PANAMA CITY - Panama City police are searching for several suspects in an incident “where the occupants of two vehicles were shooting at each other.”
Officers responded to a shots fired call on N. East Avenue at about 3 p.m. Saturday afternoon. As they arrived on scene, a blue Jeep Cherokee fled from officers at a high rate of speed from the area, it was last seen westbound on 11th Street near Church Avenue.
The occupant(s) of the Jeep Cherokee and a white Dodge truck located at the residence, were exchanging gunfire in the 1000 block of Elm Avenue, police wrote in a news release. The Jeep Cherokee chased the white Dodge truck to a residence at 300 N. East Avenue and several more shots were fired from the Jeep Cherokee at the Dodge truck and the occupied residence, police wrote. Crime scene investigators located several new bullet holes as well as old bullets holes in the Dodge truck. Several fresh bullet holes were located in the front of the residence as well.
The driver of the Dodge truck told officers that the occupants of the Jeep Cherokee shot at him and he returned gunfire in the shooting today, the news release states. The driver explained the old bullet holes were from another shooting incident that he has never reported to police involving the same occupant(s) of the Jeep Cherokee, police said.
However, no one was injured in the shooting.
Based on the investigation and evidence collected at the scene, the driver of the Dodge truck Ronald L. Richardson, 29, was arrested and charged with felon in possession of a firearm, discharging a firearm from a motor vehicle, possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Detectives are still looking for the blue Jeep Cherokee and its occupant(s). The Jeep Cherokee is a late 1990’s or early 2000 model, blue in color, with chrome trim and an Alabama license tag, police wrote. The occupants of the Jeep Cherokee should be considered armed and dangerous.
Officials declined to release more details about the incident because of the ongoing nature of the investigation. Those with information about this case are asked to call Detective Raymond Perkins at the Panama City Police Department, 850-872-3100. Anonymous tips can be reported via
CrimeStoppers at 850-785-TIPS.