A runaway juvenile has been found in Panama City and returned to Dothan, Ala., a Dothan TV station reported.

No other information was released by Dothan police.

An earlier version of this story is posted below:

A runaway juvenile may be in the custody of a man in Panama City area.

Dothan Police said Kali P. Williams, 14, could be in the local area with an 18-year-old named John Hunt. Williams is a little over 5 feet tall and way last seen leaving her Dothan home on Valentine's Day.

Anyone with information on Williams or Hunt is asked to call the Dothan Police Department at (334)615-3000 or any local law enforcement agency.
 

TALLAHASSEE — The state corrections official who stands beside condemned inmates as they take their last breaths in Florida’s death chamber recently pulled back the veil on what has largely been a very secretive execution process.

The testimony was given during a Feb. 11 hearing in a lawsuit involving Paul Howell, a death row inmate scheduled to die by lethal injection Feb. 26. Howell is appealing his execution; his lawyers say the first of the injected drugs, midazolam, isn’t effective at preventing the pain of the subsequent drugs.

The Florida Supreme court specifically asked the circuit court in Leon County to determine the efficacy of the so called “consciousness check” given to inmates by the execution team leader.

The testimony is notable because it shows that the Department of Corrections has changed its procedures since the state started using a new cocktail of lethal injection drugs. A shortage of execution drugs around the country is becoming worse as more pharmacies conclude that supplying the lethal chemicals is not worth the bad publicity and the legal and ethical risks.

Timothy Cannon, who is the assistant secretary of the Florida Department of Corrections and the team leader present at every execution, told a Leon County court that an additional inmate “consciousness check” is now given due to news media reports and other testimony stemming from the Oct. 15 execution of William Happ.

Happ was the first inmate to receive the new lethal injection drug trio. An Associated Press reporter who had covered executions using the old drug cocktail wrote that Happ acted differently during the execution than those executed before him.

It appeared Happ remained conscious longer and made more body movements after losing consciousness.

Cannon said in his testimony that during Happ’s execution and the ones that came before it, he did two “consciousness checks” based on what he learned at training at the Federal Bureau of Prisons in Indiana — a “shake and shout,” where he vigorously shakes the inmate’s shoulders and calls his name loudly, and also strokes the inmate’s eyelashes and eyelid.

After Happ’s execution, Cannon said the department decided to institute a “trapezoid pinch,” where he squeezes the muscle between an inmate’s neck and shoulder.

It was added “to ensure we were taking every precaution we could possibly do to ensure the person was, in fact, unconscious,” Cannon said. “To make sure that this process was humane and dignified.”

Lawyers for Howell say that they are concerned that the midazolam does not produce a deep enough level of unconsciousness to prevent the inmate from feeling the pain of the second and third injection and causes a death that makes the inmate feel as though he is being buried alive.

“Beyond just the fact that Constitution requires a humane death, if we decided that we wanted perpetrators of crime to die in the same way that their victims did then we would rape rapists. And we don’t rape rapists,” said Sonya Rudenstine, a Gainesville attorney who represents Howell. “We should not be engaging of the behavior that we have said to abhor. If we are going to kill people, we have to do it humanely. It’s often said the inmate doesn’t suffer nearly as much as the victim, and I believe that’s what keeps us civilized and humane.”

Corrections spokeswoman Jessica Cary said on Wednesday that the department “remains committed to doing everything it can to ensure a humane and dignified lethal injection process.”

Cannon explained in his testimony that each execution team member “has to serve in the role of the condemned during training at some point.”

“We’ve changed several aspects of just the comfort level for the inmate while lying on the gurney,” he said. “Maybe we put sponges under the hand or padding under the hands to make it more comfortable, changed the pillow, the angle of things, just to try to make it a little more comfortable, more humane and more dignified as we move along.”

He said an inmate is first injected with two syringes of midazolam and a syringe of “flush” — saline solution to get the drug into the body. Midazolam is a sedative.

Once the three syringes have been administered from one of two anonymous executioners, Cannon does the consciousness checks.

Meanwhile, the team in the back room watches the inmate’s face on a screen, which is captured by a video camera in the death chamber. The inmate is also hooked up to a heart monitor, Cannon said.

There are two executioners in the back room — the ones who deploy the drugs — along with an assistant team leader, three medical professionals, an independent monitor from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and two corrections employees who maintain an open line to the governor’s office.

If the team determines that the inmate is unconscious, the other two lethal drugs are administered.

PANAMA CITY -- Narcotics investigators with the Bay County Sheriff’s Office arrested a local man Tuesday in the area of 10^th and Beck Avenue, after he struck an unmarked BCSO vehicle in order to evade law enforcement, authorities said.

After conducting surveillance, investigators believed that Chris Allen Eckman was involved in illegal narcotics activity and attempted a traffic stop on him at 14^th and Cincinnati in Panama City. Eckman pulled away as investigators approached his vehicle and fled the scene, ramming into the BCSO unmarked vehicle. As Eckman fled he threw a bag containing about 28 grams of methamphetamine in “ice” form from the window of his vehicle, a BCSO release said.

Eckman abandoned his vehicle at 10^th and Beck Avenue and tried to run but was apprehended after a short foot chase, BCSO said. He was found to be in possession of more meth.

Eckman was charged with trafficking in methamphetamine, fleeing and eluding law enforcement, possession of drug paraphernalia and assault on a law enforcement officer.

PANAMA CITY BEACH -- The Bay County Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Division confiscated 10 ounces of a form of methamphetamine known as “ice” and $3,400 in cash in a drug bust Monday on Panama City Beach.

During an investigation, narcotics investigators developed Todd Jason Kaminski as a suspect in the distribution of methamphetamine in Bay County, BCSO said in a press release. When Kaminski was located at a business on Panama City Beach, investigators were able to make contact with him in the parking lot.

Kaminski was found to be in possession of about 10 ounces of ice, as well as xanax and marijuana, BCSO said. Kaminski was arrested and charged with trafficking more than 200 grams of methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute xanax, possession with intent to distribute marijuana, unlawful use of a two-way communication device, and possession of drug paraphernalia.

SPRINGFIELD — Police and deputies surrounded a strip mall Wednesday afternoon searching for three people who robbed the Springfield branch of the United States Post Office of an undetermined amount of cash.

No one was hurt when three people, at least one of whom was a woman, donned masks and robbed the post office of an undisclosed amount of cash, said Springfield Police Chief Philip Thorne. At least one of the robbers carried a silver handgun during the robbery, and police believed initially the robbers might have taken hostages, but that possibility was quickly ruled out, Thorne said.

Not long after the robbery, which happened around 5 p.m., an employee at a video game store in the same building told police she heard unusual sounds coming from the ceiling of the store. That led police to believe the robbers might have hiding in the ceiling.

A lawman posted on the roof of the building as a crowd of onlookers watched from the parking lot below. Police and deputies with rifles and tactical gear led a K-9 deputy from the Bay County Sheriff’s Office on a store-by-store search of every nook, cranny and crawlspace before they determined the suspects no longer were at the scene around 6:30 p.m.

VIDEO

At that point, officials downgraded to “full investigative mode,” Thorne said. Springfield officers were securing the scene until the sheriff’s office crime scene unit arrived to process the post office for evidence that might lead to the robbers.

United States Marshals appeared briefly on the scene, and Thorne said he had left a message with the Federal Bureau of Investigation because the crime occurred at a federal office. He indicated the postal inspector had been contacted.

Thorne said it was too early to know what, if any, security measures the post office had.

He urged anyone with information about the robbery to contact the Springfield Police Department at 850-872-7545 or CrimeStoppers at 850-785-TIPS (8477).

SPRINGFIELD — The robbery of a post office branch that sparked an intensive search for three suspects Wednesday turned out to be a hoax by an employee and his sister, who were attempting to cover their tracks after stealing the money themselves, police said Thursday.

Springfield police and Bay County Sheriff’s deputies were called to the post office branch in Springfield Plaza, where 20-year-old clerk David Allen Rice Jr. claimed he’d been robbed at gunpoint by a woman and two men. Law enforcement began a store-by-store search for the three non-existent robbers after an employee in a store in the same building reported hearing unusual noises in the ceiling, which led police to believe they might have been hiding in the ceiling.

What actually happened, police said, is Rice took money himself and gave it to his sister, Courtney Diane Goines, 20, who hid the money at their home while Rice called police with the made up robbery report. Police recovered some, perhaps all, of the money at their home at 1117 S. Tyndall Parkway, lot 24, Callaway, on Thursday, said Springfield Police Chief Philip Thorne.

Rice is charged with grand theft and false report to law enforcement, and Goines is charged with grand theft. Rice and Goines were booked into the Bay County Jail Thursday to await their first appearances in court Friday.

Thorne credited the cooperative efforts of his department with the Bay County Sheriff’s Office, the United States Postal Inspector’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation for the swift apprehension of the actual suspects. The investigation is ongoing and additional charges are possible.

Thorne said the two are charged in state court at this time. Law enforcement will present the findings of the investigation to the United States Attorney’s Office for a determination on whether Rice and Goines will face federal charges.

An earlier version of this report is posted below:

Two people have been arrested on charges that they fabricated a story about robbers holding up the post office in Springfield, police said today.

A postal clerk and his sister made up the story to cover for the theft that they committed, according to a news release from the Springfield Police.

Arrested were David Allen Rice Jr., 20, and Courtney Diane Goines, 20, who both live on South Tyndall Parkway.

Check later later today for details. 

PANAMA CITY — The captain of parasailing vessel involved in a mishap that nearly killed two Indiana teens last summer will not face criminal charges, but a report detailing the findings of a lengthy investigation recommends the U.S. Coast Guard begin proceedings to suspend or revoke his license.

The report, released Thursday by the State Attorney’s Office following a review for possible criminal charges, found “substantial evidence” Capt. Tyler Churchwell committed “acts of negligence and/or misconduct” that led to the injuries sustained by Sidney Good and Alexis Fairchild after the line towing them on July 1, 2013 failed and they were tossed by the wind into a condominium, power lines, parked vehicles and finally the ground.

Prosecutor Megan Ford said the state lacked evidence to prove Churchwell acted with recklessness or careless indifference.

“The State is unable to prove criminal negligence on the part of the defendant,” Ford said in a prepared statement released Thursday. “Reviewing all of the circumstances presented, including the weather, the condition of the boat, the defendant's training and abilities and the actions of other similar companies, nothing individually or taken as a whole meets the burden of proving ‘reckless indifference’ or ‘grossly careless’ beyond a reasonable doubt.”

The investigation was conducted by the state Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the U.S. Coast Guard and the National Transportation Safety Board. The results of the investigation were turned over to the State Attorney’s Office.

Churchwell and other employees of Aquatic Adventures, the company that owns the “Why Knot” and is being sued by the families of both girls, failed to properly monitor weather forecasts even though the boat was equipped with a functional marine radio with a weather channel. Because he was too close to the shore, he didn’t have enough room to maneuver the boat appropriately when the trouble started, the report says.

The report says Fairchild and Good were in the air for about 15 minutes before the storm kicked up winds at speeds nearly double the recommended speed for the particular parasail Churchwell employed that day, which is a large one designed to be used in low winds.

Around 3:55 p.m., Churchwell attempted to pull Good and Fairchild back in using the winch mounted to the boat, but the force of the wind in the large parasail was more than the winch could handle. The parasail began to pull the boat in reverse toward shore.

Churchwell dropped the anchor and increased the throttle in an attempt to increase the power available to the winch; the result was “counterintuitive,” the report says.

“Due to properties of hydraulic fluid under pressure, lower RPMs result in greater winch tension,” it says. “In this marine casualty then, as [Churchwell] increased RPMs to the engine, thinking it would increase the winch tension, it actually accomplished the opposite.”

The parasail canopy is larger than the canopies in existence at the time the winch was installed on the Why Knot, and might have exceeded the capacities of the winch system, the report said.

Churchwell, who passed drug and alcohol screenings after the wreck, isn’t the only one who made mistakes that day.

The report said other employees, including the Aquatic Adventures “safety officer,” failed to monitor the weather according to the company’s training manual and should have suspended operations — but the ultimate responsibility was the captain’s. The report noted that he is paid on commission.

When reached by telephone Thursday, Churchwell said he had not seen the report and declined to comment. Aquatic Adventures has hired an attorney to defend the company in the civil suit, and he has said he would not comment while the case is pending.

The report recommends that the Coast Guard create a parasail endorsement and require operators to hold it, as well as “research and consider developing regulations regarding parasail operations or inspect parasail equipment on all parasail vessels that carry at least one passenger for hire … regulations would proactively address known latent unsafe conditions, and guide, encourage, and compel parasail companies to promote safety.”

The report acknowledges that the Coast Guard doesn’t have authority currently to regulate or inspect the vessels. It does, however, assert that the Coast Guard expects licensed parasail operators to follow voluntary standards and can take enforcement actions against those who don’t.

“The lack of enforceable standards specific to parasailing does not prohibit the Coast Guard from taking measures that serve as a deterrent and reduce the frequency of similar casualties,” the report notes. 

PANAMA CITY — Prosecutors upgraded the charges against a former guard at the Bay County Jail this week from sexual misconduct between a detention employee and an inmate to sexual battery.

Deputies arrested 47-year-old Pedro Reyes on the initial charges in November, saying at the time the sex was consensual. Prosecutors did not explain the reason for the more severe charge of sexual battery, but an investigative report released by the State Attorney’s Office indicates that the victim felt forced to have sex with Reyes because he was in a position of authority over her. Reyes is not accused of using physical force in the course of the alleged crime.

The victim, who is not being identified due to the nature of the crime, told investigators she felt threatened by Reyes, but she came forward after hearing that he had been having sex with other inmates.

She said Reyes had sexual contact with her on three occasions in a closet in the laundry at the jail. She told investigators with the Bay County Sheriff’s Office that on one of the occasions, she spit semen onto the shirt she was wearing so she would have DNA evidence against him.

According to a transcript of the victim’s interview with investigators she explained why she gave the shirt to another woman at the jail. She said:

“I didn’t want it to just disappear and … uh … I don’t know, I was scared. I was scared. I didn’t wanna, you know … .”

“So you wanted her to hold…,” the investigator said.

“Feel like … uh … if a cop is able to do that to me then they can do anything.”

Investigators took custody of the shirt and submitted it to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for DNA analysis. Reyes’ DNA matched the DNA on the shirt, according to a lab report included in the investigative report.

An unsigned, undated, handwritten letter included in the investigative report appears to have been written by the victim perhaps to her mother.

“I just want her to know that an officer here Mr. Reyes was coaxing me into having sex and oral sex (unprotected) with him…I have been scared to say something until I started hearing that I’m not the first girl,” the letter says.

When Reyes was arrested, investigators said they were looking into whether he had sex with any other inmates. According to the report, he admitted to having sex with at least two other women, one of whom denied it, and investigators were unable to contact the other. A fourth woman told investigators she had consensual sex with Reyes.

Any sex between a detention employee and an inmate is a third-degree felony, and consent is not a legitimate defense against prosecution, according to Florida statute.

PANAMA CITY -- The Panama City Police Department is investigating a shoplifting incident that occurred at Kohl’s Department Store at 2610 Highway 77 in Panama City.

On Wednesday at about 5:30 p.m., a man fled with stolen merchandise valued at over $500 after store employees approached him. Store employees believe the man is responsible for several similar incidents in the past.

Police are seeking the public’s help in identifying the man. He was last seen wearing a black hat, gray jacket, and blue jeans. Anyone with any information about the case can contact the Police Department at 850-872-3100, or you can report your tips anonymously to CrimeStoppers at 850-785-TIPS. 

LAGRANGE, Ga. — Three people died Saturday when a small plane crashed at an airport in west Georgia.

Two occupants of the plane died on the scene and one died later at a hospital in Columbus, according to LaGrange Fire Department Lt. Chris Taylor.

LaGrange police identified them as 60-year-old Vincent Michael Rossetti; 69-year-old Willy Lutz; and 53-year-old Jeffery Van Curtis. All three were from nearby Peachtree City. Several media reports have noted that the plane took off from Panama City.

Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said the twin-engine Beechcraft Baron aircraft crashed at LaGrange-Callaway Airport in LaGrange. She said three people were aboard.

The plane was registered to Executive Aircraft Storage LLC based in Peachtree City, according to FAA online records.
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating what caused the crash.
Taylor told the LaGrange Daily News (http://bit.ly/1bXD91k) theplane nosedived into the ground at 2:07 p.m. He said federal officials would be on the scene all weekend.

The LaGrange newspaper reported that several people at the airport said the Beechcraft was practicing touch-and-go maneuvers on one runway and a second plane towing a glider was moving down another intersecting runway.
A photo from the LaGrange Daily News shows the crashed airplane intact, with its badly-damaged nose in the ground and its fuselage and tail section in the air.

LaGrange is about 65 miles southwest of Atlanta.
 

LYNN HAVEN - Someone has been impersonating a Bay County Sheriff's deputy over the phone, officials wrote in a 'scam alert' news release.

"In one of the reported phone calls, the caller identified himself as Lt. Martin with the Bay County Sheriff’s Office and informed the victim she had a warrant issued for her because she failed to show up for jury duty," the news release states. "When the victim claimed she never received a summons, “Lt. Martin” began to ask the victim her name and address to help him “verify” he was speaking with the correct person. By doing this, he obtained personal information about the victim."

When the woman told the 'deputy' she wanted to talk to her boyfriend, a man who works for a local law enforcement agency, the suspect hung up immediately, officials said. 

Investigators said the suspect is most likely attempting to learn personal information in order to commit identity theft or scam his intended victims out of cash by convincing to pay to 'have a warrant removed and stay out of jail.'

"The Bay County Sheriff’s Office does not solicit money from anyone over the phone," officials wrote.

BCSO officials added that anyone who gets a similar phone call should refrain from sharing personal information and contact the sheriff's office immediately. 

DAYTONA BEACH — A 17-year-old boy was hit and killed by a freight train Monday night, police said.

The teen was standing on the Florida East Coast Railway tracks some 300 yards north of Wilder Boulevard about 8:30 p.m. when he was struck by the southbound train, said Daytona Beach police Lt. Jakari Young.

Police identified the teen as Giovanni Gonzalez, 17, of 513 South Caroline St. in Daytona Beach.He was holding a skateboard and facing the train when he was hit, police spokesman Jimmie Flynt said. The train conductor saw the teen and continuously blew his horn but the boy did not immediately move, Flynt said.

“We don't know if he was playing a game or what,” Flynt said. “He didn't try to jump off until it was too late ... he didn't make it.”

The teen was thrown west of the tracks. He was carrying a skateboard which broke in half and was found next to him, Flynt said.
The teen died en route to Halifax Health Medical Center around 8:30 p.m., Flynt said.

The death remains under investigation.
 

A Marianna teenager was seriously injured in a Sunday night wreck in Calhoun County, according to a news release from the Florida Highway Patrol.

Jake T. Daffin was driving a Toyota Tundra north on State 69 when he "failed to use due care for wet conditions on the roadway" and lost control of the truck, troopers wrote. The Tundra traveled onto the east shoulder of State 69, rotated clockwise, collided with a ditch and continued until it collided with a tree.

Daffin was taken to a local hospital in serious condition. Troopers wrote that charges in the case are pending further investigation. 

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — The death of Florida Highway Trooper Jimmy Fulford saved others, giving some comfort to his family as the execution of the man convicted of killing him approaches.

Fulford died in February 1992 along Interstate 10 in Jefferson County when a booby-trapped package exploded during a routine traffic stop.

The bomb was intended for a Marianna woman who lived in an apartment complex with her baby. Another woman and other children lived in the next unit over and the bomb was powerful enough that it would have blown out windows, doors and walls if it was detonated in an enclosed area, according to court records.

“I’m sure there would have been a lot more people killed besides her,” said Tim Fulford, the trooper’s brother. “That is a comfort. He did die saving other people’s lives.”

The man who built the bomb that killed Fulford is scheduled to die by injection on Wednesday, exactly one year after the original execution date set in a process that has been held up by appeals. The time it’s taken for Paul Howell’s sentence to be carried out has been painful for Fulford’s family, especially having to be reminded of the circumstances as Howell’s lawyers successfully delayed the execution the past 12 months, Fulford’s brother said.

“It’s something our family will never get over. This process is too long,” Fulford said. “Closure will never come. The only way that would happen is if my brother walked through the door and we both know that won’t happen.”

Fulford is remembered as an excellent officer and strong family man. It was his dream to become a trooper when he was growing up in Madison County. He was first assigned to a troop in Bradenton, where he met his wife, Keith Ann. He eventually was assigned to patrol the area where he grew up and the couple was raising a son and a daughter in Monticello when Fulford died. He was 35.

“It was just a dream come true for him and things were working really well,” said Madison County Sheriff Ben Stewart, who grew up with Fulford and was serving as a deputy when Fulford died.

Fulford was active in his church, singing in the choir and teaching Sunday school. He liked fishing and hunting and spending time with his family. He was always helping neighbors, Stewart said.

“Jimmy was just a really good guy. He was one of the best officers I’ve ever known. He was very kind-hearted and he very much believed in enforcing the spirit of the law and not the letter of the law. He just believed in helping people,” he said. “Just a strong Christian guy and just a country boy, but he always wanted to be a trooper.”

Howell, a native of Jamaica, was a drug trafficker living in Fort Lauderdale when he built the bomb. He was trying to kill two potential witnesses in another drug-related murder. Howell paid Lester Watson to drive a rented car from Fort Lauderdale to deliver the gift-wrapped box that contained a microwave oven with a pipe bomb inside that was set to explode when the door was opened. One of the women had told Howell she needed a microwave oven to heat her baby’s formula.

Fulford stopped Watson for speeding in Jefferson County. Watson was driving a car rented in Howell’s name and gave Fulford a false name and birthdate. A dispatcher called Howell to ask if Watson had permission to drive the car. Howell said yes, but told the dispatcher he didn’t think Watson was leaving Broward County. He didn’t mention the bomb in the trunk.

“This was evil intent. It was meant to kill somebody. And they didn’t care. These guys had an opportunity once they were arrested, to say ‘Look, don’t open the thing,’” Stewart said.

Two Jefferson County deputies assisted Fulford by taking Watson and his passenger to the county jail. While they were gone, Fulford opened the package setting off a massive explosion that left a depression in the highway.

“If Jimmy had not intercepted that bomb, a woman and innocent kids would have all been killed and that was the sacrifice that Jimmy made,” said Florida Highway Patrol Major Mark Welch.

A state and federal investigation after the death led to and the dismantling of a drug ring based in South Florida and the indictment of 28 people.

An earlier version of this story is posed below:

TALLAHASSEE — If there is one good thing that came out of Florida Highway Trooper Jimmy Fulford's death, it's that others' lives were saved.

Fulford died in February 1992 along Interstate 10 when a booby-trapped package exploded after a routine traffic stop. The bomb was intended for a Marianna woman who lived in an apartment complex with her baby. Court records show the bomb was powerful enough that it would have blown out windows, doors and walls if it was detonated in an enclosed area and could have killed others if opened by the woman.

Paul Howell, the man who built the bomb, is scheduled to be executed Wednesday.

Fulford is remembered by his colleagues as an excellent officer and a strong family man who was kind-hearted and willing to help anyone.
 

PANAMA CITY BEACH — A Tallahassee doctor was arrested Saturday after he triggered an Amber Alert in the hours after his estranged wife was found dead in the pool of one of their houses.

Bay County Sheriff’s deputies, acting as part of the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force, made contact with Adam Frasch Saturday at a Panama City Beach home around 4 p.m., said BCSO spokeswoman Ruth Corley. Deputies at that point were primarily concerned for the safety of Frasch’s two children, she said.

Frasch was a suspect in the cases involving his missing two children, and the Leon County Sheriff’s Office alerted deputies here that he owned a home on

“We didn’t have a warrant, but we had an Amber Alert,” Corley said.

The Tallahassee Democrat reported 38-year-old former model Samira Frasch had recently filed for divorce and been granted temporary sole custody of the couple’s two young children. A maintenance worker found her body in the swimming pool of the couple’s house in Tallassee around 11 a.m. Saturday, hours after the children were seen getting into an SUV and leaving the home.

Deputies found Hyrah Frasch and Skynnah Frasch in their car seats in an SUV parked in the driveway on the Nancee Drive home. They were unharmed, and they were turned over to the state Department of Children and Families after Frasch was arrested.

Frasch agreed to come with deputies to talk about the situation, but Corley was not sure if he gave a statement to local deputies or Leon County deputies, who arrested Frasch around 5:15 p.m. on a warrant for interfering with child custody.

It is not clear if deputies suspect foul play in Samira Frasch’s death. A LCSO spokesman could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Frasch is being held without bond in the Bay County Jail. Corley said the warrant included the provision that Frasch be held without bond. The Clerk of Courts’ website gives no indication that Frasch has seen a judge since his arrest.

Staff at the Bay County Jail said Frasch declined to be interviewed.

DAYTONA BEACH - Being a 50-year-old white man didn’t make James Morrison unique in Florida.

But his crooked mouth, the freckle on his forehead and the space between his eyes did, and those characteristics led to him being positively identified through facial recognition software as a suspect in a bank fraud case.

Morrison’s identification is one of two cases this year where Daytona Beach police were able to use the Face Analysis Comparison Examination System, or FACES, to identify the suspect of a crime.

“This is not what you see on Criminal Minds or CSI or NCIS,” said Jackie Flory, the specialist for the department’s Criminal Investigations Division.

The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office and the Daytona Beach Police Department were the first local agencies to start using the system. Other law enforcement agencies — police in the cities of Ormond Beach, South Daytona, Daytona Beach Shores, Edgewater, Orange City and the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office — also have access to FACES.

When detectives bring Flory a photo, often a still from surveillance video, she puts it into the system, which was developed by the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office in 2001, and narrows down the search parameters — based on approximate age and other characteristics — to ensure she gets the best results.

The FACES database is composed of photos from about 40 state and federal agencies including jail booking photos and Florida driver’s license pictures.

Cecilia Barreda, spokeswoman for the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, said the program then sorts through a plethora of pictures, nearly 30 million, scanning faces to find the best matches based on the facial value assigned to the photo in question. The facial value is determined based on points on the face.

Next, the system returns with a gallery of results, ranked by which photo is the closest potential match.

Barreda said it’s then up to the user to determine if any of the results is a match.

“It’s not the end all, be all,” Barreda said. “It’s one more investigative tool that we have.”

She said the goal is to be able to put a name with an unknown face, which is what Flory was able to do in regard to Morrison.

Morrison is one of a handful of people, including a local Wells Fargo employee, suspected of being involved in a bank fraud scheme.

Jomar Lizardo, 30, worked at the bank at 1100 W. Granada Blvd. and was arrested Jan. 31 after Ormond Beach police were able to connect him to the case, which they started investigating in November. Lizardo is facing charges of grand theft more than $20,000, organized scheme to defraud more than $20,000, conspiracy organized scheme to defraud and using a two-way communication device to commit a felony, records show. So far, Lizardo is the only person charged in the case.

Ormond Beach detectives first brought Flory the Wells Fargo surveillance photo of Morrison, who police say was attempting to withdraw $4,650 from an Arizona man’s account Jan. 14, but Flory was unable to get any hits because of the quality and angle of the photo.

Flory said more often than not banks and other businesses with surveillance cameras don’t have them set up to capture straight-on photos, which work best for FACES.

“We can try to tilt the photo, but if they’re looking down with a ball cap and sunglasses on, there’s no way,” Flory said.

She then remembered the Ormond Beach police report said that Morrison had left the fake Arizona ID behind when he fled the bank.

Flory said she was able to borrow the ID from Ormond Beach police and scan the photo into the system, ultimately finding a match.

But officials say making a positive identification won’t always be the case.

When Ormond Beach police sent a photo of a female suspect in the same bank fraud case as Morrison to the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office to run through FACES, investigators were unable to find a match because the bank teller’s window distorted the suspect’s face in the surveillance still, according to an Ormond Beach police report.

“FACES is a great program, and it’s a tool, but it’s not perfect,” Volusia County sheriff’s Lt. Jim Morgan said.

Morgan said a positive identification made by a real person, without the help of a computer program, is preferred, but FACES is still helpful.

While law enforcement officials know what the facial recognition system is capable of, officials say the public’s perception of its capabilities can be distorted.

“We do not have facial recognition cameras throughout the city,” Flory said. “People shouldn’t be afraid of this. We’re not out to spy on people. We’re trying to catch the bad guys. We’re not out to get the good guy.”

Jon Mills, privacy expert and dean emeritus of the University of Florida’s Levin College of Law, said he believes the system is mostly reliable, but he could see why some of the public has a problem with the program.

“I think a lot of the tech concerns are warranted, but that picture is probably public record, and if it’s public record then you don’t have a reasonable expectation of privacy,” said Mills, a professor of law.

Bruce Jacob, a constitutional law expert and dean emeritus of Stetson University’s College of Law, questioned how people may feel about their photo being a part of database used and maintained by law enforcement.

“Whether it violates the Fourth Amendment, I just don’t know,” Jacob said.

Barry Butin, a criminal defense lawyer and co-legal panel Chair of the American Civil Liberties Union in Broward County, said he could understand why Florida residents may take issue with their driver’s license photos — which aren’t public record — being a part of the system, but he doesn’t see FACES violating any constitutional rights.

“It’s a different situation when you’re committing a crime,” Butin said. “I guess it’s not great for privacy, but there’s two sides to every coin.”
 

STARKE, Fla. (AP) — A drug trafficker who placed a pipe bomb in a gift-wrapped microwave oven in a plot to kill two potential murder witnesses was executed Wednesday for the 1992 death of a Florida highway trooper who became the unintended victim.

Paul Augustus Howell, 48, was pronounced dead at 6:32 p.m. following a lethal injection at the Florida State Prison in Stark, the office of Gov. Rick Scott said in an email.

Howell was condemned for the killing of Florida Highway Patrol Trooper Jimmy Fulford on Feb. 1, 1992, when the package exploded during a traffic stop.

Howell built the bomb in his Fort Lauderdale home and placed it in the microwave oven, court documents stated. He then paid another man, Lester Watson, $200 to deliver the box across-state to a woman in Marianna who, along with a friend, could tie Howell to a drug-related murder, according to the records.

But Fulford pulled Watson over for speeding about an hour from his Florida Panhandle destination and the bomb never was delivered to the intended target. Instead, Watson was arrested after giving Fulford a false name and birthdate. Watson also gave Fulford permission to search the car rented in Howell’s name.

Before Fulford opened the package, a police dispatcher called Howell to let him know what was going on. Instead of mentioning the bomb, Howell said he had given Watson permission to drive the car, but didn’t think Watson was leaving the Fort Lauderdale area.

Two deputies took Watson and a passenger to a jail while Fulford took inventory of the car’s contents. When the 35-year-old trooper opened the package and looked to see what was in the microwave oven, a powerful explosion took his life.

The blast — so strong that it left a depression in the roadway — occurred along Interstate 10 just east of Tallahassee.

Had the blast occurred in Tammie Bailey’s apartment — the woman who was supposed to have received the bomb — it would have been powerful enough to blow out doors and walls, potentially killing anyone in the apartment as well as neighbors, according to court documents. Authorities said Bailey’s friend Yolanda McAllister also was an intended target. Bailey had previously told Howell she needed a microwave oven to heat her baby’s bottles.

“He saved a bunch of people’s lives and I feel if he had to do it over again, he would have done the same thing because that’s just the kind of person he was,” said Sheriff Ben Stewart in Florida’s Madison County, a friend who grew up with Fulford.

Fulford’s death prompted a state and federal investigation that broke apart a drug ring and led to the indictment of 28 people.

Howell, a native of Jamaica, was sentenced to life on federal drug charges. He was then convicted on state charges of murder and making, possessing, placing and discharging a destructive and handed the death sentence.

His lawyers had filed an unsuccessful appeal Tuesday to the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing that a new drug Florida uses for executions wasn’t tested for that purpose. This was the fifth execution in the state using the new drug, midazolam hydrochloride, as part of a three-drug mix.

Watson testified that while he saw Howell wrapping the box that contained the microwave oven, he never knew it was a bomb, thinking instead it held drugs. Watson was convicted of second degree murder and is serving a 40-year sentence.

Howell’s brother Patrick, who helped him build the bomb, was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life.

PANAMA CITY — Two men were jailed Tuesday after their fight sent a baby to the hospital.

The incident began Monday night, according to Panama City Police records, Charles Dotson went to Adam Jarmon’s apartment, and began drinking alcohol. Jarmon told police Dotson, Jarmon’s girlfriend’s father, tried to pick a fight with him that night, but he didn’t fight because Dotson was intoxicated.

When they woke up Tuesday morning, Dotson told Jarmon he wasn’t drunk anymore and he still wanted to fight, according to a report. They fought, and Jarmon slammed Dotson on the floor. As they struggled they knocked Jarmon’s infant son out of a swing in the doorway, and baby hit his head on the floor.

Paramedics took the baby to the hospital for treatment. He sustained bruises and developed swelling, but the report describes his injuries as minor.

Jarmon and Dotson were both arrested for battery. Police also charged them with culpable negligence for causing the baby’s injuries.

PANAMA CITY — A Panama City man faces a slew of charges following a spree of alleged crimes, including accusations he drew a rifle on a family and threatened to kill his mother and grandfather.

Panama City Police and the Bay County Sheriff’s Office deputies both arrested 21-year-old Evan Bagwell Tuesday evening. He’s charged with battery, battery on a person over 65, tampering with victims, criminal mischief and aggravated assault with a firearm.

Police were called to Bagwell’s address on Rutgers Drive in Panama City and met with his mother and grandfather. They told police Bagwell had arrived at the home between 5:30 and 6 p.m. with another man, and they brought two long guns inside. They told police Bagwell had pushed his mother and threw a bowl of food at his grandfather, according to police reports.

Bagwell then grabbed a knife and said he would kill them both before the night was over, reports allege. He’s also accused of breaking several phones when his family tried to call the law.

Bagwell ran away when he heard sirens approaching, but police found him about three blocks away near Gabriel Street and State Avenue sweating heavily. He told them he didn’t know what was going on and he couldn’t remember anything since 2:30 that afternoon.

Police arrested Bagwell and notified the Sheriff’s Office because he was a suspect in another incident earlier that afternoon.

Around 5 p.m., a man was standing in his driveway on Rollins Avenue in Panama City with his wife and 1-year-old son. He shouted at the driver of a passing truck to slow down because there were children playing in the neighborhood.

The driver slammed on the brakes and backed up. He pulled a rifle, pointed it out the window at the father, cursed at the family and said, “We’ll take care of you,” according to police reports.

The family took cover in another vehicle and the truck sped off before hitting a mailbox nearby on Cornell Drive.

Police showed the father a photo line-up, and he included Bagwell as one of two possible suspects. His wife picked Bagwell without hesitation.

Bagwell was booked into the Bay County Jail. His total bond on all charges was set at $19,000 during his first court appearance Wednesday.

The Blotter is a look at some of the unusual things that happen on the crime beat in Bay County.

Public opinion polls show greater acceptance for marijuana legalization than ever, but police don’t enforce public opinion polls. Police enforce laws, and the law in Florida says it’s illegal to hold pot, even in your own home.

So, if you’re sitting around in your living room getting baked this evening and there’s a knock at the door, conventional wisdom says you should check to see who it is before inviting them to come on in.

That’s a lesson learned the hard way by one local man this week.

The cop at the door didn’t come to arrest the man for pot possession. He was only there as an escort to someone who needed to retrieve some property. He even hesitated the first time before 'not so Silent Bob' hollered from the couch to “come in.”

But when the invitation was repeated, the cop opened the door and stepped inside to find a man on the couch with a pipe and a lighter and a suspicious looking cigar box. What’s inside, the cop asked.

The man hesitated. “Marijuana,” he said.

Who does it belong to? It belonged to the MENSA candidate on the couch, who was arrested.