SPRINGFIELD — Police are investigating the shooting of a man found dead in a car Thursday morning as a homicide.

Cagney Aaron Benson, 29, was found in a 2009 Chevy Cobalt that was parked and not running at an intersection in the Maharaj Mobile Home Park. Police responded around 7:30 a.m. and found him dead inside the car.

Neighbors, who declined to give their names, said they were getting children ready for school and noticed a car parked at Everitt Avenue and Springfield Avenue blocking traffic. No one heard any gunshots, so the neighbors said they believe Benson had been shot somewhere else and died trying to escape whoever shot him.

Springfield Police Chief Philip Thorne said he has no indication Benson was shot somewhere else. Early Thursday afternoon, police had no suspects and no witnesses. Thorne asked the Bay County Sheriff’s Office to take the lead in the investigation.

--- VIDEO: THORNE TALKS ABOUT THE CASE»»

Benson had been in and out of state prison for the past 10 years, serving three separate stints for drug convictions. He died less than a mile from the address he listed when he was released from prison in September after serving about 18 months for possession of cocaine and possession of bath salts. Court records indicate he is survived by at least one child.

Neighbors said the neighborhood is typically quiet at night because its working class residents are usually in bed around the time the streetlights come on. They added that criminal activity there was rarely more serious than schoolchildren fighting at the railroad tracks nearby. Thorne said the park had improved over the past few years, but police still respond to a “moderate” level of criminal activity there.

Police are trying to figure out what Benson was doing Wednesday night before he was killed.

“We’re trying to run down where he was last night ... and see where that takes us,” Thorne said.

--- VIDEO: THORNE TALKS ABOUT THE CASE»»

PANAMA CITY — Family members of a teenager who was sentenced to a decade in prison for a drunken Spring Break traffic fatality have complained to his judge that several parties — including the police — in part were responsible for the tragic wreck.

However, officials said police acted within their power when they allowed 19-year-old Bruce Chandler George to leave the scene of a crash moments before the deadly collision.

The family of George, from Nolensville, Tenn., wrote Circuit Judge Michael Overstreet Monday to ask he reconsider the more than 10-year prison sentence handed down to the teenager. Family members requested George be sentenced as a youthful offender for the March crash which killed 22-year-old Brandon Beverly, of Knoxville, Tenn. In their letter, grandparents of George asked Overstreet to explain his reasoning for not doing so; and they said local law enforcement, vendors and the local government policies contributed to setting the scene for disaster.

--- DOCUMENT: FAMILY LETTER»»

“Several individuals made errors in judgment the day this tragedy occurred,” Bruce and Regina Carnahan, grandparents of George, wrote. “… We feel [George] is paying for those mistakes as well as his own.”

About 30 minutes before the March 9 crash, George backed into a car in a Panama City Beach McDonald’s parking lot. Police interviewed George and allowed the then 18-year-old to leave afterward, a decision Panama City Beach Police Chief Drew Whitman said that commonly is left to individual officers’ discretion.

“That is total officer discretion,” Whitman said. “The officer has to believe he has been under the influence or smell the alcohol on him before we can even do a field sobriety test. If none of those flags come up, we can’t just take them to jail.”

Authorities then arrived at Thomas Drive near the Signal Hill Golf Course shortly after 9:15 p.m. after a 2001 Ford Taurus sedan careened into a 2013 Panther scoot car. George, driving the Taurus, told authorities after the fatal crash he had fallen asleep at the wheel after drinking alcohol since about 1:30 p.m. that day.

George veered into the oncoming traffic before crashing into the scoot car. Beverly was ejected in the crash and later died from his injuries.

Following a serious traffic crash, police have the authority to perform alcohol tests. George’s blood alcohol content was 0.159, nearly twice the legal benchmark at which a driver is presumed impaired, which is 0.08.

George’s family also said the business who sold him beer, the business who rented Beverly the scoot car and the city of Panama City Beach in general, “who are too lenient in general during Spring Break,” played a role in what culminated as the loss of two youths.  

“There seems to be events totally unrelated to this case that have influenced the prosecutor and the courts,” Bruce and Regina Carnahan wrote. “We just want [George] to be treated fairly.”

In their letter, George’s family mentions the Beverly family initially looked at pursuing retribution against the city and the officer who allowed George to continue driving. No lawsuits have been filed on the part of the Beverlys, one of whom is in law enforcement in Tennessee, according to Bay County court documents.

Attempts to contact the Beverly family were unsuccessful.

--- DOCUMENT: FAMILY LETTER»»

The Carnahans have also not filed a lawsuit, court documents indicated.

Since George pleaded no contest to DUI manslaughter, he cannot appeal his adjudication of guilt. His family can appeal the length of his sentence, though.

“Anytime someone losses their life, it’s a tragic situation — especially someone that young,” Whitman said.

PANAMA CITY BEACH — Authorities are searching for a suspect of two possibly connected sexual assaults, officials confirmed Friday.

The Bay County Sheriff’s Office and the Panama City Beach Police Department were searching Friday for the man suspected of two separate sexual assault cases. BCSO employed land and air units in the search after a white male entered a home on North Lagoon Drive Friday and sexually assaulted the resident before fleeing the area, BCSO officials said.

Details of the suspects description were not immediately available.

“We know that a guy entered a home in that area,” said Sgt. Marc Tochterman. “One sexual assault happened in the county and one happened earlier this week in Panama City Beach; and we think the two are connected.”

TALLAHASSEE — After racking up more than $650,000 in legal fees, Florida Gov. Rick Scott is refusing to back down from his drug-testing crusade, most recently objecting to an attempt to close a drawn-out legal battle over requiring state workers to submit to urinalysis.

Scott, who campaigned on the issue of drug-testing welfare recipients in his first run for governor in 2010, has lost nearly every courtroom attempt to require drug screenings for state workers and applicants for the welfare program Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF. The governor asked the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in on his employee drug-testing policy, but the court turned him down in April.

The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last year that Scott could not constitutionally justify drug testing for all types of state employees without a reason, though it said testing could occur for some workers such as those in “safety-sensitive” positions.

A federal judge in Miami forced Scott and the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, which represents a state workers’ union, to hash out which jobs should be taken off the table. U.S. District Judge Ursula Ungaro appointed a special master to oversee negotiations between Scott and the ACLU. The talks dragged on for months, and special master Louis Brown’s tab is more than $100,000 so far, with the state paying $70,000 and the ACLU responsible for the rest.

Now, the ACLU wants to amend its lawsuit by limiting the legal challenge to the job classes on which the governor has already relented. In its request, the ACLU argued that the workers are entitled to a final decision guaranteeing that they are not subject to suspicion-less drug testing.

“At this point, the governor cannot escape the conclusions of law in the prior appeal —- namely that ‘[s]urrendering to drug testing in order to remain eligible for a government benefit such as employment … is not the type of consent that automatically renders a search reasonable as a matter of law … and that the governor’s ‘generic’ interests in a ‘safe and efficient workplace’ do not constitute a special need because they would otherwise eviscerate the Fourth Amendment’s individualized suspicion requirement,” ACLU lawyer Shalini Goel Agarwal wrote in the amended complaint filed late last month.

But, in a response filed late Monday, Scott’s lawyer argued strenuously against cutting short the lawsuit, accusing the ACLU of trying to turn a partial victory into a total win by getting a ruling only on the types of jobs in which the governor has already agreed he can’t justify drug testing without a reason.

“Its request to obtain a one-sided final judgment on a subset of positions is an attempt to side-step the orders of both this court and the Eleventh Circuit, and to deny the governor the opportunity to obtain a judgment as to the positions the union has agreed he may constitutionally drug test pursuant to (Scott’s executive order), as well as those positions he intends to establish are legally subject to testing. This strategy raises legitimate questions about the union’s motives,” attorney Thomas Bishop wrote.

The state has paid Bishop nearly $180,000 since he started working on the case earlier this year. Taxpayers could also be on the hook for at least $180,000 in legal fees incurred by the ACLU.

Thus far, the state has also racked up $307,883.62 in legal fees and costs in the welfare-applicants testing case, according to the Department of Children and Families. That does not include potentially hefty charges for legal fees from the ACLU. A federal appeals court earlier this month ruled that mandatory, suspicion-less drug testing of TANF applicants is unconstitutional, but Scott has not yet said whether he will appeal.

In the state-worker case, Scott this summer agreed that people in more than 700 types of jobs —- more than half of about 13,000 employees represented by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees including accountants, economists and translators —- should not be required to undergo the drug screens without reason. Last month, Scott and the ACLU added another 203 job classes to the list.

But, while Scott has agreed not to test those classes of jobs, he has not conceded that forcing state employees to undergo urinalysis is unconstitutional despite court rulings that initiated the compromises.

The courts have ruled that flat-out drug testing of all state workers violates Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches and seizures by the government. But some workers, such as those who carry weapons, can be forced to submit to random urine tests if the state can show a “special interest” for doing so.

It has taken a year for Scott to come up with a list of workers who meet the criteria, Agarwal said.

“As we said in our motion, what plaintiff has been seeking for the three-and-a-half years is to vindicate the principle that mandatory, across-the-board testing of employees and job applicants is unconstitutional. So our motion to amend the complaint seeks to bring a close to this three-and-a-half-year long saga to establish that principle,” Agarwal told The News Service of Florida on Wednesday. “We’ve come to this point because it’s taken that long to get him to admit who it is that he can’t test.”

PANAMA CITY — New York City police held Eric Garner in a chokehold for about 4½ minutes in July as he repeated 11 times the now infamous message that has echoed around the country: “I can’t breath.”

Moments later, EMS would arrive to find Garner dead on the sidewalk.

Since a grand jury decided Dec. 3 not to indict police officer Daniel Pantaleo for Garner’s death, peaceful and hostile protesters have demonstrated in cities throughout the United States.

--- PHOTOS: SCENES FROM THE PEACEFUL DEMONSTRATION»»

More than a dozen members of Panama City’s black community gathered Saturday on the steps of Panama City City Hall to stage a “Die-In” demonstration to promote peace and justice for the country and in their community.

People laid in silence in front of City Hall for about 4½ minutes.

“That is the time it took for him to lose his life,” said Richard Jenkins, one of the demonstration’s organizers. “So that time was detrimental in this case.”

The decision not to indict the officer in Garner’s death came more than a week after officials in Ferguson, Mo., announced that a grand jury would not indict Officer Darren Wilson for the shooting death of 18-year-old Michael Brown. The two decisions spawned uproars from black communities and a group called Black Lives Matter.

In addition to raising awareness about police force exerted upon black people, the “Die-In” demonstration was an extension of groups in the Glenwood community and elsewhere dedicated to stopping violence in Panama City.

The most recent victim to gun violence, 29-year-old Cagney Aaron Benson, was found dead in a 2009 Chevrolet Cobalt that was parked and not running at an intersection in the Maharaj Mobile Home Park. He had suffered several gunshot wounds, police said.

Springfield police is continuing its investigate the case.

“We are all passionate about Black Lives Matter,” said Giovanni Morrison, a demonstration organizer. “But that life mattered also.”

Many local demonstrators knew Benson, the latest victim of violence in Panama City this year. Jenkins grew up with Benson and knew several other victims and accused shooters.

--- PHOTOS: SCENES FROM THE PEACEFUL DEMONSTRATION»»

“We’re all close in this community,” Jenkins said. “We know the victims and the shooters, so we lose several of our friends and family members in these tragedies.”

The demonstrators also gathered later in the day at the Glenwood Community Center to discuss plans for Stop the Violence rallies.

“We will keep on until we show that this can’t keep happening day after day,” Jenkins said. “We won’t take no for an answer.”

PANAMA CITY— Marvin Jones Jr. has been slowly putting his life back together since June 29. That’s the day he stepped out of Bay Correctional Facility after being locked up for three years.

It was the sixth time he’d been released from incarceration.

“I’d get out and do the same thing,” Jones said, as he fried up bologna sandwiches in the kitchen at Panama City Rescue Mission. “It was all drugs and trying to get a quick dollar, which was an illusion I was chasing instead of getting out and working.”

--- VIDEO: JONES SPEAKS ABOUT HIS EXPERIENCE»»

Jones is one of the many inmates contributing to the alarming recidivism rate.

According to the Florida Department of Corrections, nearly half of inmates released will return to incarceration within three years. Florida paroles very few inmates before completion of the original sentence, and only a third are released under continued supervision.

Jones went to county jail for the first time at age 26 to serve a year for a DUI. He was incarcerated three other times between 1990 and 1993 for selling crack cocaine. He also picked up a theft charge, and his latest release was, once again, due to selling the drug he’d been hooked on.

Now that he’s paid his societal debt for the sixth time, Jones is starting at square one with finding a place to live, employment, family support and help with substance abuse.

About 87 percent of Florida inmates re-enter society, and many have to start from scratch with cobbling together a plan for stability.

“I have guys that are literally dropped off by the police here, and they don’t know which direction to plant their first foot in,” said Neil Hickem, community relations manager at the mission.

Housing hurdles: Inmates released from a Bay County facility are often transported to the mission and other shelters when they have nowhere else to go.

Jones chose the mission this time around, but recalls how divulging his botched background on a rental application for a duplex after his fifth incarceration cost him a housing opportunity.

“Things went well over the phone, until it came down to the interview,” Jones said of meeting the potential landlord. “She was like, ‘You have a felony. I don’t let felons in my house.’ ”

This discouraged Jones. He admitted to lying on rental applications thereafter, hoping property managers wouldn’t check his history.

“But they always did,” he said.

--- VIDEO: JONES SPEAKS ABOUT HIS EXPERIENCE»»

It’s even harder for ex-cons to get public housing.

Paul Mills, executive director of Springfield Housing Authority, said the federal standard is to require felons to wait three years after their release before they’d be considered for public housing.

When felon applications do get a glance, Mills said prior offenses are evaluated on an individual basis. Unfortunately, rejections don’t come with a referral to other options.

“I really don’t give advice as to what they should do,” Mills said. “They are adults, and they’ve got to figure it out on their own.”

Having this barrier to such a basic need does little to boost morale. Many shelters are foregoing the image of a last-ditch place to take refuge and repackaging these facilities as transitional housing where residents can take part in other programs vital to reintegration.

Rachel Duvall, manager of women’s programs at Bethel Village Home for Women and Children, feels the lack of housing options for new parolees leads them right back down familiar paths of destruction.

“If we had more transitional housing for men and women getting out, I think the success rate would shoot sky high,” Duvall said.

Work and getting around: Securing a safe place to sleep is just one battle. Ex-cons face the same problem with employment applications.

“When I got out, I pounded the pavement every day for four or five hours,” Jones said.

It’s tough getting out flat broke and with few prospects once potential employers discover a criminal past.

“With my track record, it was like every door was closing in my face,” Jones said. “It seemed like every place I went said, ‘You have a felony; we can’t use you’.”

When bad history wasn’t the issue, Jones was turned down for jobs because he was over-qualified or lacked critical computer skills.

Duvall said it helps to acquire desirable skills with job training and emphasized the importance of the job seeker taking pride in their appearance to make good first impressions. She ensured the ladies who come to Bethel Village can dress appropriately for a job interview.

“I started an interview closet for the ladies with different sizes of nice clothes,” Duvall said. “They can just find a nice dress suit to go look for a job in.”

Duvall said a surprising number of employers are willing to extend felons a second chance. Jones finally found a job making minimum wage at a local industrial company.

He said a crucial moment in the interview was when the manager asked Jones if he was done with that part of his life, referring to his substance abuse and legal troubles. Jones reassured him that he was and worked hard to be a model employee.

--- VIDEO: JONES SPEAKS ABOUT HIS EXPERIENCE»»

Jones had a lot to prove to his new boss and himself.

“I just wanted something to help myself. I would’ve washed dishes,” he said.

Transportation is another necessity. Mission residents use the Bay Town Trolley system, bicycles and walking to get around, since the convenience of a personal vehicle is a distant luxury.Duvall said people with addiction can qualify for free and reduced trolley passes through the federal Easy Access program that helps elderly and disabled people get around.

Addiction is defined as a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act, so addicts can qualify to ride for free by providing documentation.

Duvall also said anyone in a homeless shelter qualifies for emergency childcare assistance through the nonprofit Early Education and Care.

Finding support: Felons trying to build a life resilient to past mistakes have more success with a support network and a sense of accountability. Those released under parole supervision have an added responsibility during reintegration.

“Probation officers don’t want to send people back to prison,” said Bay County Sheriff Frank McKeithen. “Their job is to try to help people get back in society and be successful.”

But he said the likelihood of success rests on a personal decision. 

“It is totally 100 percent up to the person to stay out of trouble,” McKeithen said.

Others succeed by turning to loved ones for emotional support and finding the right mix of help with substance abuse issues.  

Jones said a change of scenery has helped him maintain his sobriety.

“My family is actually very supportive of me and very proud of me,” he said. “They want me to come home, but I just couldn’t at my age. I can’t be a burden on them.”

Jones, originally from Virginia, had a pretty good life in Ocala before he fell into addiction again.

“I had a home and business there and a marriage and kids,” he said. “I traded all that up for stupidity.”

Jones said life unraveled when the economy tanked in 2008. His contracting business fell apart and a bad investment drained his savings. Feelings of failure to provide for his family caused Jones to lose touch with his church and seek out drugs as an income stream and an escape.

That was the final straw for his marriage.

Being incarcerated meant Jones had a long time to sober up and think of where his life was going. He heard about the Rescue Mission while in prison and made the conscious decision to put rehabilitation first.

--- VIDEO: JONES SPEAKS ABOUT HIS EXPERIENCE»»

“It’s the elephant in the room,” said Michael Brust, support supervisor at the mission. “Just because you’ve been incarcerated doesn’t mean that your alcoholism and drug problem isn’t waiting for you as soon as you get out. It’s still there.”

Jones is thankful for places like the Rescue Mission that offer hope when the rest of society seems so unforgiving toward people with a checkered past.

“People don’t really trust you,” he said. “You got to earn that.”

Felons can find meaningful work. Here are some tips for getting started:

• Be honest on the application. Rachel Duvall recommends checking a box admitting prior arrests and writing “will explain in person” where it asks for details.
• Admit to past mistakes in the interview without providing more detail than necessary. Emphasize what you’re doing now to ensure success in life.
• Sell yourself. Be prepared to answer the “Why should we hire you?” question with confidence.
• If the interview goes nowhere, write it off as practice and move on to the next thing.
• Duvall also said to make a good first impression. Show up on time, be humble and take pride in your appearance.
• Just get a foot in the door. Take less desirable temporary work until a more ideal job is offered.
• Attend free resume writing workshops offered by Gulf Coast State College on Thursdays from 1 to 4 p.m. at the job placement office located at 5230 W. Hwy 98.

Source: Rachel Duvall, Bethel Village

Do you do the hiring?

• The Federal Bonding program provides insurance to employers who hire at-risk applicants against loss of money and property associated with employee dishonesty. Bonds cover up to $5,000 of loss due to acts, such as theft, forgery, larceny and embezzlement. The incentive program is free and requires no papers to be signed. For more information, call CareerSource Gulf Coast Center at (850) 872-4340.

NEW YORK (AP) — A gunman who announced online that he was planning to shoot two "pigs" in retaliation for the police chokehold death of Eric Garner ambushed two officers in a patrol car and shot them to death in broad daylight Saturday before running to a subway station and killing himself, authorities said.

PANAMA CITY — A Springfield man authorities said shot his neighbor for disrespecting his family has pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree murder, according to court records.

Diep Hoang Nguyen, 42, told police the shooting was the culmination of a long-standing disrespect of his family by 40-year-old Kim Thanh Le. During a social gathering at Le’s home on East Ninth Street, Diep Nguyen walked home to retrieve a gun and shoot Le. The bullet incidentally exited Le’s head and struck a second man, 44-year-old Ahn Van Nguyen, in the face — permanently blinding him, authorities said.

Diep Nguyen has pleaded not guilty to the charges. He did not go into details during police questioning, and police have not released the nature of disrespect exchanged between the two men.

“He said he had been building anger at the victim for some time,” Springfield Police Department Assistant Chief Barry Roberts reported in his arrest records.

Diep Nguyen was arrested Oct. 26 after allegedly shooting two men at a social gathering in Le’s home of 3726 E. Ninth St. — next door to his own at 3730 E. Ninth St. At about 6:05 p.m. that night, he left the party and said he was going home. Moments later, Diep Nguyen returned, approached Le with a pistol and fired one shot, according to Springfield Police reports.

The bullet passed through Le’s head and struck Ahn Van Nguyen, who was seated next to Le, in the face, police reported

Le died the following morning at about 8:30 a.m. in a local hospital while Ahn Nguyen mostly recovered from his injuries, only to be left blind from the incident, prosecutors confirmed.

The State Attorney’s Office upgraded charges against Diep Nguyen to second-degree murder with a firearm, aggravated battery and felon in possession of firearm. Police reported Diep Nguyen admitted to the shooting. He pleaded not guilty to the charges Dec. 3, according to Bay County Court records.

Court records indicated Diep Nguyen previously assaulted another man with a firearm in 1999 but did not intend to kill him. He pleaded no contest afterward to aggravated assault for firing three shots intending to scare the man but none of the rounds were live.

Diep Nguyen is being held without bond in Bay County Jail.

PANAMA CITY — Inmates approaching the end of a lengthy jail stay can take advantage of a wealth of re-entry programs.

“You hope that while they’re here, they pick up some lessons that are valuable to them when they leave,” Bay County Jail Warden Rick Anglin said.

Of all the inmates released from the jail, 95 percent return to life in and around Panama City, so Anglin feels re-entry programs offered at county jails and the state prison system by the Department of Corrections (DOC) serve a vital role in returning inmates to society who are prepared to manage life’s complexities.

Inmates leaving a DOC facility are required to complete a 100-hour comprehensive transition course that teaches job readiness and life management skills such as problem solving, goal setting, wellness, financial literacy, managing chemical dependency and relationships.

Programs focus on teaching inmates to be self-sufficient, especially through employment. DOC said it has issued almost 1,800 vocational certificates from grant- funded programs to inmates in 33 trades in the past three years.

Bay County inmates can learn skills in building trades, gardening, mechanics and welding, to name a few.

Inmates nearing the end of their sentence also may enter a community release center, also known as work release. Those inmates may hold employment while still incarcerated. Money earned is held by the DOC for the payment of restitution and saved so the inmate has money when released.

Anglin said jail can be beneficial to inmates returning to rough circumstances when they are released.

“This may be the most positive influence they’ve had in a long time,” he said.

Adult Basic Education and GED programs are available in 19 state prisons, which might be in-person or correspondence study programs. A mandatory literacy program is in place for prison inmates with less than a sixth-grade education and more than two years remaining on their sentence.

Those inmates are required to pass Tests of Adult Basic Education or complete at least 150 hours of instruction.

Ernie Bridwell entered the Bay County Jail in September after violating his probation by getting a speeding ticket while driving a personal watercraft.

Bridwell, who celebrated two years of sobriety Dec. 12, was ordered to enter the jail’s comprehensive substance abuse Lifeline Program to receive continued support for alcohol addiction.

But Lifeline also gave the 49-year-old Bridwell, who dropped out of high school in 1982, a chance earn his GED.

“I picked it right up after all these years, and it made me excited to get it done,” Bridwell said of the GED instruction.

Bridwell knows how to do the math it takes to run the business at his custom hot rod shop in Daytona, but he said he’s walking out of jail this time with knowledge that will help him at home.

“I have two young grandchildren and the math they were doing, I had no idea how to do,” he said. “Now I do.”

Lifeline Program manager Bruce Griffin said inmates over 18 who don’t have a high school diploma are required to enter the GED program as a part of their treatment.

He also said 75 percent of the people who earn their education while incarcerated do not return to jail.

“It puts them in a place where they get a completion of something,” Griffin said.

In addition to vocation and education, inmates need guidance in other areas of life.

The DOC offers intervention to help beat criminal thinking that leads to a life of trouble. The idea is to help reduce recidivism by teaching cognitive self-change skills, social skills and problem-solving.

Inmates also have access to faith-based services and mentorship, as well as short- and long-term substance abuse treatment programs.

The DOC said the number of children with imprisoned parents has increased by 80 percent during the past 20 years, so it now offers workshops on family reunification and parenting skills. 

Anglin said he can’t possibly remember the face of every inmate, but said it’s common for former inmates to come shake his hand when they run into him in public some time after their release.

“That’s what you’re looking for,” he said. “You want to see those people that can come up to you on the street and tell you they’re doing good. They have no intention of coming back. They’ve got a job and a family.”

PANAMA CITY — A man and a woman were arrested in connection with a gun and drug bust during a traffic stop, the Panama City Police Department reported on Monday.

Anthony Lamar Johnson, 39, of Mary Esther, and Nicole Renee Hampton, 21, of Milton, were arrested shortly after a search of a vehicle driven by Johnson, the PCPD stated in a press release. Johnson nearly backed into a PCPD Street Crimes Unit investigator’s unmarked vehicle at 441 Grace Avenue in the parking lot of Club Dejavu, according to the PCPD release.

When investigators spoke to the pair, they detected a strong odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle. Johnson initially gave a false name and address to disguise the fact his driver’s license was revoked, PCPD said.

Johnson was arrested and a search of the vehicle led to a wide array of seizures. Investigators located a 9mm semi-automatic firearm, more than a pound of marijuana, 75 grams of MDMA (Ecstasy), 60 grams of methylmethcathinone (Bath Salts), 4.5 grams of cocaine, more than 50 xanax pills, seven hydromorphone (Dillaudid) pills, and 20 oxycodone pills, the PCPD release stated.

Johnson was arrested and charged with numerous drug charges with the intent to distribute, felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, giving a false name to law enforcement and felony driving with suspended or revoked license. Howard, who also gave a false name according to the PCPD, was arrested and charged with giving false name to law enforcement and on a warrant for violation of probation in Clay County.

PANAMA CITY — Two Bay County women have been arrested in connection with two separate domestic incidents in which their boyfriend was left with a stab wound, according to court documents.

Cheyn Nicole Best, 20, and Amber Annette Toledo, 23, were arrested Sunday on charges of aggravated battery. Authorities in separate parts of the county made the arrests after two men, live-in boyfriends of the two ladies, complained of being stabbed by their girlfriends at different times Sunday evening, according to Bay County court records.

Both women made their first appearance in court Monday.

Best was arrested at about 6:45 p.m. Sunday at 132 N. Jan Ave. in Callaway, the Bay County Sheriff’s Office reported. Best was in an argument with her live-in boyfriend, 29-year-old Denis Ayala, when he went to the couple’s bedroom. She followed behind Ayala and first sprayed him with an air freshener in the face, deputies said.

“Best then walked into the bedroom with a steak knife and stabbed him in his arm causing a serious injury by cutting an artery in his arm,” investigators reported.

On the other side of Bay County, in an apartment on Azalea Avenue, Panama City Beach Police arrested Toledo at about 10:30 p.m.

PCBPD reported that Toledo stabbed her live-in boyfriend, 33-year-old Justin Dezelan, in the abdomen with a steak knife. When police arrived, Dezelan told the officers, “she didn’t mean to stab me,” according to arrest reports. The couple was in an argument about money while Toledo was cutting food for dinner.

Toledo said the argument escalated to the point when Dezelan grabbed her by the throat, and she said she stabbed him in self-defense, police reported.

“When he came at me again I had to defend myself, I stabbed him,” she told police.

Both Toledo and Dezelan were arrested in the incident.

Both women made their first appearances in court Monday.

Toledo faces charges of aggravated battery while Best faces charges of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.

Information is provided by the Bay County Sheriff’s Office on people arrested on charges Dec. 10-15. Those arrested can contact The News Herald if charges are dropped or if they are acquitted. Addresses are those given by the defendant during arrest.

--- MUGSHOTS»»

Joshua Glen Simmons, 29, 17200 Panama City Beach Parkway, Panama City Beach, possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, manufacture, sell or deliver, possession of controlled substance without prescription

Forrest Michael Cain, 20, 14700 Big Island Pond Road, Southport, possession or use of narcotic equipment

Ashley Nicole Phillips, 24, 4508 W. US 98, Panama City, possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, manufacture, sell or deliver, possession or use of narcotic equipment

Benny Ray Hopwood, 32, 1133 Beck Ave., Panama City, possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, manufacture, sell or deliver, possession or use of narcotic equipment

Elaina Michelle Balli, 25, 3708 E. Ninth St., Panama City, neglect child without great harm

Mary Jordan Cressy, 18, 631 N. Ninth St., Panama City, possession of controlled substance without prescription, possession or use of narcotic equipment narcotic equipment

Thomas Alexander Taylor IV, 34, 1315 Chat Holly Road, Miramar Beach, possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, manufacture, sell or deliver, possession or use of narcotic equipment

Jesus Samuel Garcia-Ramos, 43, 2725 Baldwin Road, Panama City, possession of weapon or ammunition by felon

Jerrame Lee Jacks, 26, 4507 E. US 98, Parker, aggravated battery with use of a deadly weapon

Casey Ellis Long, 21, 338 Seneca St., Callaway, burglary

Jacob Montana Fish, 21, 933 Florida Ave., Panama City, burglary

--- MUGSHOTS»»

Brian Scott Rinehardt, 40, 1904 Clay Ave., Panama City, possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, manufacture, sell or deliver, possession or use of narcotic equipment

Michael Alan Michaud, 45, 1904 Clay Ave., Panama City, possession or use of narcotic equipment

Charles Michael Payne, 50, 1904 Clay Ave., Panama City, possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, manufacture, sell or deliver, possession or use of narcotic equipment

Milton Pearce Dean, 39, 213 Greenwood Drive, Panama City, possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, manufacture, sell or deliver

Mike Alan Thaggard, 42, Acworth, Ga., felony battery

Billy Joe Barfield II, 41, 5709 Joseph Road, Panama City, battery causing bodily harm or disability

Brandon Marquis Smith, 18, 6501 Pridgen St., Panama City, possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, manufacture, sell or deliver, possession or use of narcotic equipment

Michael Tyrone Phillips, 38, 1914 Frankford Ave., Panama City, possession of cocaine, possession or use of narcotic equipment

--- MUGSHOTS»»

Adrian Durell Glass, 27, 4108 W. US 98, Panama City, grand theft, burglary

Ronald James Wilderman, 60, 6036 Enzor St., Callaway, abuse child without great bodily harm

Victoria Diane Hurias, 27, 5501 Thomas Drive, Panama City Beach, burglary, possession or use of narcotic equipment

Jesse Curtis Pendergrast, 35, 7504 Coleridge Road, Panama City, possession of controlled substance without prescription, possession or use of narcotic equipment

Janita Denise Monlyn, 30, 16987 NW 20th St., Blounstown, possession of cocaine, possession or use of narcotic equipment

Mary Elaine Whitted, 20, 2601 Oak St., Panama City Beach, possession or use of narcotic equipment

Gary Allan Tabares, 30, possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, manufacture, sell or deliver, burglary

Gary Wayne Vickers, 55, Manchester, Tenn., battery causing bodily harm or disability,

Anna Jade Nelson, 22, 1111 Minnesota Ave., Lynn Haven, possession of heroin with intent to distribute, manufacture, sell or deliver, possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, manufacture, sell or deliver, possession of controlled substance without prescription, possession or use of narcotic equipment, possession of weapon or ammunition by felon.

--- MUGSHOTS»»

PANAMA CITY — One man is dead and three others were left in serious condition after an early morning head-on collision, according to Florida Highway Patrol reports.

The crash happened after Jeffrey Dean Mayo, 45, drove onto the sidewalk of 15th Street at about 7 a.m. near Sherman Avenue. Mayo then re-entered the roadway, crossed over into the oncoming traffic lane before he collided head-on with a 2008 Mitsubishi moving van, FHP reported.

Mayo was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver and passengers of the moving van — 47-year-old John Alex Austin, 43-year-old Charles Silvester Taylor and 40-year-old Nakia Briggs — were taken to a local hospital in serious condition.

A vendor at the nearby 15th Street Flea Market, 2223 E 15th St, who’d arrived moments after the crash, said the people in the moving van seemed lucky to be alive.

“The engine was jammed into the front seat, and the steering wheel was on the outside,” said the vendor, who declined to be identified for this story.

Mayo was driving east on 15th Street in a 1999 Ford Ranger pickup truck Monday at about 7 a.m., according to FHP reports. He was approaching Maple Avenue when he ran off the roadway, to the right, onto the sidewalk along the eastbound lane, FHP reported.

Mayo recorrected, re-entering the roadway and crossing over both inside eastbound lanes as well as the center turning lane. The Ford Ranger then careened, head-on with the moving van where both vehicle came to a rest in the westbound lane, FHP said.

Mayo was taken to the county medical examiner’s office for pending alcohol tests.

The driver and passengers of the moving van were transported to Bay Medical Center Sacred Heart for treatment, FHP said.

There was a roadblock westbound from Sherman to Red Wood Avenue until around 10:30 a.m. Monday.

SPRINGFIELD — Authorities have yet to make an arrest as police continue to investigate the shooting death of a Springfield man, officials said Monday.

Cagney Aaron Benson, 29, was found in the driver seat of a 2009 Chevy Cobalt Thursday at about 6:30 a.m. The car was parked and not running at an intersection in the Maharaj Mobile Home Park, 518 Everett Ave. Inside the car, Benson lay dead from multiple gunshot wounds. Springfield Police Chief Philip Thorne said investigators have a timeline for when the car arrived at the intersection, but no specific suspects have been developed or arrested in the case.

“A lot of folks he ran with are not friends of the police,” Thorne said. “So it is slim pickin's there.”

After Springfield Police were initially called at 6:30 a.m. to the suspicious Chevy at the intersection, Bay County Sheriff’s Office investigators took the lead on the homicide investigation. Police have not released many details in their investigation.

Thorne said authorities do not have a timeline for Benson’s activities the night before the shooting. Benson suffered multiple gunshot wounds, at least once shot in the head. And authorities believe he was shot while at the intersection some time between 3:30 and 6:30 a.m., Thorne said.

“We had a robbery in the area the night before, so we had people out,” he added. “The assistant chief drove through there at 3:30 a.m., and the car wasn’t there. That gives us a time range for the shooting.”

Nearby residents of the working class neighborhood did not hear gunshots during that time, leading some to conclude Benson was shot elsewhere and transported to the intersection. Benson was found nearly a mile from his listed address. However, Thorne said official reports support the investigation theory that the shooting took place at the intersection, he said.

“We believe from medical examiner reports, it occurred there,” Thorne said.

PANAMA CITY — Authorities are seeking a suspect who on at least one occasion allegedly committed credit card fraud in the presence of a small child, the Bay County Sheriff’s Office reported Monday.

On Dec. 12, a woman lost her purse which contained her wallet. Later that afternoon, a white female used the victim’s debit card, which was in her wallet, to conduct numerous transactions at multiple businesses in Bay County, BCSO reported.

--- VIDEO: SUSPECT AT A LOCAL STORE»»

The suspect is described as being a white female, who appears to be in her late 30’s or early 40’s, medium height and weight with short brown hair and was last seen wearing a white shirt, blue jeans and carrying a brown purse.

During one of the transactions, she was accompanied by a young female child who was wearing a pink outfit, investigators said.

BCSO encourages anyone who has contact with either of the individuals to contact law enforcement immediately. If you know the identities of these individuals, have information relative to this investigation or have any questions or concerns, please contact Investigator Craig Romans of the Bay County Sheriff’s Office by telephone at (850) 248-2075 or by email at craig.romans@bayso.org.

Editor's Note: Beginning Monday, The News Herald is publishing its annual countdown and update of the top 10 stories of the year. These were the stories reporters and editors felt were the most important in Bay County in 2014. The series will end on New Year’s Day with the top story of the year.

PANAMA CITY — Taxpayers won't have to foot the bill for former bank CEO Terry Dubose's appeal until he's liquidated his assets, which amount to over $1 million by his account and more than $4 million according to a probation office, Judge Richard Smoak has ruled.

Smoak denied Dubose's request that he be allowed to have court costs associated with his appeal waived, and that an attorney be appointed to represent him on appeal; “in forma pauperis” in legal terms. Dubose asserted he's "unable to afford to hire counsel on appeal since the insurance company that had been paying counsel's legal fee abruptly discontinued payment after the guilty verdict."

Dubose, 67, Frank Baker, 63, and Elwood "Woody" West, 41, were convicted of several felonies for defrauding the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation out of millions by improperly claiming Coastal Community Investments, which operated Coastal Community Bank and Bayside Savings until the two banks failed in 2010, was eligible for a program designed to help banks struggling as a result of the financial crisis.

Dubose, who was convicted as charged on each of the 12 counts listed in the indictment, is serving a four-year prison sentence. Baker also is serving four years after he was convicted of eight of the 12 counts against him, and West is serving three years after being convicted of 11 of the 12 counts against him and acquitted of conspiracy.

In his order denying Dubose's request, Smoak noted that Dubose had $18,000 in his checking account (which his request described as a "negligible" amount) and he listed more than $1 million in assets total, including four vehicles and a $14,000 boat. Smoak wrote that Dubose's "alleged poverty ... is disingenuous."

"The benefit of filing in forma pauperis was not intended to protect a defendant's assets from liquidation, or to provide a defendant with an outlet to maintain his lavish lifestyle while riding on the government's purse strings," Smoak wrote in his order denying the request. "Defendant Dubose's inability to pay his appellate court fees and costs is voluntary."

Smoak also noted that a pre-sentence investigation report prepared by a probation officer said Dubose's assets actually exceed $4 million.

West, on the other hand, will have the court costs for his appeal waived, in the event he files an appeal, after Smoak determined he is broke enough to qualify for relief. Court records indicate he has only his primary residence, which is mortgaged, and substantial liabilities, including nearly $200,000 in fees for the four attorney's who represented him. Smoak didn't appoint an attorney for West.

Attorneys for West portrayed the company's chief financial officer as a well-meaning but inept accountant who never even read the rules of the FDIC program for which Coastal wrongfully claimed it was eligible. Coastal needed the FDIC funds to repay a loan they'd obtained to placate regulators and recapitalize after an unauthorized dividend payout.

The three men claimed in their defenses they didn't understand the FDIC rules, and the resulting fraud was an honest mistake rather than fraud. Friends, ministers and elected officials testified to their character during the two-and-a-half week trial, and jurors deliberated for about nine hours before convicting them.

Dubose and Baker, who was the attorney for the Jackson County Commission until he was convicted and subsequently disbarred, have appealed their convictions (West has not appealed, but he still could), but they'll have to ride out the appellate process in minimum-security federal prisons in North Carolina and Alabama, respectively, while those appeals proceed. Smoak also denied their requests to be released on bail pending the outcome of their appeals. 

NORTH TONAWANDA, N.Y. (AP) — Who took the leg lamp belonging to Ralphie's “Old Man” from a New York store's annual tribute to “A Christmas Story”?

The owner of the Yankee Spirits liquor store in North Tonawanda says his annual window display honoring the holiday classic includes memorabilia from the 1983 film, including several versions of the now-iconic leg lamp.

The store's surveillance video shows a man in a gray hoodie and sunglasses walking into the store and glancing around before he grabs a large leg lamp and leaves.

Store owner Gary Brennan tells Buffalo's WIVB-TV even his customers are angry about the theft.

In the movie, Ralphie's father wins a prize that turns out to be a garish lamp in the shape of a woman's leg in a fishnet stocking. Ralphie's mother “accidentally” breaks it, leaving the Old Man heartbroken.

PANAMA CITY — Six men on a Bay County jury found Conroy Orlando Thomas guilty as charged on Monday of attempted robbery with a firearm, according to a State Attorney’s Office press release.

Thomas, 30, of Houston, faces a mandatory 10 years and up to life in prison when Circuit Judge James Fensom sentences him Jan. 16. Assistant State Attorney Megan Ford told jurors in her opening statement that Thomas and three other men came to Panama City to collect money from O’Neil Dwight Richards. The morning of June 18, the four men confronted Richards outside his Everitt Avenue home.

Ford said Thomas approached Richards, put a gun to his ribs and told him they were going inside his house. Instead, Richards struggled to get away and made enough noise to attract the attention of several neighbors. The attack ended when a neighbor came outside to see what was going on. The four men were arrested later that day when neighbors noticed them parked in a car near Richards’ house.

Lloyd Stewart, one of Thomas’ co-defendants, testified that he was told Richards stole $27,000 from a woman in Texas who was a “banker” for Jamaicans living in the area, the release states. She would collect $200 a week from participants, who would then be eligible for interest-free loans.  Stewart said the “banker” sent him, Thomas and the two other men to get back the money. Richards, however, denies taking the money.

SPRINGFIELD — Bay County sheriff’s deputies responded to reports of gunfire Tuesday night but found no evidence of shots fired.

The Sheriff's Office received multiple calls from residents of the Game Farm Road and Avon Road areas who said they heard shots about 8:20 p.m.

However, deputies could not find any evidence to support residents’ suspicions, officials said. They could not locate a suspect and said no injuries had been reported after they cleared the scene at about 8:30 p.m.