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2 injured in crash

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FOUNTAIN — A driver and passenger have been hospitalized after skidding off the road and overturning several times, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

William Ellis Melvin, 32, who was driving the vehicle, was charged with careless driving and unknowingly driving with a suspended license, FHP reported.

Melvin and Melody Ann Andrews, 31, both of Fountain, were driving south on U.S. 231 approaching Las Vegas Street at about 9:30 a.m. Wednesday. Melvin, driver of the 2005 Dodge Durango, failed to maintain control of the vehicle by allowing it to drift off the road.

After rolling over several times and hitting trees, the Durango ended up on the east side of U.S. 231 and came to final rest upright on its tires and wheels, officers said.

Melvin and Andrews were taken to the hospital with minor injuries. Melvin was not wearing a seatbelt at the time, FHP said.


Police: Woman burned child as punishment

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CALLAWAY — A Callaway woman has been charged with allegedly using lit cigarettes to burn a child’s behind as a form of punishment, according to Panama City Police Department records.

Brandon H. Keefer, 28, 615 S. Gay Ave.,was arrested on aggravated child abuse charges Monday by Bay County deputies after a brief pursuit, authorities said.

PCPD received word from the Scherville, Ind., Police Department about an alleged child abuse that took place during a Christmas visit to Bay County, according to arrest reports.

The identity and age of the child have not been released due to the nature of the case. Keefer’s relation to the child was redacted from official documents, and Indiana officials could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

An Indiana officer contacted PCPD with the information Jan. 27. The child’s father had brought the youngster into the Scherville Police Department earlier to report being abused by Keefer between Dec. 1 and 23 when the child was in Bay County on Christmas break, officers reported.

The Indiana officer noted several injuries on the child’s body consistent with being burned with a cigarette, including burns on the child’s behind, PCPD said.

During an interview with the Indiana Department of Children and Families, the child said Keefer “spanks me with cigarettes,” police reported.

PCPD attempted to locate Keefer at her local address several times following the call with no success, police reported, and a warrant was issued for her arrest. She was arrested Monday and charged with aggravated battery on a child. She was held on a $5,000 bond.

Since they got the initial report, Panama City Police handled the call, but the arrest was made by BCSO.

UPDATE: Report describes horrific treatment, deaths at Dozier School

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TALLAHASSEE (AP) — As the bodies exhumed from dozens of old graves at a shuttered Florida reform school continue to yield grudging answers to stubborn mysteries, researchers investigating the cases this week released a report on what they know so far.

There was the 6-year-old boy who ended up dead after being sent to work as a house boy. And another boy who escaped but was later found shot to death with a blanket pulled over his body and a shotgun across his legs. Then there was the “rape dungeon” where boys were taken and abused.

What the researchers have learned about decades of horrific acts carried out at the now closed Arthur G. Dozier School in Marianna is outlined in a report released by the University of South Florida as researchers continue grappling with the mystery of the graves and deaths there.

University anthropologists have found the remains of 51 people buried at the school during a dig that also uncovered garbage, syringes, drug bottles and a dog encased in an old water cooler buried in the cemetery.

They are not only trying to identify who was buried there, but the stories behind how they and others died at the school.

Beyond studying remains, researchers are looking through the school and state records, newspaper archives and interviewing boys’ families, former inmates and former school employees to provide a history of the dead.

“Maybe I've been doing this too long, but I'm not surprised at what horrible things people do to one another,” said USF anthropologist Erin Kimmerle, the team leader who has researched other mass graves. “It's just really sad the way people treat one another, which may be in part what's captured the public's attention on this — just the sense that it's not right.”

The report, prepared for the Florida Cabinet, identifies two more people buried in graves, in addition to three who were identified previously. One was Bennett Evans, an employee who died in a 1914 dorm fire. While there wasn't a DNA match, remains found are consistent with his age and cause of death. The other was Sam Morgan, who was brought to the school in 1915 at age 18 and later wound up dead in a case that still has unanswered questions. Morgan was identified through a DNA match with his relatives.

To date, the remains of four people have been identified through DNA matches.

It's not an easy project. The school underreported deaths; didn't provide death certificates, names or details in many cases, particularly involving black boys; and simply reported some boys who disappeared as no longer at the school. And many in the Panhandle community don't want to talk about the school's dark past.

Several of the boys were killed after escape attempts, including Robert Hewitt, whose family lived a few miles from the school. He was hiding in his family's house and men from the school came looking for him several times after the 1960 escape, according to relatives. The family came home one day to find his covered body lying in a bed. He had a shotgun wound and his father's shotgun was lying across his legs.

There's also the story of 6-year-old George Grissam, who the school sent out to work as a house boy in 1918. He was delivered back to the school unconscious and later died. George's 8-year-old brother Ernest also disappeared from school records, which simply described him as “not here.”

Other boys died after severe beatings, being smashed in the head or other injuries. Former inmates and employees interviewed also told researchers about a “rape dungeon” where boys, some younger than 12, were sexually assaulted.

While many of the cases are nearly a century old, some of the dead have surviving brothers, sisters and other relatives still seeking answers.

“To some of this is history, but for many of the people who are involved it's actually their reality every day,” Kimmerle said. “They're really committed and moved by this because it's their direct family.”

Father says injured child taken without permission

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PANAMA CITY — A woman who allegedly burned her daughter with lit cigarettes as punishment had taken the child without permission, the child’s father alleged Thursday.

About 20 days before Craig Keefer, of Indiana, was able to take his daughter back into custody, he said his former wife, 28-year-old Brandon Keefer, took the child without permission. When the child was back in the father’s custody, he said he noticed several cigarette burns on the child’s behind, which had been used as a form of punishment, he said.

“Mommy said spankings don’t work, so she put cigarettes out on me,” the girl told him.

“I broke down in tears, because she didn’t run up screaming that she’d been hurt,” Craig Keefer said. “She said it like it was a normal occurrence.”

He then approached Indiana law enforcement to file a complaint, and Brandon Keefer was arrested Monday on a charge of aggravated child abuse.

Brandon Keefer could not be reached for comment. She posted a $5,000 bond Wednesday and was released from the Bay County Jail.

An Indiana officer contacted the Panama City Police Department with the information Jan. 27. The child’s father had brought the girl into the Scherville, Indiana, Police Department earlier to report being abused by Brandon Keefer between Dec. 1 and 23 when the child was in Bay County on Christmas break, officers reported.

The Indiana officer noted several injuries on the child’s body consistent with being burned with a cigarette, including burns on the child’s behind, PCPD said.

Craig Keefer told police that he’d initially arranged for the child to be transported to Florida by Brandon Keefer, but, after staying one night over at her house, the girl was supposed to remain in the custody of his mother in Callaway until Christmas.

At the beginning of December, however, Brandon Keefer picked up the child and eluded the family for about 20 days, Craig Keefer said. Brandon Keefer also eluded authorities, according to warrants issued for her arrest. She also gave police the mother of Craig Keefer’s South Gay Avenue address as her own while she stayed with a boyfriend in Panama City.

Craig Keefer said he regretted allowing Brandon Keefer knowledge of the child’s whereabouts.

“We shouldn’t have allowed them to stay with her,” he said.

Brandon Keefer was ordered to not have contact with the child as a term of her release.

Police: Woman arrested, 15 dogs saved from ‘puppy mill’

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YOUNGSTOWN — A Youngstown woman operating a “puppy mill” will be facing numerous counts of animal cruelty after authorities found starving dogs and two dead puppies at her home, officials reported.

Lindsay R. Sanders, 33, was arrested Wednesday and charged with 15 misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty and two felony counts, according to court records. Sanders is named as a codefendant in the case, and officials said they expect more arrests to follow.

When deputies attempted to contact Sanders at her 7010 Troy Road home on Jan. 2, they initially thought the faint odor emitting from the home might be its occupant, the Bay County Sheriff’s Office reported.

--- HOW TO ADOPT»»

“They were concerned about the owner, so they went in,” said BCSO spokeswoman Ruth Corley. “But it was the smell of the dogs decomposing.”

Deputies found kennels inside the home, which previously has been reported as a “puppy mill,” officers said. Inside, however, the deputies found feces on the floor and moldy food in the bowls. One kennel contained the bodies of two lifeless Great Dane puppies.

The remains of the puppies were later examined and their stomachs were void of food, BCSO reported.

Bay County Animal Control removed 15 Great Danes from the Troy Road property that were in “distress” and alerted BCSO to the residence. Numerous dogs were in outdoor kennels that appeared to have not been fed or cared for properly, BCSO reported.

“The Great Danes were extremely thin to the point you could see their ribs and tailbones,” officers reported.

Water dishes within the pins allegedly were dirty with green algae lining the insides of them.

The officers also reported seeing “several pens without dogs in them” where they “observed bones (skulls) inside of them which appeared to have K-9 teeth.”

Sanders was not inside the home when officers attempted to contact her, but they were able to reach her by phone. BCSO said she admitted taying there with her husband before leaving a man named “Red” in charge of caring for the dogs.

Sanders said she “went on a honeymoon and left a man they knew as ‘Red’ on the property,” BCSO reported. “They had met him in a bar mid-December. He needed a place to stay and they needed a caretaker for the dogs while they were gone.”

However, the neighbors said they had only seen the couple at the residence.

--- HOW TO ADOPT»»

After she refused to return to the home, a warrant was issued for Sanders and she was arrested Wednesday, court records indicated.

The 15 live dogs were taken to Animal Control and determined by a veterinarian to be malnourished and neglected. They were taken to the Northwest Florida Great Dane Rescue in Pensacola to be cared for and adopted out, according to officials.

Officials later deemed the home “uninhabitable.”

PCBPD to auction seized property

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PANAMA CITY BEACH — Seized property will be on the auction block this week, the Panama City Beach Police Department announced Thursday.

PCBPD will hold its seized property auction Saturday in the department’s impound lot. Viewing for the auction will be held between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Friday. Registration will be Friday from noon until 5 p.m. and again Saturday from 7 a.m. until 9 a.m.

The auction will start Saturday at 9 a.m. and will last until all items are sold, officials said.

Police: Woman skipped out on limo, catering bills

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PANAMA CITY — A woman who allegedly ditched a large catering and limo service bill has been brought to Bay County for a grand theft charge, according to a Bay County Sheriff’s Office news release.

Adonijah Niles, 20, spent time in Bay County in September of 2014 with a group of individuals claiming to be “The Black Billionaires,” a group of musicians and rap artists. They hired catering services and were driven to local clubs and motels by a local limousine company. After charging nearly $3,500 in catering services and $8,000 in limo services, the group left Bay County for Escambia County, BCSO said.

Niles was later arrested in Escambia County for not paying her tab at a motel. After being released by Escambia County on Wednesday, she was transported to the Bay County Jail and was served a warrant by the Bay County Sheriff’s Office, officials reported.

Niles was booked into the Bay County Jail on two charges of grand theft.

Officials found additional outstanding warrants from other agencies for Niles. BCSO expects additional charges.

Walker Washington, aka Shamel Shakeem, 48, was arrested on a federal warrant alongside Niles. He also was identified as a member of The Black Billionaires.

UPDATE: Officer crashes squad car in parking lot

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PANAMA CITY — An officer totaled a patrol car Thursday while attempting to cut through parking spots at a local restaurant, according to Panama City Police Department crash reports.

Officer Loretta Tuning suffered “possible” injuries in the crash, the report stated. However, the 2011 Dodge Charger that she was driving was disabled with about $25,000 in damage.

No violations were listed against Tuning, but the report said she was driving in a careless or negligent manner. Absent criminal violations, said PCPD Chief Scott Ervin, officers do not issue citations on private property.

“If it would have been a civilian, we wouldn’t have issued a citation,” Ervin said.

According to PCPD, Tuning was driving through the parking lot of Chili’s, 845 E. 23rd St., at about 3 p.m. Thursday. She was headed toward the exit and looked to her right to check for other vehicles. The pillar separating the windshield and driver-side window obstructed her view of the light pole, and Tuning hit the power pole head-on, police reported.

The crash report does not specify how fast she was traveling, but it said the vehicle’s airbag did not deploy. The report also didn’t list any vehicle defects.

Police reported Tuning suffered “possible” injuries, which are less severe than “non-incapacitating.” The report does not indicate the officer was ticketed.

The patrol car was towed from the scene with disabling damage.

The light pole was not damaged, police reported.


Former county aid ordered to repay $48,000

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PANAMA CITY — A former Bay County employee has been ordered to repay her employer — the Bay County Commission — about $48,000 in restitution, according to court documents.

Gina Rena Gainey, 43, pleaded no contest Thursday charges of forgery, scheming to defraud and grand theft.

Gainey, former executive administrative assistant to the Bay County Commission, was arrested in November after co-workers learned through casual conversations with other county employees that Gainey falsified information on her employment application. An investigation followed, in which officials found she had falsified grades in county-funded college classes, bolstering the amount she received to about $48,830.

Once Gainey admitted to falsifying information on her employment application, investigators discovered she had been fired from a company called BetterBuilt in 2006 amidst embezzlement allegations.

Gainey never admitted to the allegations but the company estimated she owed about $200,000.

The county subsequently conducted a review of all financial transactions Gainey had conducted while employed by Bay County.

Investigators later discovered that between June 2008 and August 2012, Gainey had been taking online courses through Birmingham, Ala.-based Virginia College, the arrest report states, and was paid with county funds for multiple classes she never took.

The county’s investigation also determined Gainey received compensation from the Veterans Administration, a scholarship from her husband’s branch of military service and Pell grants, according to arrest records.

Gainey pleaded no contest to grand theft, forgery and scheme to defraud Thursday. She was sentenced to repay the $48,830 and remain in state for the duration of a 10-year probation. Her probation could be terminated in five years if all conditions are met.

BCSO arrest log (Jan. 28-Feb. 2)

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Information is provided by the Bay County Sheriff’s Office on people arrested on charges Jan. 28 through Feb. 2. 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.

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Cynthia Denice Shelmon, 43, 261 Everitt Ave., Panama City, possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, manufacture, sell or deliver, possession or use of narcotic equipment

Jonathan Scott Nation, 30, 1330 Mylisa Road, Southport, burglary

Johnny Reginald Johnson Jr., 18, 1132 N. East Ave., Panama City, burglary

Sylenthia Letha Demeritt, 36, 2823 E. 16th St., Panama City, abuse child without great bodily harm

Cody Allen Smith, 27, Cleveland, Ga., cruelty toward child – aggravated abuse

Johnnie Mae Jones, 50, 2013 E. 9th St., Panama City, abuse elderly or disabled adult

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Grady Wayne Walker, 33, 1614 Mississippi Ave., Panama City, possession of controlled substance without prescription, possession or use of narcotic equipment

Adrenna Leme Thomas, 35, 1524 Chanlee Ave., Panama City, possession of cocaine, possession or use of narcotic equipment

Rickey Lee Copeland, 40, 9133 Chevy Lane, Youngstown, aggravated battery causing bodily harm or disability

Austin Lee Daughtery, 18, 16902 Castile Ave., Panama City Beach, possession of controlled substance without prescription

Michael Lee Tyson, 30, 720 Satsuma Ave., Panama City, possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, manufacture, sell or deliver, possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, manufacture, sell or deliver, possession or use of narcotic equipment

Jacob Steven Jeffcoat, 34, 9316 Resota Beach Road, Southport, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without the intent to kill

Charles Mitchell Bruner, 61, 538 Camellia Ave., Callaway, burglary

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Jail is revolving door for mental health care

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PANAMA CITY — Jails and prisons essentially have become modern-day asylums since mental health treatment was deinstitutionalized in the 1950s.

Places of incarceration are treating and housing some of the most mentally ill citizens, usually intercepting them in crisis mode on the heels of an incident that lands them in jail.

“Our folks do a great job of addressing mental health issues, but county jail is not the real place to be doing that,” said Rick Anglin, warden at Bay County Jail. “Those should be addressed in a mental health facility, but because of the situation, we are forced to.”

--- MOTHER PLEADS FOR CHANGE FOR MENTALLY ILL»»

With one in three inmates at the Bay County Jail on some type of psychiatric medication, the mental health team strives to make jail a place for inmates to gain new perspectives that will help them get unstuck from self-destructive patterns.

The hardship is even greater when criminal behavior is exacerbated by mental illness.

“We see a lot of conditions that are very prevalent because of the population we’re dealing with,” said Jerold Derkaz, medical director at the jail. “We have a large percentage that don’t get medical care because they’re indigent or transient or they’re poor. The only health care they get oftentimes is when they come into jail.”

Each inmate gets a full physical within 14 days of entering the jail with priority treatment going to those with a significant medical or mental health history.

Derkaz said the jail sees so many of the same people over and over for medical screenings that these inmates have come to think of the jail’s medical team as their primary care providers.

The jail is staffed to handle emergency and routine mental health care, and an important component is making sure medication gets distributed.

“We don’t want them to go without their medications to where they decompensate to where they hurt themselves or someone else,” Derkaz said.

Inmates on psychiatric meds usually are released with at least a couple week’s worth of their prescription and a list of mental health providers in the community in an effort to extend the care.

But not all mental health care in jail is for those with a disorder. Average people benefit from services, too.

Tanner Michael, a mental health specialist who works with the 20 percent of the jail’s population that are female, said inmates often need help rebuilding a life resilient to depression and domestic violence. Much of the legwork goes into teaching coping skills and instilling a sense of self-worth so they can find meaningful employment.

“Since many of them have never worked or got involved with substance abuse then committed crimes that got them here, they’re afraid no one will give them a chance,” Michael said.

For others, jail time can be a place of refuge to regroup.

“This is just a temporary stay for most of them and they’re getting right back out into the environment that got them here in the first place,” said Joe Jennings, a mental health specialist who works with the male population.

Mentally ill or not, Jennings said once inmates learn about resources they didn’t previously know existed, they become more motivated to turn their lives around on the outside.

“We see people that have so many talents and abilities,” Jennings said. “With the right resources and support, we’ll never see them again.”

Michael and Jennings hope society will become more tolerant and helpful to felons during reintegration. 

“Everyone has the potential to fulfill their dreams and their hopes; sometimes, a second chance is what people need,” Jennings said.

Michael encourages skeptical employers to hire felons at lower-level positions to give them a chance to prove they have what it takes to be an asset.

“If someone is willing to give them a second chance, that might be all they need to build their self-esteem and really change their life to be productive members of society,” she said.

Self-esteem is a big component to making better choices after release. Some have a pretty long way to go if  they enter the jail confined to the mental health unit.

The mental health ward in the jail doesn’t have the feel of a therapeutic environment.

Inmates on watch for suicidal behavior are under recorded and direct surveillance in cells with bare concrete walls and floors. Each cell has a stainless steel commode and a thin mat on the floor for a bed.

Though most inmates are not on a mental health regimen, there are numerous signs of other more common mental disorders in the general population.

Michael said inmates in on misdemeanor charges tend to stay incarcerated longer; they are unable to earn gain time because they can’t hold employment or are prone to fight other inmates.

--- MOTHER PLEADS FOR CHANGE FOR MENTALLY ILL»»

“Their mental illness doesn’t allow them to deal with the day-to-day stressors, so they end up spending more time in jail than someone without a mental health disorder,” Michael said.

Anglin said it’s hard to end the cycle of legal trouble for people with mental health problems when the go-to response is to call law enforcement and take them to jail to await a court date for being disorderly.

“It’s a vicious cycle,” Jennings added.

Need help with the next step?

  • Anyone in need may dial 2-1-1 or (850) 595-5905 24 hours a day to get connected with United Way for referral to health and human service resources in the community.  Support is available for mental health services, housing, substance abuse, elderly services, AIDS & HIV, food, clothing, child care, dental care, any disability, employment, financial assistance, domestic violence, education and other needs.

‘Life is difficult enough’ Mother pleads for legislative change for mentally ill

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PANAMA CITY — Linda Rivers’ blood ran cold when she saw the Nov. 30 news story about 46-year-old Michael David Watkins, a Mary Esther man who’d just confessed to a vicious homicide.

“This issue needs to come out,” said the Panama City resident.

Rivers identified with the victim in the murder. The body of Watkins’ 65-year-old mother, Gloria Watkins, was found in her home on a couch, arrows protruding from her head.

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Rivers was disheartened to learn Watkins’ slain mother had tried to have her son involuntarily committed under the Baker Act just days before her murder.

Being the mother of a grown son with a severe mental illness, Rivers also has been at the mercy of her son’s unpredictable behavior.

“I’m just happy that I’m not a statistic, and I very well could have been,” Rivers said.

Rivers became the mother of a special needs child by choice.

“When Uriah was 9 months old, I picked him up off the floor of a drug house in Vermont,” she said.

The now-retired social worker and her husband opened their arms to the infant, who’d been born to a schizophrenic mother and had brain damage from alcohol poisoning.

“We knew going in that it wasn’t going to be a smooth ride, but Uriah needed us,” she said.

The Rivers adopted Uriah when he was 2, and he became the youngest of three siblings in the Rivers family. Over the next decade, family life was relatively normal.

The illness surfaces: But things changed when Linda’s husband died unexpectedly at age 40, leaving Rivers to raise three teenagers — including 13-year-old Uriah — on her modest salary.

Two years later, Uriah began to manifest signs of schizophrenia. He had thoughts of conspiracy and believed people were spying on him through the television.

At 16, Uriah’s disturbing behavior reached new heights one afternoon when he disrobed and rode a bicycle down the street. Uriah was hospitalized in a mental health facility until his 18th birthday, the day he took a plea for exposing himself to the neighborhood children. He was charged as an adult with lewd and lascivious conduct and put on the national sex offender registry.

Rivers said Uriah was never a troublesome kid before the schizophrenia.

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“He was a good-as-gold kid, but he was sick,” she said.

Uriah Rivers moved to Florida with his mother and registered as a sex offender upon arrival. His mother anticipated restrictions on where Uriah could live, so she purchased property in Leon County, far away from places off-limits to sex offenders.

Linda Rivers moved to Panama City in 2005, but more trouble with her son followed.

In December that year, Uriah Rivers was arrested in Bay County for lewd and lascivious acts after his 5-year-old niece reported he’d touched her inappropriately. Linda Rivers said her son’s mental development is that of a 12-year-old boy, and she feels he was easily swayed to sign a confession.

“I feel that some of the things I’m labeled as are not an accurate appraisal of who I am, and some of the things they said I did — I didn’t do,” Uriah Rivers, now 35, said in a phone interview.

Following orders: Uriah Rivers served eight years in Florida prisons for his second offense and was released last September.

“As a prisoner or inmate, you don’t expect much from the system,” he said. He served his time between Zephyrhills, Dade and Charlotte correctional institutions.

The family hoped his release would be a fresh start, but it was just the beginning of new battles.

Uriah Rivers was released from Charlotte Correctional Institution under the Baker Act — Florida’s statute that permits an involuntary mental health evaluation for people who threaten to harm self or others through bodily harm or neglect — to Life Management Center in Panama City.

Linda Rivers said the mental health facility told the Department of Corrections (DOC) that it could not accept her son due to his sex offender status, but the prison transported him there anyway. Due to privacy laws, Life Management Center could not confirm any prior history with Uriah Rivers.

--- JAIL IS REVOLVING DOOR FOR MENTAL HEALTH CARE»»

“We have to follow whatever is on the court order,” said Tricia Pearce, community relations specialist at the center. She said patients must be in an apparent mental health crisis to be accepted and that patients are referred to other facilities if the center is unable to admit them.

Linda Rivers said her son was ultimately released as homeless and mentally unstable in Bay County by DOC under probation supervision, although she had informed DOC that her son had a compliant home and treatment plan waiting for him in Leon County.

“He was going to be homeless in Bay County,” she said.

She was unable to house her son in her Panama City home due to ordinances prohibiting a registered sex predator from living close to the church, elementary school and apartment complex with a swimming pool near her home.

When asked about Uriah Rivers’ release, DOC said in an email it followed “appropriate department procedures.”

Bumpy ride continues: Linda Rivers begged Bay County authorities to Baker Act her son so he could get back on medication to stabilize his mental state, but she was told his actions hadn’t met the criteria.

Two weeks later, probation officials did give him permission to relocate to the home in Tallahassee that his mother had bought and held while her son was incarcerated.

But Uriah Rivers’ behavior deteriorated without his schizophrenia medication. One day, his neighbors called to complain when he was outside yelling and digging up bugs in the front yard. His probation officer and supervisors visited the home, but despite his acting belligerent and telling authorities he was out of medication, he once again did not meet the Baker Act criteria.

Linda Rivers called every mental health facility in the region but was told there were no available beds for her son.

--- JAIL IS REVOLVING DOOR FOR MENTAL HEALTH CARE»»

Uriah Rivers finally got an appointment for Nov. 3 — nearly two months after he was released — through a counselor to see a doctor, meaning the family would have to ride out his condition for over a month without medication.

But that’s not what Uriah Rivers wanted. His mother said her son was volatile and talked about everyone’s conspiracy to poison him with medication. “It’s scary to be around him when he gets like that,” she said.

It was Linda Rivers’ responsibility to transport her son to Leon County. She said the two hours she spent confined in her van with her son’s erratic behavior made for a terrifying ride. She feared for her life at times.

She made it to her son’s new home and hired a caretaker as she splits her time between staying with her son in Tallahassee and returning home to Panama City for a break.

“I’ve got multiple sclerosis; life is difficult enough,” she said.

Uriah Rivers couldn’t make it until his Nov. 3 appointment before his schizophrenic behaviors flared. Neighbors called to her that her son was “acting gross” in the yard and throwing lumber around.

“Meanwhile, the family, we’re all going crazy ourselves,” she said. “We had to baby-sit him. We didn’t want him to do something and have to go back to prison.”

Around Oct. 25, Uriah Rivers had another mental health episode.

--- JAIL IS REVOLVING DOOR FOR MENTAL HEALTH CARE»»

He was in the yard again, throwing wood and screaming delusions at his mother, when he smashed his GPS monitoring device and ran off down the road.

Linda Rivers said her son has no memory of the episode that caused him to violate his probation. His actions did, however, finally meet Baker Act criteria enough for deputies to take him to the hospital, where he received an injection the antipsychotic drug, Haldol.

Within two days, Uriah Rivers was well again. “Since he’s been medicated, he’s been compliant. All he needed was the shot,” she said.

On the other side of that ordeal, she’s angry multiple agencies — DOC, probation, a mental hospital and a counselor — whose hands were tied by the stringent Baker Act criteria had seen her son off without intervention.

It took a mental health emergency and more legal trouble for her son to finally get the injection of Haldol he needed to be stable.

“Uriah can be one of these happy endings, if they don’t send him back to prison over smashing his box,” she said.

Plea for change: Linda Rivers is waiting to see if that happy ending will come. When she took her son to his monthly appointment with his probation officer on Jan. 5, he was rearrested for the probation violation he committed during the mental health episode in October.

Uriah Rivers is currently in Bay County Jail. His mother has had to pass on making mortgage payments to hire an attorney in hopes that she can keep her son from going back to prison.

“It’s taken everything I have to get him well again, and I fear for him in jail anymore,” she said.

Adding up all the times she felt her son was shortchanged, she can’t help pointing out flaws in the system that society has built for handling mental illness and sex offenders.

--- JAIL IS REVOLVING DOOR FOR MENTAL HEALTH CARE»»

“There’s no common sense in this situation,” she said. “Uriah’s not unique; this happens every day.”

Linda Rivers said Florida has failed to take care of mentally ill members of society and leaves few options for loved ones who know they need intervention.

“Speaking up didn’t get anything done,” she said. “People saw him disintegrating and there were several opportunities to intervene and no one did, because the Baker Act is so strict.”

Need help?

  • Families under stress due to the mental illness of a loved one can find support too. People can call Life Management Center’s 24-hour crisis line at 850-522-4485 to speak with a counselor.

PCPD says 2013 killing may be solved soon

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PANAMA CITY — A Christmas Day slaying remains unsolved, although the person of interest in the case has been convicted of murder, according to records.

Wilbert “Cadillac Will” Faison, 56, was found gunned down about 1 a.m. Dec. 25, 2013, in the yard of a home on 13th Street. Police named 33-year-old Stephen Trusty as a “person of interest.” And although Trusty was convicted of second-degree murder last week for killing a man over a bicycle, Faison’s killing remains an open investigation, according to Panama City Police Department reports.

PCPD officials said they expect a resolution to the case in the near future.

Trusty was considered a person of interest in the killing of Faison at the end of December 2013. He previously lived at 511 E. 13th St. where Faison was found dead, and police suspected Trusty was present when Faison was fatally shot.

One witness said he saw Trusty and his brother, 28-year-old Michael Ray Davis, flee the area at the time of the shooting. Davis was arrested later for giving false information to officers about a phone call between Faison and himself about 30 minutes before Faison’s death.

Trusty voluntarily had come forward to talk with police after officers found his ID at the home, but he was released without charges, police said.

Officers saw Trusty on April 25 after they tried to pull him over for speeding in a 2002 yellow Lexus. An officer recognized him and the car from an arrest in March for driving without a license, but police didn’t catch him after he ran away, police reported.

“I chased him, yelling stop several times, however he failed to do so,” an officer reported. “I lost sight of Trusty between Lincoln Drive and 13th Street.”

Police did not see him again until he was arrested while heading toward Tampa in June, following 34-year-old Leonard Price’s shooting on May 28 between Carver and Lincoln drives in Panama City. Davis, his brother, previously had been identified as the shooter but was released after witnesses admitted that they incorrectly identified him.

While the death of Faison remains unsolved, Trusty was convicted last week of murder in Price’s death. He also was convicted of threatening a witness’ family after the shooting. Trusty faces life in prison when he is sentenced Feb. 20.

Two arrested on gun, drug charges after brief chase

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PANAMA CITY — Police have arrested two men after a brief pursuit, the Panama City Police Department announced Monday.

The chase began after officers with the PCPD Street Crimes Unit attempted to make a traffic stop Friday at 11 a.m. Elliot Mason Frazier, 21, of Lynn Haven, and Diamonte D. Butler, 17, of Panama City, were arrested when the chase ended near the intersection of 11th Street and Sherman Avenue.

Officers seized more than 20 grams of marijuana, a 9-mm Taurus semi-automatic handgun loaded with “expanding ammunition,” and U.S. currency police suspect to be proceeds from the sale of the marijuana.

Both men were charged with fleeing and eluding, possession of a concealed firearm, possession of controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.

The investigation is ongoing. Anyone having information in this case is urged to call the Panama City Police Department, 850-872-3100, or they can report their tips anonymously to CrimeStoppers at 850-785-TIPS.

Burglary suspect seen on video

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PANAMA CITY BEACH — Investigators have released a home video in an attempt to solve a burglary that happened last week, according to a Bay County Sheriff’s Office news release.

BCSO responded to a Panama City Beach home on Feb. 4 , after the owner discovered someone had broken into the home around 5:30 a.m. that morning. The owner of the home at 20604 Front Beach Road said nothing appeared to be missing. However, he had video of the break-in on a security camera, which can be seen on newsherald.com.

--- VIDEO: SEE THE SUSPECT»»

The suspect appears to be a white male, heavy set, and wearing a long sleeve plaid shirt and jeans.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Bay County Sheriff’s Office at 747-4700 or Crime Stoppers at 785-TIPS.


JCSO officer named dispatcher of the year

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MARIANNA — An officer with the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office has been selected as the state’s 2015 Dispatcher of the Year.

The Florida Sheriffs Association announced Friday that Communications Officer Deborah Mathewuse of the JCSO was selected for the honor. The award is given to a Communications Officer who has demonstrated exemplary service in the line of duty. FSA Executive Director Steve Casey and President Sheriff David Shoar presented Officer Mathewuse with the award.

Jackson County dispatchers are responsible not only for the Sheriff’s Office but several smaller police agencies, the Jackson County Fire Rescue and the 911 center. All of these calls are taken by two communications officers, occasionally three, JCSO said.

Mental exam ordered for attempted murder suspect

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PANAMA CITY — A Fountain man accused of plotting to bind and torture his girlfriend in an attempt to kill her will undergo mental evaluations to determine whether he is fit to stand trial, according to court documents.

Paul Thomas Carhart, 63, received an order Friday for an expert competency evaluation. His attorney also waived his right to a speedy trial as the evaluation proceeds.

Carhart was arrested while attempting to leave a Greenbriar Drive home in his car when Bay County deputies arrived at 3:40 a.m. on Aug. 18. A small group of people in the neighborhood were pointing frantically at the car and calling out for the officers to prevent him from getting away, according to BCSO reports.

When deputies spoke with Carhart, he stated he intended to kill his girlfriend, Nancy Helms, and had fantasized about it for months, police said. He planned first to mutilate and torture her using various tools in front of a mirror so she would be forced to watch, BCSO reported.

Helms said for nearly four hours she struggled against Carhart, attempting to escape to a neighbor’s home. She had been beaten and strangled, her head slammed on the concrete, after Carhart allegedly attacked her when he was asked to move out, she said.

Carhart allegedly also tried to duct tape her hands and told authorities he intended to torture Helms before a bathroom mirror so she could watch her demise, BCSO said.

EMS arrived and began to administer aid to Helms in a neighbor’s home. She appeared to be in severe pain and going in and out of consciousness from having been struck several times in the face, BCSO reported.

BCSO deputies were able to stop Carhart and put him in a patrol car, where he told them he had hurt his girlfriend, the officers reported.

Carhart was charged with attempted felony murder and false imprisonment. He remains in custody on a combined $150,000 bond. A pretrial conference was scheduled in April to hear the results of his mental evaluation.

Judge: BCSO obtained evidence in ‘illegal search’

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PANAMA CITY — A circuit court judge has determined the Bay County Sheriff’s Office conducted an “illegal search” to obtain evidence against a man accused of falsely acting as a bail bond agent, according to court documents.

Christopher Robert Smith, 31, was arrested for allegedly acting as a bail bondsman and taking people to jail in August 2012 after the Florida Department of Financial Services Division of Insurance Fraud complained to BCSO. However, Circuit Court Judge Brantley Clark agreed with Smith’s attorney that deputies arrested Smith and “conducted an illegal search of (Smith’s) home and vehicle prior to obtaining a consent to search,” according to court documents.

BCSO officials said the facts presented during the hearing misrepresented their officers’ actions.

During Smith’s trial this week on charges of acting as a bail bond agent without a license, false imprisonment and tampering with witnesses, jurors will not see evidence obtained in BCSO’s search.

Smith allegedly was acting as an unlicensed bail bond agent, which entailed apprehending two individuals and transporting them to jail. BCSO said he had pleaded no contest to a past felony, so he was not allowed to be licensed as a bondsman in the state or carry a firearm.

During the arrest, however, BCSO deputies brought Smith outside the house as they “extensively” searched his home and vehicle without a search warrant, according to defense attorney Lisa Ann Anderson.

“It is unknown how long (Smith) was held outside of his residence due to the BCSO’s use of ‘direct connect’ cell phones for communication and as such, there is no record of their location or other ascertainable way to determine the lapsing time,” the motion to dismiss the evidence states.

One neighbor also testified at a suppression hearing that they witnessed deputies searching while Smith was handcuffed and standing outside. Law enforcement eventually got a search warrant for the house, but the warrant was based on items found during the search, according to the motion.

Smith’s attorney demonstrated BCSO requested information on firearms before the time they received a search warrant for Smith’s home and vehicle.

However, BCSO officials said they had not obtained a search warrant until after the serial numbers were called in because Smith gave verbal and written consent to a search of his home and vehicle. During that time, the officers found a gun with the serial number filed off and a prescription pad. Smith even instructed officers how to enter his vehicle, which had numerous articles of clothing with a “fugitive recovery” inscription, according to Sheriff Frank McKeithen.

Once investigators allegedly located bottles of prescription medication in the kitchen, Smith amended his consent to search and the officers called for a search warrant based on the items they’d found during the consensual search, McKeithen said.

“We’re doing our jobs exactly the way we should be doing them,” McKeithen added. “I believe if the facts were presented accurately, it would show there was no illegal search.”

McKeithen said the BCSO’s case was further hampered by the absence of a Division of Insurance Fraud agent who was on Thanksgiving vacation and unable to testify during the motion hearing.

Smith also alleged his arrest warrant was based upon statements obtained by BCSO through deception. But the court determined he voluntarily made incriminating statements.

Jury selection concluded Monday in Smith’s trial, which is scheduled to begin Tuesday at 8:30 a.m.

Man faces trial on gun charge

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PANAMA CITY — A man accused of being connected with the shooting death of a 17-year-old is scheduled to face a federal jury on charges of transporting firearms across state lines, according to court documents.

Sammie “Trigger Tre” Underwood III, 21, was scheduled Tuesday to appear before jurors in the U.S. District Court of North Florida on March 2 on charges of transporting a .380-caliber pistol and ammo across state lines.

The charges stem from an arrest after Underwood was allegedly connected to a Chevy Tahoe containing various narcotics, paraphernalia and a firearm abandoned May 10. Panama City Police officers tried to perform a traffic stop on the Tahoe, but the driver took off and led police on a short chase that ended when the driver and a passenger jumped from the still-moving vehicle and disappeared on the 700 block of 13th Court.

Officers noticed the driver was wearing a baseball hat they later found in a backyard he had run through. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement matched DNA found on the hat to Underwood.

No injuries were reported after the Tahoe careened driverless through a front yard and into a home, police reported.

Though court documents indicate Underwood’s defense will be that the vehicle belonged to someone else, federal prosecutors filed documents stating they intend to prove Underwood was connected to the drugs and firearm.

Public records do not specify which state the gun and ammunition were brought from into Florida.

Police have said Underwood may be connected to the unsolved slaying of 17-year-old Samuel McGriff in early June of last year, which was the fifth gun homicide in Panama City in the span of a month, but they have yet to specify how. The investigation into McGriff’s death remains active.

Bicyclist critical following crash

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PANAMA CITY — A bicyclist was hospitalized Tuesday night after a crash with an SUV on State 77, according to police reports.

Trevaris Lamar Ward, 22, was sent to the hospital following the wreck; authorities say he’s listed in critical but stable condition.

The Panama City Police Department responded to a call about the wreck about 6:40 p.m. Tuesday between a bicycle and a 2013 BMW SUV on State 77. Police said Ward was traveling south in the bike lane when the driver of the SUV, 58-year-old Julie Ann Wagner, merged into the right turning lane to turn on Baldwin Road, according to the PCPD crash report.

Ward crashed head on with the SUV while it was traveling about 45 mph. Ward and his bicycle were thrown onto the pavement, police reported.

Ward, of Panama City, was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries, but he has since been stabilized, police said.

Police still are investigating the crash, but Wagner, of Youngstown, has not been charged with a violation.

The wreck closed the northbound lane for about two hours in front of the Healthplex fitness center, near the intersection at Baldwin Road, PCPD reported.

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