House approves bill to allow guns in schools
TALLAHASSEE — A House committee has approved a bill that would allow trained officials to carry firearms in schools as a way to improve safety. The bill (HB 753) approved Wednesday is sponsored by...
View ArticleJudge strikes down mental illness defense
PANAMA CITY — Attorneys representing the man charged with fatally shooting his ex-girlfriend in broad daylight in a busy shopping center parking lot will not be allowed to present evidence of his...
View ArticleFort Hood gunman sought mental health treatment
FORT HOOD, Texas — An Iraq War veteran being treated for mental illness was the gunman who opened fire at Fort Hood, killing three people and wounding 16 others before committing suicide, in an attack...
View ArticlePolice: Man shoots self, goes to jail
PANAMA CITY BEACH — Beach Police arrested a Georgia man for allegedly shooting himself and blaming a group of suspicious people. Paul Anthony Odom, of Marietta, Ga., was arrested early Friday morning...
View ArticleDriver abandons Taurus in bay
PANAMA CITY — A man abandoned his car and walked home after accidentally driving into St. Andrew Bay on Thursday night, according to the Bay County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies found the green Ford...
View ArticleBoy dead from balcony fall
PANAMA CITY BEACH — A 13-year-old boy from Indiana is dead after falling from a condominium balcony Saturday morning. The boy was checking out of the Palazzo Condominiums on the 17000 block of Front...
View ArticleBoy in fatal fall identified
Panama City Beach police have released the identity of the 13-year-old boy who died Saturday after falling from a 15th-story balcony. Zackary Dickman’s name was initially not released until police...
View Article‘They’re not just a statistic’ // PHOTO GALLERY
PANAMA CITY — A table set for 10 holds the pictures and stories of people who will never sit there. The empty table is for new additions to the Gulf Coast Children’s Advocacy Center’s ninth annual...
View ArticleMurder suspect’s request for new lawyer denied
PANAMA CITY — A judge denied a murder suspect’s request for a new attorney as the trial to determine whether he will face the death penalty draws near. Kim Jewell with the Public Defender’s Office...
View Article2 arrested after fight with deputy, chase
PANAMA CITY BEACH -- A man who allegedly fought a deputy and fled was arrested along with his friend after a chase that ended when the BMW sedan they were in crashed into an unmarked Bay County...
View ArticleUnregistered sex offender in closet arrested
PANAMA CITY BEACH -- A sex offender who cut off an electronic monitoring bracelet was arrested after deputies found him hiding in a closet, according to the Bay County Sheriff’s Office. Andrew...
View ArticleMeth cook faces life
PANAMA CITY -- A 40-year-old Southport man could spend the rest of his life in prison after a jury convicted him Monday of drug trafficking and manufacturing meth, according to the State Attorney’s...
View ArticleNo one arrested after shots fired
PANAMA CITY BEACH — Deputies completed an investigation into a report of gunshots fired from a Front Beach Road motel Saturday night without an arrest. The Sheriff’s Office was called to the Coconut...
View ArticleBicyclist injured in crash
CHIPLEY — A bicyclist was in critical condition after running a stop sign and being struck by a car in Washington County on Saturday, the Florida Highway Patrol said. FHP identified the injured as...
View ArticleMan won’t be charged in fatal shooting
APALACHICOLA -- The Franklin County Sheriff’s Office announced this week that Ronald Joseph Page will not face charges after shooting Charles Fasbenner Jr. in the chest. According to the release, Page...
View ArticleOfficer: Spring Break 'a war zone'
PANAMA CITY — The watch commander working midnight shifts on Spring Break called Panama City Beach a war zone in a presentation Tuesday to the monthly CrimeStoppers membership meeting. “There are...
View ArticleComputer support call leads to burglary arrest
DOVER, N.H. — Mike Witonis got an email from Apple thanking him for calling customer service about his laptop computer. Problem is, someone had stolen it from him a year earlier. Police eventually...
View ArticlePolice: Escort lured, helped rob victims
PANAMA CITY BEACH — Police arrested a local man and Washington woman they believe works as an escort on suspicion of robbing two people at knifepoint after she lured them to a motel room. Jennifer...
View Article1 child dead, 11 hurt in Florida day care crash
WINTER PARK — A car smashed into an Orlando-area day care Wednesday, killing a child and injuring 14 others, at least 12 of them children, authorities said. Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children wasn't...
View ArticleUPDATE: Teen stabs 22 at Pittsburgh-area high school
MURRYSVILLE, Pa. — Flailing away with two kitchen knives, a 16-year-old boy with a "blank expression" stabbed and slashed 21 students and a security guard in the crowded halls of his suburban...
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