SPRINGFIELD — Two people were hospitalized and a suspect is in police custody after a shooting at a house party Sunday evening, police said.

Springfield Police were called to 3728 E. Ninth St. around 6:20 p.m. Sunday, said Chief Philip Thorne. Two men had been shot, and they were taken to the hospital. Thorne did not release information on the extent of their wounds or their conditions.

Investigators with the Panama City Police Department and the Bay County Sheriff's Office were in the area working on an unrelated case when the shots were fired, Thorne said.

"Officers heard the shots and came toward the scene ... an Asian male actually walked up to a Panama City Police officer, handed him a gun and surrendered," Thorne said, adding later, "We're thankful the officers were close by to be able to secure the individual as quickly as they did."

Thorne said the man in custody, who has not been identified, had not been interviewed as of about 7 p.m. Sunday. Police were making arrangements to have a certified interpreter present during the interview.

"Because he is Asian — even though he apparently speaks some English — we want to make sure that we cover our bases and protect his rights," Thorne said.

The information police had at the scene indicated there were no other suspects in the shooting. The victims, who were not identified Sunday night, were targeted by the shooter, Thorne said.

"It's not random," Thorne said.

The neighborhood where the shooting occurred is not far from the eastern border with Panama City, which has been beset by gun violence over the past several months. There have been no homicides in Springfield in 2014.

EUREKA, Calif. (AP) — Police in Northern California say a man robbed a gas station only to return hours later to give the money back and apologize.

Eureka Police Sgt. Steve Watson said Sunday that 23-year-old Cyle Warren Abbott Jr. told officers he needed cash to leave town for a fresh start, but then realized his mistake.

Watson says Abbott first entered the gas station demanding cash with what the clerk believed was a semi-automatic handgun.

He says the clerk gave Abbott some cash, and Abbott left, also taking two bottles of beer.

Watson says three hours later Abbott returned, giving back most of the cash and saying he was sorry. He says the weapon turned out to be a BB gun, which officers haven't found.

Abbott was booked into jail on $50,000 bail.

PANAMA CITY — The Fourth Street bridge in the 400 block of East Fourth Street near the Bay County Courthouse will be under repair on Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Work will be performed in the eastbound lane with a flagman for the one lane of traffic. Drivers should expect delays.

For more information, contact the Panama City Public Works Department at 850-872-3177.

SPRINGFIELD — Two men are on life support in critical condition after a long-standing grudge reached a crescendo of gunfire at a Springfield house party, police reported Monday.

Diep Hoang Nguyen, 42, has been charged with attempted murder of the two men after allegedly shooting Kim Trahn Le, 40, in the head. The bullet passed through Le’s head and struck Ahn Van Nguyen, 44, in the face during a social gathering in Le’s home, 3726 E. Ninth St., at about 6:20 p.m. Sunday, according to Springfield Police reports.

Diep Nguyen surrendered without incident and admitted to attempting to shoot Le when interrogated, police reported. Diep Nguyen told police the shooting was the culmination of a long-standing disrespect of his family by Le. He did not go into details during police questioning, according to Springfield Police Chief Philip Thorne, but said his anger at Le had been building over several years.

--- READ THE INCIDENT REPORT ---

“He didn’t characterize the ‘disrespect,’ ” Thorne said, specifying that was the word chosen by Diep Nguyen. “He just said he felt Le had been disrespecting his family for some time.”

Diep Nguyen was at the social gathering when he left and said he was going home, according to arrest records. He returned a short time later, approached Le and shot him in the head.

Police were nearby working an unrelated case, and Diep Nguyen walked up to the officers and surrendered the firearm.

“Nothing negative occurred at the party prior to the shooting,” Thorne said. “He said the opportunity to shoot him in the head arose, so he took it.”

Thorne said both men were in critical condition Monday evening and on life support.

--- READ THE INCIDENT REPORT ---

Diep Nguyen initially was charged on one count of aggravated battery and attempted murder. His charges were upgraded to two counts of attempted murder, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of ammunition by a convicted felon before his first appearance Monday.

According to Bay County Clerk records, Diep Nguyen previously assaulted another man with a firearm in 1999 but did not intend to kill him. He pleaded no contest afterward to firing three shots intending to scare the man but none of the rounds were live.

Diep Nguyen’s combined bond was set at $135,000.

PANAMA CITY — The trial in a federal lawsuit filed by relatives of a Freeport man gunned down in a secluded, heavily wooded area began Monday.

Jurors were selected for the civil trial in U.S. District Court in Panama City against a sheriff of Walton County and a deputy after Jeffery Weekley was shot and killed in the woods near his Freeport residence. Family members of Weekley filed the lawsuit on behalf of his daughter, a minor, against Deputy Nick Embry and Sheriff Michael Adkinson. It claims the deputy used excessive force and the Walton County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO) did not investigate the homicide nor discipline the deputy in the wake of the 2009 shooting.

But what transpired in the woods — known only to Embry and the deceased Weekley — is the main point of contention.

Embry, still employed by WCSO, appeared in his uniform Monday prompting a plaintiff request for a mistrial. During opening arguments, David Bennett, attorney for the Weekleys, said he intends to show inconsistencies between Embry’s official reports and trajectory tests from the two, fatal 9-mm rounds fired into Weekley’s chest.

“To achieve that angle he has to be sitting down or crouched,” Bennett said of Embry.

But Embry’s defense argued he had reason to believe Weekley was armed and dangerous.

“As (Embry) is yelling, ‘Get back; show me your hands,’ Weekley leans down in a football stance,” said Carl Raymond Peterson Jr. “Then he jams his hands in his pockets and lunges forward.”

On Aug. 3, 2009, Evelyn Burch called WCSO to remove Weekley from her Pope Street home in Freeport. The two were non-blood relatives living together in the residence at the time. When Embry arrived at about 5:30 p.m., Burch told him Weekley had left the home but wanted him trespassed from the property, according to the complaint against Embry.

“He knew backup was on the way,” Bennett said. “While he knew his job was to protect the caller, he took the search for Weekley upon himself.”

In Embry’s reports, he said he saw the 40-year-old Weekley lying face down behind some bushes when he came across him. Embry ordered Weekley to come closer so they could talk. Within seconds after he began to approach Embry, Weekley lay dead on the ground from two gunshots to the chest.

Attorneys for the Weekley estate have said he did not provoke Embry, had no weapons in his possession and presented Embry with no reason to believe he was dangerous, since Embry was not responding to a criminal felony call.

However, defense attorneys have dispatch calls to Embry, informing him that Weekley usually carried a pocket knife and was possibly intoxicated. Embry’s attorneys indicated they will argue that, once the two encountered one another, Weekley offered no other alternate ending.

“There’s only one person responsible for Jeffery Weekley’s death, and that is Jeffery Weekly,” Peterson said.

The lawsuit further alleges Adkinson was aware Embry had engaged in “bizarre, dangerous and deceptive actions,” but Adkinson did not investigate Weekley’s death or discipline Embry. Plaintiffs are asking for damages of more than $20 million for damages suffered by Weekley’s daughter.

“Now there’s a 15-year-old daughter this father was taken away from,” Bennett said.

The trial continues Tuesday.

PANAMA CITY — The trial in a federal lawsuit filed by relatives of a Freeport man gunned down in a secluded, heavily wooded area began Monday.

Jurors were selected for the civil trial in U.S. District Court in Panama City against a sheriff of Walton County and a deputy after Jeffery Weekley was shot and killed in the woods near his Freeport residence. Family members of Weekley filed the lawsuit on behalf of his daughter, a minor, against Deputy Nick Embry and Sheriff Michael Adkinson. It claims the deputy used excessive force and the Walton County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO) did not investigate the homicide nor discipline the deputy in the wake of the 2009 shooting.

But what transpired in the woods — known only to Embry and the deceased Weekley — is the main point of contention.

Embry, still employed by WCSO, appeared in his uniform Monday prompting a plaintiff request for a mistrial. During opening arguments, David Bennett, attorney for the Weekleys, said he intends to show inconsistencies between Embry’s official reports and trajectory tests from the two, fatal 9-mm rounds fired into Weekley’s chest.

“To achieve that angle he has to be sitting down or crouched,” Bennett said of Embry.

But Embry’s defense argued he had reason to believe Weekley was armed and dangerous.

“As (Embry) is yelling, ‘Get back; show me your hands,’ Weekley leans down in a football stance,” said Carl Raymond Peterson Jr. “Then he jams his hands in his pockets and lunges forward.”

On Aug. 3, 2009, Evelyn Burch called WCSO to remove Weekley from her Pope Street home in Freeport. The two were non-blood relatives living together in the residence at the time. When Embry arrived at about 5:30 p.m., Burch told him Weekley had left the home but wanted him trespassed from the property, according to the complaint against Embry.

“He knew backup was on the way,” Bennett said. “While he knew his job was to protect the caller, he took the search for Weekley upon himself.”

In Embry’s reports, he said he saw the 40-year-old Weekley lying face down behind some bushes when he came across him. Embry ordered Weekley to come closer so they could talk. Within seconds after he began to approach Embry, Weekley lay dead on the ground from two gunshots to the chest.

Attorneys for the Weekley estate have said he did not provoke Embry, had no weapons in his possession and presented Embry with no reason to believe he was dangerous, since Embry was not responding to a criminal felony call.

However, defense attorneys have dispatch calls to Embry, informing him that Weekley usually carried a pocket knife and was possibly intoxicated. Embry’s attorneys indicated they will argue that, once the two encountered one another, Weekley offered no other alternate ending.

“There’s only one person responsible for Jeffery Weekley’s death, and that is Jeffery Weekly,” Peterson said.

The lawsuit further alleges Adkinson was aware Embry had engaged in “bizarre, dangerous and deceptive actions,” but Adkinson did not investigate Weekley’s death or discipline Embry. Plaintiffs are asking for damages of more than $20 million for damages suffered by Weekley’s daughter.

“Now there’s a 15-year-old daughter this father was taken away from,” Bennett said.

The trial continues Tuesday.

BONIFAY — The Bonifay Police Department warns area residents that Julian "Juke" Sanders, 24, is still on the run and is believed to be somewhere in Holmes, Washington, or Bay counties.

"Citizens should steer away from (Sanders) if they spot him," Bonifay Police Chief Chris Wells said. "Don't attempt to apprehend him; contact local law enforcement or CrimeStoppers instead."

Sanders has active felony arrest warrants for a home invasion robbery which took place Oct. 20 at a Bonifay residence located south of State 79. Current charges include four counts of aggravated assault with a firearm, four counts of false imprisonment and felon in possession of a firearm, but more charges are pending.

"This is the second time in a matter of weeks Sanders is believed to have used a firearm in the commission of a crime," Wellssaid. "The first incident could result in additional charges of aggravated assault."

Sanders is considered armed and dangerous. 

Anyone with information regarding his whereabouts is asked to notify the nearest law enforcement agency or CrimeStoppers at 1-866-689-8477. All calls to CrimeStoppers are anonymous.

Not to disparage the good, hard-working, people who make a living by making affordable products to people without excessive amounts of expendable income, but some crimes are just better when they involve less than costly items — especially cheap beer.

Police recently followed a trail of drained Milwaukee’s Best cans to the arrest of a local lady.

One officer was working a call where the side window of a house had been busted out. Once inside the home, the intruder stole a 12-pack of “The Beast,” as some refer to the inexpensive beer, from the fridge. Several empty cans were left in the trash can.

The resident said he’d broken up with his girlfriend a while back and thought she could be the perpetrator. Once the officer heard the woman’s name, his memory drifted back — way back — to about two hours before and put away his DNA kit. No need to call in the forensic crime analysts on this case.

He had been patrolling downtown when he saw a woman sitting on a park bench “drinking an unknown substance from an aluminum can.”

She got up and threw away the can as the officer walked up; but in the trash, he could see it was a can of “The Beast.” Drinking alcohol on public property is illegal and the woman was arrested. As a precaution, the officer also searched her effects, including her purse, for any other contraband.

She only had two cans left at the time. It was about 2 p.m. on a Thursday.

PANAMA CITY BEACH — The Bay County Sheriff’s Office has arrested two and is seeking a third in a Sunday assault in the North Lagoon area of Panama City Beach.

Bell Star Dixon, 48, a transient, and Charles Earwood, 39, also a transient, were on scene and arrested when BCSO deputies found an unidentified victim badly beaten. A third man, Jacob Gosselin, 34, also a transient, was identified as a suspect and fled the scene.

Investigators believe the victim had a relationship with Dixon that recently ended, the BCSO reported. When the victim arrived at a wooded area where Dixon was camping, Earwood and Gosselin allegedly jumped him and beat him with sticks and the butt of an air soft pistol, the BCSO reported.

The victim was able to speak on Monday and told the BCSO that Earwood and Gosselin took his cell phone, a pack of cigarettes and four dollars in case.

Earwood and Dixon were charged with aggravated battery and robbery. The victim remains in a local hospital, as of Tuesday.

Anyone with information is asked to call BCSO Investigator Robbins at (850) 747-4700 or Crime Stoppers at (850) 785-TIPS.

PANAMA CITY — City police are responding to more calls with fewer officers, Police Chief Scott Ervin said after Tuesday’s City Commission meeting.

Ervin also bemoaned cuts in some services, which may be leading to more calls to police.

The chief made the comments after local attorney and former mayoral candidate Alvin Peters expressed his concern about a string of homicides this year.

Peters mentioned the theft of church bus batteries — churches that happened to be located in the same neighborhoods as recent homicide investigations. Peters implied that violence in the city has gotten out of control.

He suggested the police department take long-term, therapeutic responses. For example, he said, in Tallahassee a plain-clothes officer acts as a personal liaison with violent youth offenders.

Ervin responded that the LEAD Coalition, a combined effort that includes law enforcement, schools and local churches, was created to try to prevent future violent crimes.

Ervin was dismayed by the total number of calls the department receives, about 58,000 per year. The department also has fewer officers than before the economic collapse in 2008, with seven current open positions that have gone unfilled because of budgetary concerns. Officers were responding to an average of about 650 calls per year and now are responding to about 920 calls per year, Ervin said.

Ervin said he will analyze the need for more officers for next year’s budget.

The cost of each position, all new officer positions, is about $56,000 a year with benefits.

Ervin said services have been cut that may be resulting in more calls for the department. He said Life Management Center of Northwest Florida used to send mental health professionals with officers on certain calls to offer services designed to stem further violence. That program has been cut.

 “But, our coffers have gone down, too,” he said.

Ervin added most cases involved an escalation of a dispute that led to a shooting.

“They’re resolving conflicts through the use of gun violence, things that used to result in fist fights,” Ervin said. “That culture needs to be addressed.”

City Manager Jeff Brown agreed.

“The thing to remember: These are interpersonal issues people are solving with guns,” Brown said. “We could put a cop on every corner and we couldn’t stop these interpersonal beefs.”

PANAMA CITY — A former Panama City Beach pastor has pleaded not guilty to charges he got a 16-year-old high and then attempted to seduce her.

On Sept. 11, Markus Quin Bishop, 54, allegedly provided the minor with marijuana before making sexual advances toward her at his Fox Run Boulevard home. Bishop, the former pastor of Faith Christian Family Church in Panama City Beach, was arrested in September and charged with delivering a controlled substance to a minor, felony battery and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

Bishop posted his $35,000 bond two days after his arrest Sept. 23 and was ordered to not have any contact with the victim.

Bishop pleaded not guilty to the charges Friday.

Bishop allegedly provided the minor with marijuana in an attempt to intoxicate her before professing his love. The two were at Bishop’s home alone when he offered marijuana to the minor before suggesting they go swimming, investigators with the Bay County Sheriff’s Office reported.

Though the minor fled the pool in an attempt to escape Bishop’s advances; he pursued her, forcing her into an embrace and a kiss, according to BCSO’s investigation.

A pretrial conference has been scheduled for Bishop on Dec. 4.

PANAMA CITY — A forensic scientist disputed the story of a Walton County deputy, who has said his hand was forced into a fatal shooting in the dense woods near Freeport.

Plaintiff attorneys rested their case in the federal trial Tuesday following the second day of witness testimony during which they called an expert witness and surviving family members on behalf of Jeffery Weekley, who was shot and killed by Walton County Sheriff’s Deputy Nick Embry in 2009. The two were alone in a heavily wooded area of Freeport when two fatal 9-mm rounds were fired into Weekley’s chest. The lawsuit also names Walton County Sheriff Michael Adkinson.

Embry has maintained Weekley’s actions presented no other option, but the plaintiff’s forensic expert testified Tuesday that the bullet trajectory and blood splatter tests told a different story.

Weekley’s mother, Iris Weekley, also said parts of Embry’s story did not add up. Iris Weekley testified her son had received a “hangman’s break” in his neck after a car accident and was not as mobile as indicated in Embry’s reports.

“He could not lie on his stomach,” she said. “Even getting out of bed was difficult for him.”

Embry’s attorneys, however, have maintained the deputy came across Jeffery Weekley lying face down in the woods near his Freeport residence Aug. 9, 2009. Dispatchers informed Embry that Weekley, the subject of a domestic disturbance report, was armed with a pocketknife and possibly intoxicated.

After leaving the sight of Evelyn Burch, who called for the Walton County Sheriff’s Office, what transpired in the secluded woods at about 5:30 p.m. that day is known only to Embry and the deceased Weekley.

In Embry’s reports, he found Weekley lying on the ground and ordered him to come closer so they could talk. Weekley got up and aggressively approached Embry, he reported. After giving several lawful orders for him to halt, Weekley jammed his hands into his pockets and lunged toward Embry, the deputy reported.

Moments later, after two gunshots rang out through the woods, Weekley was on his back, coughing up the blood that was filling his lungs.

David E. Balash, a firearms examiner and forensic science consultant, testified Tuesday the trajectory at which the bullets entered Weekley’s chest was not the only piece of disturbing forensic evidence. Weekley was splayed out on his back in a crucifixion pose without a shirt; no blood was on his shorts. A large “V” of blood on Weekley’s chest indicated he was crouched or squatting with his hands crossed over his chest for a period of time, coughing up blood, before collapsing onto his back, Balash said.

“They had to be crossed at his waist area,” he said. “Couldn’t have been anywhere else — period.”

However, Embry’s attorneys argued the blood pattern could have come from Weekley reaching for his pocketknife. They also said no evidence has been presented to dispute that Embry was provoked prior to the shooting.

Burch, the property owner, was near enough to hear the gunfire and the time lapse in between the shots, Balash said. Balash interviewed Burch following the shooting. He said he cued Burch with a “pop” sound and instructed her to supply the second gunshot after the appropriate time lapse, as she recalled it.

To Balash, it seemed about 8 to 10 seconds lapsed between the shots.

“It was a dramatic time difference,” he said.

SPRINGFIELD — The victim of a Sunday night shooting has died.

Shooting victim Kim Thanh Le died Monday at 8:30 a.m., according to Bay Medical Center Sacred Heart and Springfield Police.

After consultation with officials from the State Attorney’s Office, charges against the shooter, Diep Hoang Nguyen, 42, were upgraded to one count of second-degree murder. Nguyen is being held at the Bay County Jail with first appearance on the amended charge scheduled for Wednesday.

The second shooting victim, Anh Van Nguyen, is still in critical condition at Bay Medical Center Sacred Heart, police said.

Diep Hoang Nguyen was arrested after allegedly shooting Le, 40, in the head. The bullet passed through Le’s head and struck Ahn Van Nguyen, 44, in the face during a social gathering in Le’s home, 3726 E. Ninth St., at about 6:20 p.m. Sunday, according to Springfield Police reports.

Diep Nguyen surrendered without incident and admitted to attempting to shoot Le when interrogated, police reported.

Diep Nguyen told police the shooting was the culmination of Le’s long-standing disrespect of his family. He did not go into details during police questioning, according to Springfield Police Chief Philip Thorne, but said his anger at Le had been building over several years.

PARKER — Authorities have arrested a second suspect from a Panama City Beach shooting, which police believe stemmed from a drug deal turned robbery, officials reported Tuesday.

Garrison Eugene Warrender, 25, had been sought by Panama City Beach Police since the Oct. 12 shooting. He was found hiding in an air duct of 1335 South Kimbrel Ave., Apt. B, in Callaway, at about 10 a.m. Tuesday by U.S. Marshals.

--- THREE ARRESTED, INCLUDING SUSPECTED GUNMAN ---

PCBPD suspected the shooting occurred in the midst of a Lantana Street robbery for drugs and cash, which initially was arranged as a drug deal. Clarence Bernard Robinson, 23, was arrested about 10 p.m. that evening after being identified as the triggerman. Robinson allegedly shot 25-year-old Justin Lisk in the stomach with a small-caliber handgun, police said.

A third suspect has not yet been identified by police and is still at large. PCBPD said Warrender, of 647 Allen Ave. in Panama City, made several incriminating statements during their interview. He has been charged with principal to armed robbery and aggravated battery with a firearm.

PCBPD’s investigation is ongoing.

PANAMA CITY — Three people have been arrested after a traffic stop led officers to allegedly spotting drugs and a fugitive from justice, Panama City Police Department reported Wednesday.

Investigators of the Street Crimes Unit conducted a traffic stop Wednesday in the Gardner Dickinson Apartment complex of a vehicle driven by Erik Gann, 34, for a traffic violation. During the investigation, police found a Vyvanse (Adderall) pill, 3.5 grams of GHB, meth pipe with .2 grams of meth in the ice form, police reported.

Gann, of Panama City, was arrested for possession of a controlled substances, drug paraphernalia and keeping and maintaining a nuisance drug vehicle.

While speaking to Gann, investigators saw Marcus Neal Abbott, 42, come out of an apartment in the building and then duck back inside. The investigators immediately recognized Abbott, of Youngstown, and knew he had active felony warrants out of the Bay County Sheriff’s Office, PCPD reported.

Investigators knocked on the apartment door and made contact with Abby L. Howard, 33, who stated Abbott was in the shower. A few moments later, Abbott came into the hallway but would not come to the door when ordered to by the investigators. Howard blocked the door and refused to move out of the way of investigators to apprehend Abbott, subsequently Howard was arrested for resisting an officer without violence. Abbott was arrested for his outstanding warrants. All three were taken to the Bay County Jail.

PANAMA CITY BEACH — The investigation is continuing into the death of a Vernon woman injured in a car crash in September, according to the Panama City Beach Police Department.

Carolyn Smith died Oct. 8, although the death was not announced by PCBPD until Wednesday.

The crash happened Sept. 30 at 4:48 p.m. Smith was the driver of a 2001 Ford Taurus that pulled into the path of a 1997 Ford F150 pickup truck that was driven by Janie Forthier of Youngstown.

At the time of the crash, Smith was taken to Gulf Coast Medical Center for treatment. She died Oct. 8, but the cause and manner of her death is pending a ruling by the 14th Judicial Circuit Medical Examiner’s Office.

The crash is under further investigation by the police homicide investigations unit, PCBPD said Wednesday.

PANAMA CITY — Discussions of whether a Freeport man wielded a chainsaw before being gunned down by a Walton County deputy bogged down Wednesday’s federal lawsuit proceedings to decide whether the officer used excessive force in the shooting.

U.S. District Court Judge Mark E. Walker allowed defense attorneys to use dispatch recordings and testimony regarding the chainsaw, allegedly wielded by Jeffrey Weekley moments before being gunned down in an area of secluded woods in Freeport.

Family members of Weekley have filed a federal lawsuit against Deputy Nick Embry, claiming he used excessive force against Weekley, and Walton County Sheriff Michael Adkinson, claiming he did not discipline Embry in the wake of the 2009 shooting.

--- PLAINTIFFS REST IN CASE ---

Plaintiff’s attorneys also raised concerns that WCSO tampered with official record times during the shooting, which only Embry and the deceased Weekley witnessed.

Embry testified Wednesday information he received from dispatch about of Weekley possibly being armed and intoxicated influenced his state of alert while responding to a domestic disturbance at the end of Pope Street. Walker allowed discussion of the chainsaw under the caveat that Embry’s attorney not imply Weekley intended to assault the person calling in the disturbance.

“There hasn’t been a wink, wink implication that he was running around like the Chainsaw Massacre,” Walker said. “It is relevant. It shows there is a chainsaw and these folks are not just making this up.”

However, Walker abruptly dismissed the jury and rebuked Embry’s defense attorneys after he became concerned their line of questioning was verging on accusation.

“These people aren’t morons,” Walker said. “They may not be lawyers but this jury is not made up of morons.”

Whether jurors would hear evidence about the chainsaw has been heavily debated during the trial. Dispatchers informed Embry, while en route to the scene, that Weekley was running the chainsaw. They also informed him Weekley usually carried a pocketknife and was intoxicated. Shortly after, dispatch said he’d put away the chainsaw.

Walker then gave jurors specific instructions that the attorneys had not “suggested Weekely was assaulting anybody with a chainsaw,” and Walker also prompted attorneys to explicitly ask Embry if he was at any point concerned about the chainsaw — to which Embry responded, “no.”

Between the time Embry arrived at 5:25 p.m. on Aug. 3, 2009, and 5:33 when he reported “shots fired … subject came after me with a knife,” no other official accounts exist of what transpired before Weekley lay dead on the ground. Dispatchers checked Embry’s welfare once at 5:29. He said he was searching for Weekley at that time.

Embry testified that in those four minutes he found Weekley, confronted him and shot him twice in the chest.

“As he pulled his hands out of his pockets, I shot twice — double tap,” Embry said. “When I fired; I saw black hole, black hole and he drew his hands up to his chest and fell backward.”

Plaintiff attorneys have disputed the trajectory of the bullets and blood splatter in the past couple of days in the trial. They raised questions Wednesday of why the Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) logs only has a window of eight minutes from Embry’s arrival to calling in “shots fired” when a stopwatch running with the actual radio traffic indicates 11 minutes lapsed.

--- PLAINTIFFS REST IN CASE ---

Deputy James Rowell, one of the few officers privileged to the CAD logs, conducted WCSO’s internal investigation into the shooting. He said the program used weeded out portions of radio silence.

“Sometimes it omits dead air,” Rowell said “… When officers key up and start talking, it’s recording. It is not going to record dead space.”

Several other officers testified that no discussions of the events occurred and no one advised Embry of what to say or do afterward.

PANAMA CITY BEACH — Colony Club resident Phil Chester said he sees it every day — cars turning in different directions as they stack up in the median at the intersection of Fairway Boulevard and Back Beach Road (U.S. 98).

The intersection, which provides access to Colony Club and the Holiday Golf Course, has become a death trap, Chester said. On Sept. 30, a crash at the intersection killed Carolyn Smith, of Vernon, when she pulled her 2001 Ford Taurus into the path of a 1997 Ford F150 pickup truck driven by Janie Forthier, of Youngstown, according to Panama City Beach Police.

Police records also show a dozen accidents occurring in the area of the intersection over the last year.

--- WOMAN'S DEATH STILL UNDER INVESTIGATION ---

Chester is not surprised.

“You’ve got people turning right [out of Colony Club] going west, but you also have people trying to go east,” Chester said as he stood by the entrance to the community. “They’ll go out and get in the median right there and stack up four or five wide.”

Drivers turning out of and into the residential community and golf course not only have to contend with two lanes of U.S. 98 traffic, but vehicles turning into the Goodwill store that opened on the other side of the road a few years ago.

On Oct. 23, Chester expressed his concerns with the Panama City Beach City Council and urged it to take action to address the safety issue, but even before he spoke to the council, city officials were evaluating the development of a possible east-west side road that would run parallel to Back Beach Road, linking Fairway Boulevard a couple of blocks eastward to Clara Avenue. If that road were built, Colony Club residents and golf club patrons could pull out onto Back Beach Road at the Clara Avenue traffic light, Panama City Beach CRA Director John Alaghemand said.

The dollars just aren’t budgeted yet, he said, and the state Department of Transportation is not likely to support a traffic light at the intersection of Fairway Boulevard and Back Beach Road because of a nearby one at Clara Avenue.

“The DOT has evaluated this before,” he said. “They have done everything they can with the existing situation.”

He said the new east-west side street would have to be a collaborative effort between the city, county and state.

“It would require some right-of-way acquisition,” he said.

To fund the side road, the city could spend impact fee revenues it charges on new development, Alaghemand said. He said no buildings would have to be condemned for the new side street.

“There are some buildings out there,” he said. The new road “would be kind of north of those existing buildings. There is vacant property that could be used.”

Alaghemand said the county owns 100 feet of right of way on Clara Avenue.

“Conceptually, looking at the map, you can see a nice connection going there,” he said.

Bay County Traffic Engineering Manager Keith Bryant said the side road would be a city road, so the funding would have to come from Panama City Beach.

Clara Avenue is a county road, so the county would have to grant permission to hook the new side street into it. He said he could see the safety advantages of such a road.

“It would give a protected left [onto Back Beach Road] coming out of there, which is a very busy,” he said.

Caveat

Panama City Beach City Manager Mario Gisbert said there is a potential problem with building the side street eastbound; it would create a busy road between the driving range and Holiday golf course.

“It would be a detriment to their business to do this, so there will be business damages to do this,” he said. “Then there are the land costs. People come up with ideas often, but it takes a lot to vet an idea.”

Jim Carlisle, Holiday golf course’s general manager, said he hadn’t heard about any talk of developing the side street by the golf course and it was too preliminary to comment. There is already Almar Lane along this corridor, which curves northward near the end of the driving range.

Gisbert said instead of developing the side street eastbound, a better solution might be to build the side street westbound from Fairway Circle to Nautilus Street, which also has a light on Back Beach Road. 

But Gisbert said the ideas being floated are just that and are “beyond preliminary.”

--- WOMAN'S DEATH STILL UNDER INVESTIGATION ---

“I don’t know how the neighbors would feel about it,” he said.

Councilman Keith Curry said that considering the accidents and recent death at the intersection of Fairway Boulevard and Back Beach Road, that safety project should be a priority over other projects the city is considering, such as the Pier Park Loop Road slated to cost $2.6 million.

“This makes more sense than spending $2.6 million on a road that isn’t going add that much value to residents of Panama City Beach,” he said.

PANAMA CITY — A 44-year-old Chipley man has been indicted on six counts of wire fraud after he allegedly duped care providers at a Chipley hospital into providing elective treatment worth about $250,000, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Eon L. Menckeberg, also known as Prince, appeared before Magistrate Judge Larry A. Bodiford at the federal courthouse in Panama City on Thursday. Bodiford scheduled Menckeberg for trial beginning Dec. 8.

The indictment alleges Menckeberg hurt his ankle in 2012 and received treatment from Jackson County Hospital in Marianna. Months later, he went to Northwest Florida Community Hospital in Chipley seeking elective hyperbaric-oxygen treatment for the injury to his ankle.

To convince the hospital to provide the treatment, he said he had health insurance through Lloyd’s of London, a prominent specialty insurer, and he had an unidentified person fraudulently confirm to the hospital that Lloyd’s had authorized the treatment, which is valued at approximately $244,901.50.

PANAMA CITY — A 47-year-old man was arrested earlier this week and charged with sexual battery on a person with a mental handicap, according to the Bay County Sheriff's Office.

Gary Lynn Sprouse, of 5837 Tree Farm Road, was arrested Monday, two days after BCSO investigators responded to the emergency room of a local hospital, where the victim and her family gave statements indicating Sprouse attacked her.

Sprouse allegedly emerged from the bathroom of the victim’s family’s home after an unusually long time and left the home. The victim later came out of the bathroom complaining of pain, and she told her family Sprouse attacked her. The victim, who is mentally handicapped, had physical signs consistent with her allegations.

Sprouse, who has a history of criminal convictions for drug crimes and violent crimes, is being held in the Bay County Jail. His bond is $50,000.