Press Release
The Office of State Attorney Glenn Hess announces that on March 29, 2019, Circuit Judge Brantley Clark, Jr., sentenced Sonny Eric Pierce to a total of 24.25 years in the Department of Corrections, the first 20 of which is a minimum mandatory sentence. Pierce was convicted by a jury of Aggravated Battery with a Firearm and Shooting into an Occupied Vehicle on March 6, 2019.
Evidence presented at trial proved that the incident occurred on June 12, 2013, in the Panama City Home Depot parking lot. The Defendant discharged a firearm, striking Jeramy Ducharme in his chest. The victim testified that when he got back into his vehicle and looked up, he was facing the barrel of the .357 firearm that the Defendant was pointing at him. The jury deliberated for 30 minutes before returning a guilty verdict.
The case was investigated by the Panama City Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant State Attorneys Cord Grimes and Jennifer Hawkins.
For additional information, contact Chief Assistant State Attorney Larry Basford.