered a waiting black sport utility vehicle (possibly a Cadillac or Lincoln) that was parked in front of Subway on Beville Road, Flynt said.

The suspect is described and shown in photos as black, about 5-foot-7 and 140-160 pounds. It is believed that she was wearing a wig at the time of the robbery.

The suspect was last seen wearing a long black and cream colored dress.
People with information on the robbery or who can identify the suspect should call detective Nate Williams, 386-671-5209.
 

BONIFAY - The Florida Highway Patrol is searching for a suspect in a hit and run crash that happened Monday night.

Troopers found 26-year-old Joshua Keith Wyatt, of Bonifay, dead near his bicycle on County 177 on Holmes County.

Troopers did not release a description of the vehicle that struck and killed Wyatt.  Those with information about the incident are asked to call FHP at (850) 872-4150.

Two parents who have separated were arguing over child custody issues and things got heated.

The man backed the woman into the kitchen as they argued. That’s where things got violent, and heated things were thrown.
The man was gone by the time police arrived, and the woman was unharmed. In the kitchen, she told police, her ex had been so upset he threw a grilled cheese sandwich and hit her in the leg.

She said she wasn’t hurt, and she didn’t think he had intended to hit her with a grilled cheese sandwich.

Officers provided her with a domestic violence pamphlet. It’s not clear if the pamphlet addresses sandwich attacks, intentional or otherwise.
 

PORT ST. JOE — Prosecutors will begin laying out their case Wednesday against a man accused of murder.

After 14 hours of interviews, a jury of six and two alternates were Tuesday afternoon, and opening statements followed before Circuit Court Judge John Fishel adjourned court for the day. The trial is expected to last up to two days.

Ten members of the murder victim’s family were in the courtroom Tuesday as State Attorney Robert Sombathy focused on Butler’s alleged racist remarks toward fellow members of the Pine Ridge apartment complex in Port St. Joe. Prosecutors say the incident escalated over the course of the day and ended with Butler allegedly shooting Everett Gant between the eyes with a .22 rifle.

He is charged with second-degree murder evidencing prejudice based on race.

During his statements, Sombathy focused on Butler’s apparent intoxication the night of July 30, 2012, and made it clear to the jury that Butler and the victim had no prior issues.

“They were not enemies at all,” Sombathy said. “They got along fine.”

Sombathy said Gant showed up at Butler’s apartment unannounced and the jurors were asked to consider if Butler handled the situation like a “reasonable, prudent and cautious person.”

Butler had used racial slurs against a child in the community, which spurred Gant to approach the defendant’s home, prosecutors said.

“This shooting meant no more to Butler than shooting a dog,” Sombathy said.

Deputy Public Defender Mark Sims focused his arguments on a man he described as feeling threatened and simply defended himself in his home.

According to the arresting affidavit by former Sheriff Joe Nugent, after shooting Gant, Butler closed the door, pulled his dinner out of the oven and sat down to eat.

“Gant snatched the door open aggressively,” Sims said. “Walt had to make a split-second decision. He shot him where he knew it would stop him.”

Sims said that after the shooting, Butler knew it would be a long night of questioning and wanted to have some food in his stomach.

The trial will resume Wednesday at 9 a.m. EST at the Gulf County Courthouse.

PANAMA CITY BEACH -- A Panama City man was smoking a joint Tuesday morning and carrying more than 5 pounds of pot and a pound of “magic mushrooms” when he was arrested, according to Panama City Beach Police.

Police charged Adam Hilty, 23, with possession of cannabis with the intent to distribute, possession of psilocybin — the active ingredient in the mushrooms that causes the user to hallucinate — and possession of hydrocodone.

Around 9:30 a.m. Tuesday police got a tip describing a man suspected of holding a large amount of drugs. Police spotted the suspect almost immediately driving on South Wells Street and stopped the car.

Hilty was holding a lit joint, and a drug-sniffing dog alerted on the car, where police found 160 grams of cannabis, 35 grams of psilocybin and three hydrocondone pills, police said. Police took Hilty to jail, but they continue to investigate.

PANAMA CITY — Police took a suspect into custody around sunset Tuesday after witnesses identified him as the man who had just robbed the Panama City branch of Summit Bank and took off on foot down 23^rd Street.

Benjamin McDaniel, 49, was arrested at gunpoint outside of a closed restaurant a few blocks away after he allegedly fled the bank. Police apprehended the McDaniel minutes after he’d passed a robbery note to a teller and left the bank on foot, Maj. Mark Aviles said at the scene.

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He had “a large sum” of cash when he was captured, Aviles said. There’s no indication he used a weapon during the robbery.

“It was obvious to the employee that this wasn’t a joke,” Aviles said.

Detectives with the Panama City Police Department charged McDaniel with robbery, grand theft, failure to register as a sex offender and failure to register as a felon.

“As of right now, we know he entered the bank and presented a note,” Sgt. Mike Brewer said at the scene. “Money was collected and he left on foot.”

Brewer estimated the suspect was at large for about two minutes. Police had a description of the suspect from bank employees, and one of the employees followed the suspect from a safe distance and relayed information about his direction of travel to officers, Aviles said.

All of the money taken from the bank was recovered, and no one was hurt in the robbery. McDaniel was arrested without incident. Police are continuing to investigate.

According to the Florida Department of Corrections website, McDaniel has served prison time for at least two separate sex crimes against victims who were under 16. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement indicates he is considered a sexual predator, which is a more severe designation than sexual offender.

An earlier version of this story is posted below:

PANAMA CITY — Police took a man into custody around sunset Tuesday after witnesses identified him as the person who had just robbed the Panama City branch of Summit Bank and took off on foot down 23rd Street.

The man, whose identity was not immediately released by officers on the scene Tuesday evening, was arrested at gunpoint outside of a closed restaurant after he fled the bank a few blocks away. Police apprehended the suspect minutes after he passed a robbery note to a teller and left the bank on foot, Maj. Mark Aviles said at the scene.

The suspect had “a large sum” of cash when he was captured, Aviles said. There’s no indication he used a weapon during the robbery.

“It was obvious to the employee that this wasn’t a joke,” Aviles said.

Detectives with the Panama City Police Department were interviewing the suspect, who Sgt. Mike Brewer described as a white male wearing a dark hoodie and dark pants.

“As of right now, we know he entered the bank and presented a note,” Sgt. Mike Brewer said at the scene. “Money was collected and he left on foot.”

Brewer estimated the suspect was at large for about two minutes. Police had a description of the suspect from bank employees, and one of the employees followed the suspect from a safe distance and relayed information about his direction of travel to officers, Aviles said.

Aviles said detectives would make a charging decision after they finished interviewing the suspect. More information will be released at that time, but it might be a few hours, Aviles said. Police said it was "undeteremined" Tuesday evening whether the suspect had accomplices.

PORT ST. JOE — Prosecutors called a string of witnesses to the stand Wednesday in the Walt Butler murder trial.

Police officers who responded to the July 30, 2012, shooting at Pine Ridge Apartments recounted the evening’s events. The officers said that when they arrived on scene, Butler and his friend Robert Lynn, who was also in the apartment when Everett Gant was shot, came outside and were ordered to the ground.

Lynn complied while Butler retreated indoors, closing the door behind him, according to the testimony. All officers agreed Butler’s noncompliance raised tension at the scene of the crime.

“Anytime firearms are involved, you’re worried that someone else might get shot,” former Gulf County Sheriff Joe Nugent from the stand.

Nugent, who ultimately made contact with Butler, and deputies Richard Burkett and Vincent Everett reported smelling alcohol on Butler and said that throughout the process, Butler maintained a blank demeanor.

“He was calm and unconcerned with what was going on at the time,” Burkett testified.

Defense attorney Mark Sims asked each officer if it was unrealistic for Butler to sit down and eat following a shooting, knowing there was potentially a long night of questioning ahead.

“Never in all my years have I seen a shooting suspect stop to eat,” Nugent said. “I wouldn’t think that’d be a thing on your mind at the time.”

Burkett testified he found the “weak and bloody” Gant seated on Butler’s back patio and that Butler sat just on the other side of the glass door, watching television with his back to the victim.

In his testimony Wednesday, Lynn, who was living with Butler at the time, contradicted his prior depositions that Gant made threatening remarks toward the men once the sliding glass door was opened. Lynn testified he’d consumed alcohol prior to the depositions and had consumed two beers prior to his testimony at the trial.

On the day of the shooting, Lynn said he and Butler consumed between 10 and 14 beers each.

Assistant State Attorney Robert Sombathy played the 911 recordings from Butler and Kenneth Dunham, Butler’s neighbor who was with Gant when he approached Butler’s apartment.

After Butler told the dispatcher he had shot a man who tried to get into his home, he explained he was a white man and the man he shot was black. The phone receiver was then set down and Butler could be overheard in the background asking Lynn to bring him another beer.

An unanswered question lingering over the courtroom was who opened the sliding glass door. Dunham, who said he followed Gant to the apartment trying to defuse the situation, said Lynn opened the door and Butler immediately fired his .22 rifle.

Lynn testified Gant aggressively opened it himself, but witnesses who lived in the apartment complex maintained the door was kept locked at all times.

“The door is always locked,” Dunham said. “Everyone knows that.”

Sims questioned the credibility of Dunham, a current inmate of the Gulf County jail who has two previous felonies for theft.

In his testimony, Lynn said Butler’s door was always locked as a rule.

Not in dispute was that once the door to the apartment was opened, no words were spoken by Gant, though Lynn said he appeared more aggressive than normal.

The trial will continue at 9 a.m. EST Thursday at the Gulf County Courthouse.

PANAMA CITY -- An Alabama man was sentenced Wednesday to 15 years and six months in federal prison for setting up a liaison with someone he thought was 13 years old, but actually an undercover officer

Jeffrey Monroe Roy, 48, of Mobile, Ala., was sentenced for using the Internet in an attempt to persuade, induce, and entice a minor to engage in sexual activity and traveling across state lines with the intent to engage in sexual activity with a minor, according to federal prosecutors.

Evidence presented during trial proved that on June 13, 2012, law enforcement officers, acting in an undercover capacity, posted an advertisement on Craigslist posing as a 13-year-old female. Roy responded to the posting, and over the next three days, he engaged in email chats and telephone calls that were sexual in nature with a person he believed to be a 13-year-old female named Jaz.

After making arrangements to meet Jaz, Roy drove from Mobile on June 16, 2012, to meet with her at a predetermined location, where he was arrested and found to be in possession of Viagra, condoms, a camera, a knife, handcuffs, a first aid kit and a deck of 52 sex-position cards.

Roy also was sentenced to a lifetime term of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $200 fine.

PANAMA CITY -- Anthony Q. Atkinson, 31, of Panama City, was sentenced Wednesday to serve three years and one month in federal prison for filing fraudulent tax returns using the personal identifying information of other individuals.

 The sentence imposed by the court was announced by United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, Pamela C. Marsh.

Atkinson and others were involved in a tax scheme whereby they conspired to file false federal income tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service claiming refunds to which the defendants knew they were not entitled. 

As a result of the scheme, Atkinson and others caused the United States Treasury to pay approximately $23,496 in fraudulent income tax refunds, which Atkinson was ordered to pay back to the Internal Revenue Service as restitution. Atkinson also was sentenced to serve a three-year term of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $900 special monetary assessment.

PANAMA CITY — A former president of a labor union representing workers at Naval Support Activity Panama City has been sentenced to 30 months in federal prison for wire fraud.

Danny L. Hubbard, 49, was convicted of stealing about $91,600 from the American Federation of Government Employees Local 1380 in Panama City. From late 2006 to 2008, he wrote checks to himself that he cashed at a local convenience store and Boomtown Casino in Biloxi, Miss. He also withdrew $6,650 from the union’s checking account.

Hubbard, who pleaded guilty to 24 charges of wire fraud in the case, has been ordered to repay the money he took. He also was sentenced to serve a 3-year term of supervised release and must pay $2,400 in special monetary assessments.

Each count of wire fraud against Hubbard carried a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. He was indicted last November.

PANAMA CITY -- A Bay County jury convicted Kalia Janell Bouie on Wednesday of public assistance fraud for claiming more than $12,000 in food stamps and Medicaid benefits she wasn’t entitled to, according to the State Attorney’s Office.

Assistant State Attorney Barbie Beasley showed jurors that Bouie, 30, misrepresented her income between December 2008 and September 2011 to receive state assistance.

Bouie faces up to five years in prison when Circuit Judge Michael Overstreet sentences her Dec. 6.

SPRINGFIELD — Police have no idea who distributed several fliers overnight in an attempt at recruiting people from one neighborhood to “stand up for their rights as white people” and join the Ku Klux Klan.

Police Wednesday morning collected about 30 or 35 of the fliers, which were distributed in plastic sandwich bags that also contained Tootsie Rolls, said Springfield Police Chief Philip Thorne.

“We have no idea what the significance of the Tootsie Rolls is,” Thorne said.

The fliers appeared to have been thrown from a moving vehicle sometime before sunrise Wednesday, Thorne said, in a neighborhood where residents are neither predominantly white nor black. Thorne said police don’t know if the fliers are a prank or a legitimate attempt to recruit new members to the KKK.

“We have no idea what the reasoning behind it is,” he said.

Robert Jones, who identified himself as a “grand titan” for a KKK group headquartered in North Carolina, said the fliers are aimed at recruiting new members, and the practice has been successful in the past. He said police infringed on the group’s right to free speech by picking up the flyers.

Thorne said the materials were all in the public right-of-way and collected by officers as discarded property.

Jones explained the Tootsie Rolls serve two purposes. First, the candy weighs the bags down so they don’t get scattered in the wind. They also appeal to any children who might find the bags, Jones said. The community has nothing to fear from the KKK, Jones said.

“The Klan is not out to commit any acts of violence against the community,” Jones said.

Littering would be the only possible criminal charge the distributer of the fliers would potentially be exposed to, Thorne said.

“We have no reason to believe there’s any concern for violence,” Thorne said. “We encourage residents to report anything suspicious.”

Springfield police contacted neighboring law enforcement agencies. None reported similar activity, Thorne said.

Jones said he was affiliated with the same group that distributed similar materials in New Smyrna Beach recently. According to news reports, those materials were distributed in a predominantly black neighborhood, and Jones told a reporter those efforts were not successful.

DELAND — The Deltona man accused of killing his wife whose body, along with those of her two children, is still missing pleaded not guilty on Thursday morning to a charge of second-degree murder.

Luis Toledo, 31, stood shackled before Circuit Judge Margaret Hudson at the Volusia County Courthouse. Toledo had grown a full beard since his first appearance. And like at his first appearance, Toledo stared at the family of the missing mother and children as bailiffs led him to the podium. He turned to look back at family members and a bailiff pointed at him to look toward the judge.

“We will enter a plea of not guilty on behalf of Mr. Toledo,” said Assistant Public Defender Matt Phillips.

Toledo said he killed his wife, Yessenia Suarez, with a strike to the throat but has refused to tell investigators what he did with her body, according to Volusia County sheriff’s investigators. But Toledo claims someone else is responsible for the deaths of her children, Thalia Otto, 9, and Michael Otto, 8.

Some family members wore buttons with pictures of the missing children and mom as they sat in court watching Toledo.
After his plea, Toledo was led out of the courtroom by bailiffs to be returned to the Volusia County Branch Jail where he is being held without bail.

Investigators said Suarez and her children disappeared between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. Oct. 23.

Toledo appeared at his wife’s work in Lake Mary on Oct. 22 and slapped her, police said. Toledo left before police arrived.
The next day when Suarez’s family did not hear from her they called the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office to check on her at the couple’s home in Deltona. Toledo arrived at the house as deputies were there and he was arrested in the Lake Mary incident.
The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office along with the family and Equusearch have scoured the area looking for woman and her children without success.
 

LYNN HAVEN — A former Mowat Middle School teacher was arrested Wednesday after being accused of sending a photo of his genitals to a 15-year-old girl.

Joseph Lamar Johnson, 24, was employed as a social studies teacher at the school when he allegedly sent the photo to his former student on Nov. 2.

Johnson sent the photo through an application called Snapchat, a social media photo sharing service that bills itself as a way to send messages you want to “self-destruct” after receipt. Users set a time limit of 1-10 seconds before the messages are deleted.

That was enough time for several other people besides the girl to see Johnson’s photo, according to a Bay County Sheriff’s Office affidavit. It was unclear who reported the image to authorities. Johnson later admitted to sending the photograph, according to BCSO, and was charged with distributing obscene material to a minor.

He appeared in court Thursday and entered a written plea of not guilty, and asked for a jury trial.

Johnson began teaching at Mowat Middle School in August 2012, according to Bay County Schools Superintendent Bill Husfelt. Johnson resigned Nov. 8 after BCSO notified the school district of the allegations against him. Until then, Johnson had no reported infractions or complaints against him.

“I’m shocked about what he’s accused of, but you know it’s very disconcerting to have to deal with these kinds of things, and I don’t have any kind of tolerance for people sending any kind of photos like this to students,” Husfelt said. “It’s totally unacceptable, I don’t care what world you live in.”

Husfelt said arrests of teachers always are troubling, but are isolated incidents.

“You have to remember we have about 4,000 employees and 1,800 teachers. It’s a miniscule number that do this, and it’s very wrong, but it’s nowhere near the reflection of the kind of teachers we have overall,” he said.

Investigators have found no evidence that Johnson had obscene contact with other juveniles.

“There is no indication at this time of any other inappropriate relationships, but we will certainly investigate any allegations that are brought forth,” said BCSO Maj. Tommy Ford.

Johnson did not answer phone calls Thursday.

An earlier version of this story is posted below:

LYNN HAVEN — A Mowat Middle School teacher has been arrested for distributing obscene material to a minor, according to Bay County Sheriff's Office.

The victim, a former student of 24-year-old Joseph Lamar Johnson, reported to BCSO that in early November Johnson sent her an inappropriate photograph through an application called Snapchat, a social media photo sharing service that bills itself as a way to send messages you want to "self-destruct" upon receipt. The photograph was witnessed by another student, officials said in a news release.

"Johnson admitted to sending the photograph," the news release stated.

Johnson was charged  with distribution of obscene material to a minor, a third-degree felony. 

BAYOU GEORGE — The Bay County Sheriff's Office is searching for Bradley Allen Pierson, who was last seen in the High Point Road area of Deer Point on Oct. 30.

Pierson left his residence without his wallet or any cash and has not been seen since about 9 a.m. on that day. His family and friends have not spoken to him, and by all indications he never made it back to his new residence in Callaway. Bradley has not been to work.

Pierson is about 6 feet tall, 180 pounds, has brown wavy shoulder length hair, well kept short beard, blue eyes with several tattoos. He has playing cards tattooed on his chest, a women tattooed on his left arm, a Celtic tattoo on his right arm, and a tattoo of the Pin Head character from the movie on his right calf.

Bradley was last seen wearing blue jeans, black T-shirt, and black steel toed boots. Bradley does not have a vehicle.

Anyone with information on the location of Pierson is asked to contact BCSO at 747-4700 or Investigator Chris Coram at 248-2179

PORT ST. JOE —A Gulf County jury found Walt Butler guilty of second-degree murder with a firearm after deliberating a little more than an hour Thursday afternoon.

Butler was not convicted of the more serious hate crime enhancement, indicating the jury believed Butler did not target Everett Gant because of his race.

Butler faces up to life in prison when he is sentenced Dec. 12.

Butler shot Gant in July 2012 at the Pine Ridge Apartments in Port St. Joe. Gant died six weeks to the day later from his wound.

The four-day trial continued Thursday with Assistant State Attorney Robert Sombathy calling his final witness, Medical Examiner Michael Hunter.

Sombathy and defense attorney Mark Sims questioned Hunter, who performed Gant’s autopsy, focusing on the severity of a shot to the head from a .22 rifle and providing the jury with published photos of the wound and bullet fragments.

Sims called just one witness as Butler did not take the stand.

Crime scene investigator Jay Smith Jr. was asked by Sims if he had checked the sliding glass door of Butler’s apartment for fingerprints.

Smith said that he did not dust for prints because he didn’t know it was an issue in the case and he was not instructed to do so.

Who did and did not open the sliding glass patio door that Gant entered when he went into Butler’s apartment was a central issue in the trial.

A bloody boot print found on the patio, where Gant lay bleeding when law enforcement arrived on the scene, was compared to witness Kenneth Dunham, but not the victim or defendant.

Sims’ closing statements relied heavily on Smith’s testimony, suggesting that responding officers hadn’t explored all avenues.

“This was terrible police work,” said Sims in reference to police not pursuing fingerprints or the boot print further. “Was there another witness in this case? Was there a neighborhood canvas?

“They made up their minds what had happened. If that’s not a reasonable doubt, I don’t know what is.”

Witnesses that had been with Gant prior to him leaving his apartment to speak with Butler about Butler’s use of racial epithets toward a child testified they had asked him not to go.

Sims suggested that Gant must have been angry, further reinforcing that Butler acted in self-defense.

“This trial, like all other trials, has been a search for the truth,” said Sombathy. “Blood does not lie. It cannot change its story.”

Sombathy traced Gant’s attempt to escape Butler’s patio through the blood smears he left behind.

He also encouraged the jury to dismiss Robert Lynn’s testimony.

Lynn had been in the apartment with Butler when Gant was shot, but after providing contradicting statements during several depositions and from the witness stand, Lynn acknowledged he had been drinking heavily with Butler the day of the shooting and had been drinking prior to the depositions.

He said he had two beers prior to testifying Wednesday.

“Walt Butler and Robert Lynn are liars,” said Sombathy. “It’s hard to remember lies. It’s much easier to remember the truth.”

Sombathy pointed out that many of the witnesses were Butler’s friends but they had no reason to lie for him. Sombathy said that alcohol was the source of the bad decisions made by Butler.

“Hold the defendant responsible for what he did,” Sombathy told the jury. “You can’t take back that bullet. Everett Gant was killed over other people’s drama.”

The jury began their deliberation at 4:25 p.m. ET and had reached a verdict an hour later.

Emotion was high for members of defendant’s family as the verdict was read and a forlorn-looking Butler waved to his family as he exited the courtroom.

An earlier version of this story is posted below:

PORT ST. JOE — The jury in the Walt Butler trial found the defendant guilty of second-degree murder, but not guilty of a hate crime, indicating that he did not specifically target victim Everett Gant because of his race.

The jury began their deliberation at 4:25 p.m. ET and had reached a verdict an hour later.

Emotion was high for members of the defendant’s family as the verdict was read and a forlorn-looking Butler waved to his family as he exited the courtroom.

Sentencing will take place Dec. 12 at the Gulf County Courthouse.

This is a breaking news story. Check back later tonight an an update.