'Stand Your Ground' remains divisive
PANAMA CITY — An attempt to repeal Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law was defeated by an 11-2 vote in committee earlier this month but the law remains controversial both in the streets and in the...
View ArticleBody exhumed: DNA experts to try to solve 1972 killing
DAYTONA BEACH — The remains of a teenager have been exhumed in the hopes that DNA tests will determine the youngster’s identity, the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office said Monday. The boy, likely in his...
View ArticleJury selection begins in murder trial
Jury selection began Monday in the second-degree murder trial of Walt Butler, with State Attorney Robert Sombathy and Deputy Public Defender Mark Sims interviewing 83 Gulf County residents. By the end...
View ArticleConvicted killer to return to prison
PANAMA CITY A Panama City Beach man who served prison time in the 1980s for murder is headed back to prison for his role in a boat crash that sent three people to the hospital, according to the State...
View ArticlePolice: Bank robber had a gun in her bra and a car waiting for her
DAYTONA BEACH — Police released a description and photos from surveillance of a woman officials say hid a small gun in her bra then displayed the weapon in a robbery of a bank. The woman entered the...
View ArticleFHP seeking hit and run driver
BONIFAY - The Florida Highway Patrol is searching for a suspect in a hit and run crash that happened Monday night. Troopers found 26-year-old Joshua Keith Wyatt, of Bonifay, dead near his bicycle on...
View ArticleBlotter: Man attacks woman with tasty weapon
Two parents who have separated were arguing over child custody issues and things got heated. The man backed the woman into the kitchen as they argued. That’s where things got violent, and heated...
View ArticleButler murder trial begins
PORT ST. JOE — Prosecutors will begin laying out their case Wednesday against a man accused of murder. After 14 hours of interviews, a jury of six and two alternates were Tuesday afternoon, and...
View ArticleMan arrested with lots of pot, mushrooms
PANAMA CITY BEACH -- A Panama City man was smoking a joint Tuesday morning and carrying more than 5 pounds of pot and a pound of “magic mushrooms” when he was arrested, according to Panama City Beach...
View ArticleUPDATED: Suspected bank robber caught // VIDEO
PANAMA CITY — Police took a suspect into custody around sunset Tuesday after witnesses identified him as the man who had just robbed the Panama City branch of Summit Bank and took off on foot down...
View ArticleWitnesses describe Butler as calm, unconcerned after shooting
PORT ST. JOE — Prosecutors called a string of witnesses to the stand Wednesday in the Walt Butler murder trial. Police officers who responded to the July 30, 2012, shooting at Pine Ridge Apartments...
View ArticleAlabama man sentenced for sex crime
PANAMA CITY -- An Alabama man was sentenced Wednesday to 15 years and six months in federal prison for setting up a liaison with someone he thought was 13 years old, but actually an undercover officer...
View ArticleMan sentenced for tax fraud
PANAMA CITY -- Anthony Q. Atkinson, 31, of Panama City, was sentenced Wednesday to serve three years and one month in federal prison for filing fraudulent tax returns using the personal identifying...
View ArticleFormer union president sentenced to 30 months for fraud
PANAMA CITY — A former president of a labor union representing workers at Naval Support Activity Panama City has been sentenced to 30 months in federal prison for wire fraud. Danny L. Hubbard, 49, was...
View ArticleWoman convicted of public assistance fraud
PANAMA CITY -- A Bay County jury convicted Kalia Janell Bouie on Wednesday of public assistance fraud for claiming more than $12,000 in food stamps and Medicaid benefits she wasn’t entitled to,...
View ArticlePolice collect KKK fliers as litter
SPRINGFIELD — Police have no idea who distributed several fliers overnight in an attempt at recruiting people from one neighborhood to “stand up for their rights as white people” and join the Ku Klux...
View ArticleMan pleads not guilty; wife and children still missing
DELAND — The Deltona man accused of killing his wife whose body, along with those of her two children, is still missing pleaded not guilty on Thursday morning to a charge of second-degree murder. Luis...
View ArticleBCSO: Teacher used Snapchat to share obscene material with student
LYNN HAVEN — A former Mowat Middle School teacher was arrested Wednesday after being accused of sending a photo of his genitals to a 15-year-old girl. Joseph Lamar Johnson, 24, was employed as a...
View ArticleDo you have info about missing man?
BAYOU GEORGE — The Bay County Sheriff's Office is searching for Bradley Allen Pierson, who was last seen in the High Point Road area of Deer Point on Oct. 30. Pierson left his residence without his...
View ArticleUPDATED: Jury returns verdict in Butler murder trial
PORT ST. JOE —A Gulf County jury found Walt Butler guilty of second-degree murder with a firearm after deliberating a little more than an hour Thursday afternoon. Butler was not convicted of the more...
View Article