NICEVILLE — Former Bay High School basketball coach Robert Williams and two young women riding on his boat drowned after being thrown into Choctawhatchee Bay when the vessel rammed a piling of the Mid-Bay Bridge in December, according to autopsy reports dated Jan. 22

All three were intoxicated, the reports indicate. The manner of death was ruled accidental.

The body of 18-year-old Taylor Evanoff’s body was discovered in the water Dec. 6. The bodies of Williams, 47, and Jamilia Beltz, 21, were found Dec. 7.

All three were from Niceville.

The autopsy reports, compiled by Medical Examiner Andrea Minyard, indicate Williams suffered the most injuries in the crash, which is believed to have happened early Dec. 5.

Williams suffered multiple broken ribs and a broken right arm, his autopsy report said. He also had large bruises on his head, a 3-inch cut to his scalp and contusions and abrasions on his upper body.

The autopsy report said Williams’ blood-alcohol content was 0.15 and his urine alcohol level was 0.20.

A blood-alcohol level of 0.08 is considered intoxicated in Florida.

Evanoff had cuts and bruising to her thighs and legs and Beltz had cuts and bruising to her legs, hips and thigh, according their autopsy reports.

Evanoff’s blood-alcohol content was 0.15, her report said. No urine testing appeared to have been conducted.

Beltz had a blood-alcohol content of 0.20 and a urine alcohol content of 0.28, according to her report.

Williams’ body was found near the wreckage. His autopsy report said he had 74 $1 bills and 32 $100 bills in his pockets.

Williams and Evanoff’s body’s bore ink marks, their autopsy reports said.

The marks seem to bolster the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s theory the three victims had been at a club until about midnight Dec. 4.

Investigators have learned Williams, Evanoff and Baltz took a cab to Legendary Marina on Okaloosa Island, where they boarded Williams’ 336 Cobalt boat.

Williams was Bay High boys basketball coach for five seasons, with the school’s first state Final Four berth in 2003. Williams left Bay in 2004. He was born in Port St. Joe and a graduate of Wewahitchka High School and Gulf Coast Community College.

ALFORD — A 40-year-old Cottondale man has died from the injuries he received in a Monday afternoon wreck near Alford, Florida Highway Patrol officials wrote in a news release.

Troopers said Samuel Aldon Keen Jr. and Heather Lynn Carter, 20, also of Cottondale, were in a 2000 Dodge Van at about 4 p.m. and headed west on County 276 when they pulled out on State 75. The van was then struck by a semi truck being driven by 68-year-old Jonnie W. McClendon of Lake City, Ga. McClendon had minor injuries, officials wrote.

Keen died from his injuries while at a local hospital, officials wrote.

The incident is under investigation. 

PANAMA CITY - A Southport woman was arrested on suspicion of crashing her car while she was high on meth has been arrested and charged with DUI manslaughter.

Jessica Finch, 25, and Justin Collins, 27, were involved in a single-car collision with a tree on County 2301 on June 18, 2013. Finch was critically injured and Collins was killed.

Investigators with the Florida Highway Patrol got a warrant for Finch’s arrest after blood test results showed she had methamphetamine and amphetamine in her system at the time of the crash, according to the arrest report.
Finch also is charged as habitual offender for with driving on a suspended license and for driving on a suspended license with crash involving seriously bodily injury.

She was booked into the Bay County Jail Wednesday, and her bond on all three charges totals $35,000.

PANAMA CITY - A Panama City man was sentenced to life in prison Thursday for breaking into a Mexico Beach hotel room and battering two occupants, according to a State Attorney’s Office news release.

Ronald Deon Lee, 34, of 6620 Enzor St., was found guilty last month of burglary of an occupied dwelling with a battery. The charge stems from an incident in the early morning hours of April 15, 2011, when Lee made his way into the hotel room occupied by Scott Webb, Trent Webb and Janice Williamson, all of Eufaula, Ala. Williamson awoke to find Lee, naked, on top of her trying to rape her.
Her scream woke up Scott Webb, who fought Lee and detained him until police arrived, despite being bitten twice and having four of his toes broken.

Assistant State Attorney Rob Sale said the evidence showed Lee entered the room twice that morning. The first time he took the couple’s cellphones and car keys back to his adjoining room. Lee then returned and attempted the rape Williamson, even though the woman was sleeping in the same bed as Scott Webb and Trent Webb, then 11, was in the other bed. Prosecutors said Lee probably entered the victims’ room the first time by climbing across the balconies.
 

HILAND PARK — A building on East Avenue near 15th Street caught fire this morning sending a Bay County Sheriff's deputy to the hospital and killing two dogs.

According to the State Fire Marshal's Office the blaze also destroyed three classic cars including 1960s era Corvette. They added that the blaze did about $350,000 worth of damage.

The deputy was sent to the hospital because of smoke inhalation. He was treated and released, officials said.

Bay County, Panama City and Springfield firefighters started battling the blaze at 7:15 a.m. Thursday and it took until 8:30 a.m. to get the fire under control. State Fire Marshal's officials said the fire, which occurred in the Walker's Muffler and Tire building, appeared to be accidental.

The building's owner lives in a trailer behind the burned out building and he was not injured, officials added. His life was saved because the two dogs began barking and alerted him to the fire officials said. However, when he left the dogs did not follow.
East Avenue near the fire was closed most of the morning but was reopened by mid-day.
 

BAYOU GEORGE -- A Bayou George man was arrested Thursday on drug charges after a fire was determined to have been caused by a meth lab explosion, the Bay County Sheriff’s Office said.

Michael E. Stern, 37, was arrested and charged with manufacture of methamphetamine, trafficking in methamphetamine, manufacture of drug paraphernalia and arson.

When BCSO responded to the scene of a fire at 6521 Everly St. in reference to a residential fire, deputies noticed items commonly associated with a shake and bake style meth lab in the home. The fire was ruled to have been caused by a shake and bake style meth lab bursting in the room, BCSO said.

Based on an investigation, Stern was arrested on drug charges later Thursday.

NICEVILLE — Autopsy reports made public Wednesday are a major part of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s investigation into a Dec. 5 boat accident that killed three Niceville residents.

The FWC’s investigation is ongoing and a report will be issued when it is complete, spokesman Stan Kirkland said.

Former Bay High School basketball coach Robert Williams, 18-year-old Taylor Evanoff and 21-year-old Jamilia Beltz were killed when Williams’ 336 Cobalt boat crashed into a piling at the Mid-Bay Bridge.

“The autopsies will comprise a major piece of our investigation,” Kirkland said.

“We’ll look at other things, like when the victims were dropped off at the marina and the weather conditions,” he added. “The conclusions drawn by our investigators will be based on the totality of the evidence gathered.”

The autopsy reports appear to substantiate at least a couple of things. It said Willams, Evanoff and Beltz drowned and that the deaths were accidental.

It also confirmed that Williams, 47, had sustained significant injuries, including rib and arm fractures.

It was determined that all three of the victims had been drinking the night they died.

A cab driver told investigators that he dropped them off at Legendary Marina on Okaloosa Island about midnight Dec. 4. There also is evidence they had been at a nightclub prior to the cab ride.

Still unknown is the relationship of the three and why Williams would have $3,200 in $100 bills and $74 in $1 bills in his pockets.

Williams was Bay High boys basketball coach for five seasons, before leaving in 2004. He was born in Port St. Joe and a graduate of Wewahitchka High School and Gulf Coast Community College.

PANAMA CITY — A man who filed suit against the Bay County sheriff and an investigator alleges he was arrested and spent months in jail after deputies violated his constitutional right to freedom from unreasonable search and seizure.

Michael Glass claims in a federal lawsuit that Sheriff Frank McKeithen and Investigator Chad King falsely arrested and imprisoned him in violation of his Fourth Amendment rights, and he claims McKeithen was negligent by failing to drop the charges against Glass when it became clear he was not guilty. The Bay County Sheriff’s Office is not a part of the lawsuit; McKeithen is being sued in his capacity as sheriff.

Marie Mattox, Glass’ attorney, filed the suit Feb. 3, seeking unspecified damages and attorney’s fees. McKeithen and King have not been served with the suit, but officials there are familiar with it, said Maj. Tommy Ford.

According to the suit and records from the case against Glass, McKeithen assigned King to check out a tip about a meth lab at a home on

Glass had moved out of the home about two weeks before deputies searched it, and there was mail addressed to him in another bedroom. The next day, after he learned about the raid, Glass went to the Sheriff’s Office to see if he could get his property from the house or if he had been implicated in the meth lab.

A deputy told Glass there was no warrant for his arrest stemming from the raid but that Glass “needed” to wait for King, according to court records. Glass was taken to an interrogation room, and after King took his statement he was arrested and charged with principal to manufacture meth, records show.

Ford said King read Glass his Miranda rights, so Glass knew what he was doing when he admitted to King that he had been “smurfing,” or buying pseudoephedrine for his roommate to use to cook meth as his rent payment.

“We disagree, certainly, with the premise of the lawsuit,” Ford said. “We felt that we did have probable cause to detain and then arrest him.”

Glass was in jail from Feb. 6, 2010, until Jan. 7, 2011, when Judge Michael Overstreet determined it was illegal for deputies to hold Glass before he gave his statement because law enforcement had no probable cause he’d committed a crime, and prosecutors dismissed the case.

Mattox, who couldn’t comment on the pending case due to a rule in the Northern District of Florida that prohibits attorneys from speaking publically about pending cases, wrote that King was malicious and displayed “willful disregard” for Glass’ human rights and safety. McKeithen, as “final policymaker,” effectively endorsed the Fourth Amendment violation by failing to take any action against King after learning of the violation, according to the lawsuit.

McKeithen “knew or should have known that (Glass) was not guilty of the crime charged and the charges should have been dropped,” Mattox wrote in the suit.

Mattox is a “prolific” antagonist of the Bay County Sheriff’s Office, Ford said, but 11 of the 13 suits she has filed against the agency since 2003 have been settled in favor of the BCSO. Mattox can file lawsuits making any allegations she wants, regardless of the validity of the allegations, and the Sheriff’s Office has no recourse, he added.

“It doesn’t take much for her to file suit,” Ford said. “That’s why we have lawyers that will vigorously defend our position, and we intend to do that.”

GULFPORT — A federal grand jury in Mississippi has indicted two people accused of money-laundering and using counterfeit $100 bills to purchase items at Lowe's stores in three states and return the items for cash.

The indictments returned in Gulfport allege Brittany Ann Jackson and Dontrelle Deshaun Sanford received thousands of dollars in refunds on purchases in Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida Panhandle in a 10-month period that started last April.

The Sun Herald newspaper reports the 13-count indictment was filed Feb. 5 in U.S. District Court in Gulfport. It was unsealed Tuesday after their arrests.

The indictment alleges Jackson and Sanford received more than $8,000 in refunds on items such as vacuum cleaners and coffee-makers. The newspaper reported the Panama City and Destin Lowe's were among the the stores where the alleged counterfeit bills were used.

It was unclear whether Jackson and Sanford have attorneys.

BONIFAY -- Fire damaged the Economy Lodge in Bonifay early Friday, leaving a firefighter with a leg injury.

According to Holmes County Fire Department, firefighters responded to the fire at 1:40 a.m. Bonifay Fire-Rescue began to attack the fire, beginning in room 342, where the fire began. Bonifay Police evacuated the rooms prior to fire-rescue arrival. The fire quickly breached the attic space and spread through the attic above eight rooms, which were damaged.

The fire was 90 percent contained at 3:03 a.m., and all fire units cleared the scene by 7:15 a.m.

No motel patrons were injured, however, a Bonifay Fire-Rescue Firefighter/EMT suffered a leg injury on the roof during fire suppression and was taken to a local hospital by Holmes County EMS where he was treated and and released.

The cause of the fire is currently under investigation by the Office of the State Fire Marshal.

Chipley Fire Department and Gritney Fire Department also responded and assisted Bonifay Fire-Rescue.

ST. TERESA -- A Tallahassee Realtor was sentenced to 27 months in prison for tax evasion and making false statements about his income, including the sale of his home in Franklin County, according to federal prosecutors.

In addition to his prison sentence, William “Geri” Eaton, 60, was ordered to pay $99,126 in restitution to the IRS and to Sacred Heart Health System for medical bills.

Between 2004 and 2008, Eaton earned more than $1.18 million in taxable income. He failed to file his federal income tax returns as they became due and instead, in the fall of 2009, Eaton filed late returns for all four prior tax years. His total tax due, not counting interest and penalties, was more than $472,000.

In 2011, Eaton sold his beach house in St. Teresa for more than $1.3 million and concealed the money from the IRS. Later, he applied at Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola for financial assistance in paying a medical bill. In his application for assistance, Eaton falsely claimed that he had a single checking account with a balance of only $1,588, when, in fact, the balances in his accounts totaled well over $600,000. Relying on Eaton’s false statements, Sacred Heart Hospital wrote off $79,622 in charges for Eaton’s care.

In November 2011, the IRS levied Eaton’s credit union accounts and obtained $610,000 as payments toward his tax liabilities.

In November 2013, Eaton pleaded guilty to charges of tax evasion and making false statements in a matter involving a health care benefit program. 

CRAWFORDVILLE -- A Wakulla County man was sentenced Friday to serve 12 months in prison for importing merchandise under false invoice and for receiving unregistered silencers, federal prosecutors said.

Albert Hendrik “Henk” Van Der Merwe, 46, of Crawfordville, was sentenced by United States District Judge Robert Hinkle.

Van Der Merwe will serve a three-year term of supervised release after his incarceration, during which he will be subject to search by his probation officer. As a consequence of this conviction, he cannot own or possess firearms.  The court also entered an order forfeiting Van Der Merwe’s interest in three silencers and in an Uzi 9 millimeter carbine.

Prosecutors said Van Der Merwe was arrested on April 10, 2013, after agents intercepted three silencers that he had ordered from South Africa under an invoice declaring them to be motorcycle parts. Messages retrieved from Van Der Merwe’s e-mail accounts reflected that he had ordered another silencer from the same supplier in the past, that he wanted these shipped “discretely,” and that he was interested in obtaining additional silencers for friends. He requested that the silencer for the Uzi be “full-auto rated.” Examination of the weapon determined that the Uzi had been converted to a machine gun.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — A 47-year-old software developer was convicted Saturday of attempted murder for shooting into a carful of teenagers after an argument over what he called their “thug music,” but jurors couldn’t agree on the most serious charge of first-degree murder.

After more than 30 hours of jury deliberations over four days, a mistrial was declared on the murder charge that Michael Dunn faced in the fatal shooting of one of the black teens. The 12 jurors found him guilty of three counts of attempted second-degree murder and a count of firing into an occupied car.

Dunn was charged with fatally shooting 17-year-old Jordan Davis, of Marietta, Ga., in 2012 after the argument over loud music coming from the SUV occupied by Davis and three friends outside a Jacksonville convenience store. Dunn, who is white, had described the music to his fiancee as “thug music.”

Dunn showed no emotion as the verdicts were read. Each attempted second-degree murder charge carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison, while the fourth charge he was convicted on carries a maximum of 15. A sentencing date will be set at a hearing next month.

Davis’ parents each left the courtroom in tears, and afterward his mother, Lucia McBath, expressed gratitude for the verdict. Sunday would have been the teen’s 19th birthday.

“We are so grateful for the charges that have been brought against him,” McBath said of Dunn. “We are so grateful for the truth. We are so grateful that the jurors were able to understand the common sense of it all.”

On Dunn’s potentially lengthy sentence, Davis’ father, Ron Davis, said: “He’s going to learn that he must be remorseful for the killing of my son, that it was not just another day at the office.”

State Attorney Angela Corey said her office planned to retry Dunn on a first-degree murder charge, and she hoped jurors would come forward and tell prosecutors where they questioned their case. Jurors declined to talk to the media.

Earlier in the day, the panel said in a note to Judge Russell L. Healey that they couldn’t agree on the murder charge. They also had the option of convicting him of second-degree murder or manslaughter. The judge asked them to continue their work, and they went back to the deliberation room for two more hours before returning with a verdict.

“I’ve never seen a case where deliberations have gone on for this length of time,” Healey said afterward, praising the jurors. “They’ve embraced their civic duty, and they are to be commended for that.”

Dunn claimed he acted in self-defense, testifying he thought he saw a firearm pointed at him from the SUV as the argument escalated. No weapon was found in the SUV.

Dunn told jurors he feared for his life, perceiving “this was a clear and present danger.” Dunn, who has a concealed weapons permit, fired 10 shots, hitting the vehicle nine times. Davis was the only person hit.

Dunn’s attorney, Cory Strolla, said the defendant was shocked when the verdict was read.

“He’s in disbelief,” Strolla said. “Even sitting next to me, he said, ‘How is this happening?’”

He said he plans to appeal.

Prosecutors contended that Dunn opened fire because he felt disrespected by Davis. The teen made his friend turn the music back up after they initially turned it down at Dunn’s request. Dunn was parked in the spot next to the SUV outside the convenience store.

According to authorities, Dunn became enraged about the music and ensuing argument. One person walking out of the convenience store said he heard Dunn say, “You are not going to talk to me like that.”

Dunn testified he heard someone in the SUV shouting expletives and the word “cracker,” which is a derogatory term for white people.

“That defendant didn’t shoot into a carful of kids to save his life. He shot into it to save his pride,” Assistant State Attorney John Guy told the jury earlier in the week. “Jordan Davis didn’t have a weapon, he had a big mouth.”

The trial was the latest Florida case to raise questions about self-defense and race, coming six months after George Zimmerman was acquitted in the shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in Sanford, about 125 miles south of Jacksonville. The Dunn trial was prosecuted by the same State Attorney’s Office that handled the Zimmerman case.

Strolla told reporters before the verdict that he believed there was political pressure on the prosecutors and an excess of media attention because of Zimmerman’s acquittal.

“I believe there is a lot vested in this case, politically,” Strolla said. “The case, on the heels of not guilty in George Zimmerman, just escalated that political pressure.” 

A Graceville man ended a burglary spree at his property by laying in wait for the thieves with a friend and a gun, according to a news release from the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office.

The victim and his friend hid in a vehicle in a barn on his Cliff Road property in Graceville after several items had been stolen from that location including a utility trailer. This time, when the burglars showed up they were confronted by the man, his friend and his gun.
One of the burglars fled but the other decided not to run. The property owner also rounded up a woman who deputies say was acting as a lookout, according to the news release.

Jeremy Trey Smith, 24, of Graceville, was arrested and charged with burglary and possession of methamphetamine.
Kimberly Diane Carr, 33, of Graceville, was charged with obstruction by disguise, accessory after the fact and for violating her probation.

Deputies are searching for Timothy Derrick Shiver, 34, of Graceville. Officials said he will be charged with burglary, violation of probation and failure to appear on traffic charges. Anyone with information about Shiver’s location is asked to contact the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office.
 

PANAMA CITY — Nearly two weeks after her arrest in Kentucky on charges stemming from the alleged theft of public funds, the former director of the St. Andrews Marina was booked into the Bay County Jail on Sunday.

Susan Payne, 49, is charged with 12 counts of grand theft — 11 counts stem from money she allegedly took from the marina by taking payments for boat slip rentals, and one count stems from her alleged theft of a $3,500 commercial freezer — and one count of witness tampering.

Payne appeared in court Monday via video conference from the jail. Judge Shane Vann set a bond totaling $15,000. The bond is more than the total the money she allegedly took, according to criminal complaints filed against Payne.

Payne was fired in September as the marina’s dock master after city officials found numerous deficiencies in her job performance. Records indicate she created a hostile work environment, lied to supervisors or the public, used city resources for personal gain and falsified documents.

The criminal complaints allege Payne pocketed $3,948.74 intended as payment for slip rentals, and then “altered or circumvented” accounting procedures to balance the marina’s books in, presumably, an attempt conceal the theft. Payne is accused of doing this 11 times, collecting somewhere between $300 and $5,000 each time.

She already had been suspended from her job in August when she allegedly harassed a marina employee so he would find and conceal documents and records that Panama City Police detectives seized as evidence against her.

Members of the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force arrested Payne in Bowling Green, Ky., in early February.

Payne did not respond to a message seeking comment Monday. An attorney representing her filed a motion to set bond in which he indicated she would defend against the charges.  

TAMPA — Police in Tampa say a man is facing manslaughter charges after he beat his roommate to death in a dispute over a chicken foot.

Authorities say 52-year-old James Jugo was arrested after the beating death of 56-year-old Benjamin Calderon on Saturday. The Tampa Bay Times (http://bit.ly/1eJtINl ) reported Monday that the fight started after Calderon took the chicken foot from a skillet where Jugo was cooking.

An autopsy showed Calderon suffered internal bleeding after being hit numerous times on the face, neck and elsewhere. A witness told police that she saw Jugo hit Calderon with a board. Jugo was jailed on $15,000 bail. Court records did not indicate whether he had hired a lawyer.

Public records show Jugo has been arrested 19 times previously in Florida.
 

The Holmes County Sheriff’s Office is searching for 27 year-old Casey Jean Anderson.

On Sunday night the Sheriff’s Office received a call from Anderson’s mother reporting him missing from their home in Ponce de Leon. Earlier that evening, the Sheriff’s Office received a call of a suspicious person in the area of Simmons Lane, south of Ponce de Leon. The caller reported that the subject was knocking on their door asking for water and matched the description of Anderson.

Anderson is suffering from a brain injury and has not been taking his medication.

Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of Casey Jean Anderson is asked to call the Holmes County Sheriff’s Office at 850-547-4421.

PANAMA CITY - The Bay County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the interception and theft of a new debit card mailed to the victim and then used by the suspect to purchase over $3000 in merchandise and services.

The victim realized he never received his new debit card and became aware of the transactions which took place between January 25 and February 2, 2014, and filed a complaint with the BCSO, officials wrote in a news release.

The suspect, captured on security video cameras using the card, is a black male in his early 20’s with short black hair. He was last seen wearing a Russian rabbit-fur style hat, a camo jacket with a hood, blue shorts and a purple LSU tee shirt and black slides.

Anyone with information about this suspect is asked to contact Investigator Craig Romans at the Bay County Sheriff’s Office at 248-2075 or Crime Stoppers at 785-TIPS.
 

TACOMA, Wash. — A Washington state-based soldier accused of repeatedly raping a 10-year-old girl and posting sexual photos of the child online has been charged with aggravated sexual abuse of a child.

The News Tribune reports (http://is.gd/JR4toF) that 27-year-old Sgt. Joseph French of Chipley, Fla., was charged Friday in federal court. In a court appearance, he agreed to detention until his next hearing, set for Feb. 28.

The Joint Base Lewis-McChord soldier was arrested Tuesday after the girl's mother reported the alleged abuse to authorities in Florida.

Florida law enforcement authorities called the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division, which launched an investigation with the Washington State Patrol's Missing and Exploited Children Task Force and arrested French.

Court papers say French is accused of abusing the girl for three years.

He is being held on suicide watch at the Pierce County Jail.

PANAMA CITY — The trial of three bankers charged with fraud for allegedly duping the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) of millions could be delayed, following Tuesday’s pretrial hearing.

Prosecutors of the case against Donald Terry Dubose, Frank Baker and Elwood West called requests to allow testimony from two expert witnesses a “calculated decision” by the defense to delay the trial and divert their focus from proving the bankers intentionally defrauded the U.S. government. Prosecutors only learned of the motions to allow the expert witnesses on Friday and Monday.

U.S. District Court Judge Richard Smoak initially barred testimony of one expert witness, citing local rules for a five-day notice, before defense attorneys pleaded the dire nature of admitting the “critical evidence” he would bring to light.

“In this case, you couldn’t have more critical evidence,” said Edward Garland, attorney for West. “If what our expert witness is saying is true, [the government] has no evidence a crime was committed.”

None of the six defense attorneys representing the bankers would comment on the identity of their expert witnesses.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Gayle Littleton compared the last-minute disclosure to a “one-two punch” by the defense in an attempt to get a continuance of Monday’s trial.

“If the court lets it in, there will be no way we would be prepared by Monday,” Littleton said.

Depositions of the experts will occur Thursday by telephone. If they are allowed to be admitted as evidence, Littleton said she will be asking for a continuance of a week to gather expert witnesses to counter the defense.

Dubose, West and Baker have been charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud against the FDIC, seven counts of wire fraud, three counts of lying to the FDIC and aiding and abetting a false claim against the United States. Dubose and West were executives with Coastal Community Investments, a holding company for Panama City Beach-based Coastal Community Bank and Port St. Joe-based Bayside Savings Bank. Baker was Coastal’s attorney and largest shareholder.

Smoak advised counsel to be prepared for an additional pretrial hearing Friday.

“We’ll see what this guy says and if it’s a big deal,” he said. “God knows it wouldn’t be the first time a high-priced expert witness failed to meet expectations.”