LaKeisha Peterson told the court Thursday that John Edward Powers killed a part of her the same night he killed her sister by hitting her head-on while driving under the influence and in the wrong direction on State 79.

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“We will never stop missing her. We will never stop loving her,” Peterson told the court at sentencing, her husband at her side comforting her. “All of that was stolen because someone made a selfish, deadline decision. And we are the ones who have to live with the consequences … and pick up the shattered pieces.”

Prosecutor Peter Overstreet, who led jurors to guilty verdicts for DUI-Manslaughter and 2 counts of DUI With Serious Bodily Injury at Powers’ April trial, asked for the maximum sentence.

“It’s obvious that this was inevitable based upon the defendant’s inability to stop drinking and driving,” Overstreet said, referencing the defendant’s prior convictions for traffic offenses and charges like DUI and Reckless Driving with Property Damage. “The sad thing is it could have been anyone he hit that night, but it was them.”

Powers was then sentenced to 15 years for DUI-Manslaughter, to be served consecutively with a 5-year sentence on DUI With Serious Bodily Injury for one passenger, and another consecutive 5-year sentence for the same charge on another passenger. A fourth passenger received minor injuries.

Overstreet called 13 witnesses over two days to prove Powers, with a .20 blood-alcohol level, was driving south in the northbound lanes of State 79 on Aug. 7, 2021. He hit a northbound car driven by Savannah Desiree Gandy head-on a few miles north of Panama City Beach near County 388. It is illegal in Florida to drive with a blood-alcohol level of .08 or higher.

Gandy and passenger Justin Weston had critical injuries, including broken femurs.

“What these victims’ families have been through is unimaginable, but it did not stop this defendant from making the decision to drink and drive with more than twice the legal blood-alcohol level,” Overstreet said after the trial. “The Bay County Sheriff’s Office deputies who arrived first had to make order of a complicated, evidence-filled scene with multiple injured people. And the Florida Highway Patrol investigators were able to take that evidence and help us prove the defendant was at fault.”

“The family members’ support and assistance has been invaluable as well.”

Lakeisha Peterson said the details of the complicated investigation came together for her and the family as Overstreet walked them through the process. And they thanked him, Victim Advocate Patty Freeman and the State Attorney’s Office for what they saw as their full support.

“I want people to know that y’all went above and beyond, very, very much, for everything Mr. Overstreet and the office did for this family,” said Peterson, who lives in Tennessee. “There were just so many things I did not know understand about this process, that were hard for the others to articulate well, and they were there for us.”

Basford thanked the family, and the Bay County Sheriff’s Office and Florida Highway Patrol for their lengthy investigations that helped lead to the guilty verdicts.

For more information, contact Mike Cazalas at mike.cazalas@sa14.fl.gov, or call 850-381-7454.

A man accused of sexually abusing a young girl over a 3-year period was found guilty as charged on all counts Thursday evening, State Attorney Larry Basford announced.

Shane Clinton McKinney, 44, of Southport, was found guilty of Sexual Battery on a Person Less Than 12 Years of Age, and 3 counts of Lewd and Lascivious Molestation. The jury deliberated for about 45 minutes after Prosecutor JP Ferreira presented the State’s case and made his closing argument.

Circuit Court Judge Brantley Clark set sentencing for July 22 at 9 a.m.

“The victim is a courageous young girl who took the stand against her attacker and helped bring him to justice,” Ferreira said. “Her testimony, the testimony of 2 previous victims who came forward, and the collaborative work between our office, the Bay County Sheriff’s Office, and Gulf Coast Children’s Advocacy Center also helped ensure he will not be a threat to our community in the foreseeable future.”

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Ferreira called 7 witnesses, including the victim in this case and two other females who said they were assaulted under similar circumstances. The defendant is awaiting trial in one of those cases.

The defendant was charged with sexually assaulting and molesting the victim in this case multiple times between the beginning of 2017 and the end of 2020. Her description of the attacks to law enforcement and interviewers at the GCCAC were similar in nature to the accounts given by the victims in the two other cases.

Basford thanked the victims from each case for their assistance and testimony, as well as the Bay County Sheriff’s Office and Gulf Coast Children’s Advocacy Center for their ongoing work to protect children and hold accountable those who hurt them.

For more information, contact Mike Cazalas at mike.cazalas@sa14.fl.gov, or call 850-381-7454.

A suspected drug dealer who was stopped for speeding while under surveillance was found guilty Wednesday of Trafficking in Methamphetamine (more than 200 grams), State Attorney Larry Basford announced.

Circuit Court Judge Brantley Clark sentenced Marcus Arnold, who was on probation for felony Domestic Violence by Strangulation at the time of the offense, to 20 years in prison. Prosecutor Frank Sullivan said 15 years of that is minimum-mandatory under Florida’s enhanced drug trafficking laws.

Jurors deliberated for about 30 minutes.

“This is a good win for the people of Bay County, the Bay County Sheriff’s Office investigators who put this case together, and our office,” Sullivan said. “The arrest kept 8½ ounces of methamphetamine off our streets, and the guilty verdict will keep this defendant and his poison away from our community for a long time.”

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Sullivan called witnesses and put on evidence showing the defendant was under surveillance by Bay County sheriff’s deputies April 6, 2022. The driver of the car he was a passenger in was pulled over for speeding near Lake Drive and S. Tyndall Parkway.

Inv. Doug Cummings deployed his K-9 Fila for a free-air sniff around the car, and Fila alerted for the presence of narcotics in the vehicle. A probable cause search uncovered 9 clear baggies of methamphetamine inside a grocery bag behind the driver’s seat. The defendant claimed ownership of the contents of the bag.

Basford thanked the Sheriff’s Office for its proactive work that kept the drugs off the streets.

For more information, contact Mike Cazalas at mike.cazalas@sa14.fl.gov, or call 850-381-7454.

BONIFAY – An unwanted Paycheck last year started a chain of events for Joseph Durso that ended with him being found guilty of Possession of Methamphetamine Wednesday, State Attorney Larry Basford announced.

Holmes County Prosecutor Joshua White told jurors that Holmes County Sheriff’s Office K-9  “Paycheck” detected drugs while doing a free-air sniff around Durso’s vehicle Nov. 17, 2024. The ensuing search uncovered methamphetamine.

A jury took 10 minutes to find the defendant guilty as charged of the drug possession charge and Possession of Paraphernalia. Circuit Court Judge Russell Roberts set sentencing for July 2.

“We are pleased the jury returned a verdict of guilty so quickly, which is a reflection of the strong work the Holmes County Sheriff’s Office did on this case,” White said.

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White called three HCSO deputies, including Deputy Chad Tidwell, K-9 Paycheck’s handler, Sgt. Rodger Young and Deputy Jerry Hall.

The evidence and testimony showed the defendant was stopped for an expired tag but was “fidgety and nervous” even after being told he was not going to receive a ticket. He at first said there was nothing in the car, then that “to the best of my knowledge” there was nothing in the car.

K-9 Paycheck alerted to the presence of drugs, and deputies found a methamphetamine pipe with drugs in it in the center console. The defendant told deputies he had not mentioned that because he “didn’t want to get in trouble.”

Basford thanked the Holmes County Sheriff’s Office for its work on the case and use of its K-9.

For additional information, contact Mike Cazalas at mike.cazalas@sa14.fl.gov, or call 850-381-7454.

A seasoned attorney returning to his roots and a new member of the Florida Bar looking to put down roots are the State Attorney’s Office two newest prosecutors.

Patrick Keen took a winding route back to Panama City, serving overseas in Iraq and living in the North Pole (Alaska), and many points between, but is now back home serving as the State Attorney’s Office newest prosecutor.

Jack Lyons grew up in Bradenton, went to Florida State University School of Law while interning with the 2^nd Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office, and decided the 14^th Judicial Circuit was where he and his wife wanted to put down roots.

Keen’s journey includes early years in Graceville, where his father served as a minister, and living in Panama City until the middle of his senior year of high school. That was when his father was called to North Pole, AL, – some 4,300 miles away – to serve as minister of a Baptist Church.

“I’ve lived in a lot of places,” Keen said of his return to Panama City after retiring from the federal government. “But out of all of them, this has always been our favorite town. We love to go Tyndall and walk the beach as far as it will go.

“We always planned on coming here and this opportunity came up and the timing was perfect.”

The move also puts Keen and his wife closer to their son.

 

Lyons graduated from the University of South Florida about the time COVID hit and moved to Colorado to work with his uncle. It is also where he met his wife. After getting his law degree at FSU, he knew he wanted to live in the Panhandle.

“We wanted to go somewhere that was a little different than Tallahassee, it wasn’t the right fit for us,” he said. “We decided to inquire about the next circuit over (the 14^th Judicial Circuit) and I heard some really good things about this office. The legal community here shows a lot of respect for each other, and the people here know what they are about, what they stand for, the point of all this.

“And that’s what really sold me.”

Keen spent 23 years in two leadership positions at the Office of General Counsel, Department of Veterans Affairs. He also served in the U.S. Army Reserves during that time, achieving the rank of Colonel. That time included stints in Iraq and Kuwait serving as Senior Legal Advisor to a 3-Star Commander as part of Operation Inherent Resolve.

Keen received his Law Degree from LSU and has been licensed to practice law in Louisiana and Florida since passing both state bars in 1994. He joined the Office of General Counsel, Department of Veterans Affairs, in 2002 until his recent retirement.

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It was his search for a community service-oriented job and his exposure to four people under his command – three who were former district attorneys and one who was a public defender – that brought him to the State Attorney’s Office as a prosecutor.

“Every one of them said it was the best job they ever had – working directly for individual people,” he said. “Look at what Mr. Basford and this office are doing – helping maintain law and order in this community.

“This whole office is critical to the wellbeing of the community, this is a wonderful town, and it’s worth fighting for.”

For Keen, it is a chance to finish out his career doing what he enjoys in a place he loves.

For Lyons, it is a chance to start a career that could take him many places but one which he hopes keeps him here.

“I’m planning on making this my career and I just want to become as good as I can be,” he said. “It’s a job that should be done well with a conscientious approach, common sense, and remembering the human side of things.”

For more information, contact Mike Cazalas at mike.cazalas@sa14.fl.gov, or call 850-381-7454.

 

CHIPLEY – A man set for his murder charge to be decided by a jury instead entered a plea of No Contest Tuesday and was sentenced to 45 years in prison, State Attorney Larry Basford announced.

Jeffrey Schuller, 53, accepted a plea agreement after a Washington County Jury was selected to hear the evidence in the 2023 killing of Dawn Langford. Washington County Circuit Judge Timothy Register accepted the plea and adjudicated the defendant guilty before sentencing him to 45 years in prison.

Prosecutor Megan Ford was prepared to show the jury that on July 12, 2023, at approximately 5:30 a.m., the body of a woman was found on a rural dirt road near Wausau. She had been fatally shot. The victim was later identified as Dawn Langford, a resident of Bay County.

A thorough investigation by the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, in collaboration with the Bay County Sheriff’s Office, FDLE, and the Florida Highway Patrol, led to the arrest of Jeffrey Schuller. Surveillance footage, forensic evidence, and witness statements linked Schuller to the crime.

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Search warrants on the defendant’s residence and vehicle revealed a 9mm Taurus handgun with a rare type of ammunition — identical to the casing found beside the victim. It was hidden in a closet. DNA evidence and tire tracks that matched the defendant’s truck further connected Schuller to the scene.

This case is a testament to the power of interagency cooperation and the vital role of forensic science in securing justice.

Ford and Basford said they are grateful to Washington County Sheriff Kevin Crews and Capt. Kenny Brock, as well as Bay County Sheriff’s Office Capt. Jason Daffin and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for their efforts on this case.

For more information, contact Mike Cazalas at mike.cazalas@sa14.fl.gov, or call 850-381-7454.

Charles Matthew Gable was sentenced to Life in prison without the possibility of parole Wednesday for the brutal 2023 murder of Brittany Jordana Dykes, State Attorney Larry Basford announced.

Calhoun County Circuit Court Judge Brandon Young ordered the sentence Wednesday for Gable, who was found guilty March 27 after a 3-day trial.

Calhoun County Chief Prosecutor William Wright called more than a dozen witnesses and provided jurors evidence proving the defendant and the victim were at the defendant’s residence when an argument broke out Sept. 24, 2023. The evidence showed that the defendant, who was intoxicated, became angry at the victim and repeatedly punched her in the head, face and upper body while also strangling her.

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Her body was put in the trunk of a car overnight. The next day Gable drove about 18 miles and rolled the body into a creek, where it was found by passersby.

The jury deliberated for just over an hour.

“Brittany and her family deserved to see this man held accountable and brought to justice, and that started with the guilty verdict.” Wright said. “Now we hope this Life sentence, which was the result of a team effort between the Calhoun County Sheriffs Office, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and the State Attorney’s Office, will help bring them an added degree of relief.”

Basford thanked Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office and Florida Department of Law Enforcement for their efforts on the case.

For additional information, contact Mike Cazalas at mike.cazalas@sa14.fl.gov, or call 850-381-7454.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Wewahitchka man found guilty in March of 2 counts of Lewd and Lascivious Molestation was ordered to serve consecutive minimum-mandatory 25-year sentences Tuesday, State Attorney Larry Basford announced.

Henry Hollis Mangum, 59, was found guilty of the charges March 21 after a 1-day trial. Jurors reached a verdict about 20 minutes after hearing the case presented by Prosecutor Brea Dearing. Circuit Court Judge Shonna Young Gay presided over Tuesday’s sentencing.

At trial, Dearing presented evidence and called 4 witnesses, including the victim – who was under 10 years of age at the time of the offense. The crime was initially unreported, but a series of events in 2021 led to the disclosure.

A forensic interview by an Alabama child protection team and other evidence gathered proved the victim’s case.

“We are pleased that the victim, who had the courage to testify at trial, saw justice served today with Judge Gay’s sentence,” Dearing said. “This has been an ordeal for her, but now she doesn’t have to worry about him ever harming her again.”

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Dearing noted the importance of the verdict on a crime that was reported years after it occurred, because it shows other sexual abuse victims that they will be heard if they come forward.

Basford thanked both the Alabama agencies initially involved in the investigation and the Panama City Police Department for gathering the evidence to build a strong case.

For additional information, contact Mike Cazalas at mike.cazalas@sa14.fl.gov, or call 850-381-7454.

       

Prosecutor Peter Overstreet points at the defendant, who was fingerprinted and taken into custody after the

verdict. Family members of the victims thanked Overstreet and SAO outside afterward.

A man driving in the wrong lanes on State 79 with more than twice the legal blood-alcohol limit was found guilty Thursday of DUI Manslaughter and other charges resulting from the head-on collision he caused.

State Attorney Larry Basford said John Edward Powers, 57, of Bruce, was found guilty of DUI Manslaughter in the death of Kenyotta Michelle Brown, and two counts of DUI Causing Serious Bodily Injury to Savannah Desiree Gandy and Justin Weston. A fourth passenger in the car suffered minor injuries. Sentencing is set for June 12 at 9 a.m.

“Thanks to the hard work of the Florida Highway Patrol, Bay County Sheriff’s Office, and FDLE, justice was achieved for Ms. Brown, Ms. Gandy, and Mr. Weston,” said Prosecutor Peter Overstreet.

After the verdict, family members expressed gratitude for the verdict, saying that with the truth out and the suspect convicted, Brown can rest in peace.

Overstreet called 13 witnesses over two days to prove Powers, with a .20 blood-alcohol level, was driving south in the northbound lanes of State 79 when he hit a car driven by Gandy head-on a few miles north of Panama City Beach near County 388. It is illegal in Florida to drive with a blood-alcohol level of .08 or higher.

“What we have is a highly intoxicated man who was driving the wrong way down Hwy. 79 when he struck (the victim’s car) as they were heading north to Caryville,” Overstreet told jurors. “He didn’t even know where he had crashed or that he was almost in Panama City Beach.”

Gandy, driving north on 79 with her friends to Caryville, said when she saw headlights and realized they were in her lane, she only had time to jerk the wheel to the left. The defendant’s right front collided directly with Gandy’s right front, sending both vehicles spiraling clockwise.

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Jurors saw pictures from the scene, a diagram showing the point of impact and subsequent travel of the vehicles and heard from Florida Highway Patrol Cpl. Jonathan Gentry. Gentry said the laws of physics and the evidence at the scene could only lead to one conclusion: the defendant was driving south in the northbound lanes at the time of the wreck.

“It’s basic physics,” Overstreet said. “There’s no other way for this to happen. One hundred times out of 100 times, when you repeat this kind of collision (passenger front to passenger front), this is what happens.”

Brown, the front-seat passenger in Gandy’s car, did not survive. Gandy was life-flighted to the hospital with a broken femur, her ankle broken in three places and multiple other injuries. Weston had a broken femur, broken shoulder and other injuries

Basford thanked the multiple agencies involved and the FHP for its analysis of the wreck that proved there was only one way it could have happened.

For more information, contact Mike Cazalas at mike.cazalas@sa14.fl.gov, or call 850-381-7454.

As a jury prepared to enter the courtroom and hear the case against her Tuesday, Sharmana Garrett pled No Contest to Attempted Second Degree Murder and was sentenced to 15 years in prison, State Attorney Larry Basford said.

Jurors were released by Circuit Judge Brantley Clark, who thanked them for their willingness to serve and explained the importance of their role even without a trial.

“This plea doesn’t happen today if there wasn’t a jury ready to hear the case,” he told them.

Prosecutor Frank Sullivan was prepared to call witnesses and provide evidence proving the defendant tracked the victim down following an argument and fired four shots into his truck, striking him once.

“We want people to understand you cannot escalate an argument or disturbance by retrieving a firearm and turning it into a potentially deadly situation,” Sullivan said. “We had a strong case with the work of the Panama City Police Department. But I think this plea was in the best interest of all involved, including the victim, who was in agreement.”

Sullivan and Prosecutor JP Ferreira were prepared to prove that the defendant and the victim had been dating for about 2 years when they got into a domestic situation Jan. 23, 2021. The victim left the Everitt Avenue residence in his truck.

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The defendant retrieved a pistol from inside the home. She and her son got into her car and found the victim in his truck a few blocks away. Both vehicles stopped and the defendant fired four shots into the victim’s truck from behind, hitting the victim once in the back.

The victim drove away and sought medical help. The son later pled to Tampering with Evidence and was put on probation.

Basford thanked the Panama City Police Department for its handling of the two scenes and putting together a strong case.

For more information, contact Mike Cazalas at mike.cazalas@sa14.fl.gov, or call 850-381-7454.