PRESS RELEASE

The Office of State Attorney Larry Basford announces that Devin Collier has rejoined the State Attorney’s Office as an Assistant State Attorney in the Major Crimes Division.  Mr. Collier previously worked with the office from 2013-2018 as a felony prosecutor and Division Chief in the Panama City office.

Mr. Collier most recently worked with the U.S. Department of the Interior, Office of the Solicitor, handling several counseling and litigation matters; offering legal counsel to the Bureau of Land Management relevant to its relocation to the West and representing the Department in the resulting Congressional inquiry; and working on the Employment and Labor Law Unit’s COVID-19 response team.

Prior to joining the Department, Mr. Collier worked as an Associate Attorney with the law firm of Barron and Redding, P.A., where he handled commercial litigation, and immediately before that, he worked at the State Attorney’s Office.  Before joining the State’s Attorneys Office, Mr. Collier worked in the private sector at his own law firm, The Collier Firm. And before that, he worked with the Public Defender’s Office, Second Judicial Circuit, as an Appellate Counsel, representing indigent clients before Florida’s First District Court of Appeal. During law school, Mr. Collier was a judicial intern for the Honorable Patrick White, Magistrate Judge for the U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida.

Mr. Collier earned his Juris Doctorate, Cum Laude, at the Florida A&M University College of Law, where he achieved the following: 2010 and 2011 Outstanding Law Review Staff Editor; National Employment Law Association Fellow; Dean’s Top Performer Scholarship Award; and Teaching Assistant for Civil Procedure I and II.  We welcome Mr. Collier back to our team!

For additional information, contact State Attorney Larry Basford.

Press Release

The Office of State Attorney Larry Basford announces that on July 14, 2021, a Bay County jury found Jason Kenneth Jones guilty as charged of two counts of Second Degree Murder with a Firearm and one count of Attempted Second Degree Murder with a Firearm.

Evidence presented at trial proved that the Defendant shot his mother three times in her home on the family’s property.  He then followed his girlfriend and her minor child as they fled the scene, shooting at them several times and striking his girlfriend in the hip.  She ran from the Defendant, who began to chase her.  He shot a bystander near the roadway twice in the face.  The Defendant’s girlfriend was able to hide from him in a nearby residence after a family allowed her into their home.  It was later discovered that the Defendant had set his mother’s residence on fire.  The Defendant’s mother and the bystander died from their injuries; his girlfriend survived.  The Defendant remained at large for approximately 24 hours before being apprehended by the Bay County Sheriff’s Office.

The case was investigated by the Bay County Sheriff’s Office and prosecuted by State Attorney Larry Basford and Assistant State Attorney Frank Sullivan.  Sentencing is set for August 6, 2021, before the Honorable Dustin Stephenson.  The Defendant faces a sentence of life in prison.

For additional information, contact State Attorney Larry Basford.

The Office of State Attorney Larry Basford announces that on July 13, 2021, Stanley Woods was sentenced to 35 years in prison and designated a Sexual Offender.  Woods was convicted by a Bay County jury on June 29, 2021, of Sexual Battery with a Deadly Weapon/Serious Bodily Injury, Aggravated Battery, Kidnapping, and Domestic Battery by Strangulation.

Evidence presented at trial proved that the Defendant accused the victim of cheating on him and became enraged.  He then raped the victim for over 6 hours while confining her in his trailer.  During the 6 hours he beat the victim repeatedly and strangled her with an extension cord.

The Parker Police Department investigated the case with the help of the Gulf Coast Sexual Assault Program.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant State Attorneys Peter Overstreet and Dustin Miller.

For additional information, contact State Attorney Larry Basford.

The Office of State Attorney Larry Basford announces that on July 9, 2021, a Bay County jury convicted 58 year-old Bryan Donald Burrell of Aggravated Battery with a Deadly Weapon, Felony Battery (Priors), and Carrying a Concealed Weapon.

Evidence presented at trial proved that the victim was working at Beeline Gas Station on Stanford Road when the Defendant became irate after being told to remove his backpack. The Defendant was told several times to leave the store but refused. The Defendant removed a pry bar, which he carried concealed, and beat the victim with it. The victim received several lacerations on his head and body.

The jury deliberated for 40 minutes before finding Burrell guilty as charged on all counts.  Sentencing is scheduled for July 23, 2021, before the Honorable Brantley Clark, Jr, where the Defendant faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.  The case was investigated by Panama City Police Department and was prosecuted by Assistant State Attorneys Lynelle Dowe and Jennifer Lieb.

For additional information, contact State Attorney Larry Basford.

PRESS RELEASE

The Office of State Attorney Larry Basford announces that on July 7, 2021, a Bay County jury convicted 37-year-old Joseph Irwin of Felon in Possession of a Firearm and Grand Theft of a Firearm.

Evidence presented at trial proved that the victim was traveling from Daytona Beach to Bay County with the Defendant and her two minor children when the Defendant began acting erratic. At some point during the drive, the Defendant demanded that she stop the car so that he could use the bathroom.  He removed her Ruger .380 from her locked glove compartment without her permission and, while outside the car, fired a single shot. When they reached 11^th Street and School Avenue, the Defendant got out of the car with the gun and began waving the gun around stating that the victim was trying to have him killed.  He refused to get back into the car and was left on 11^th Street and School Avenue with the loaded gun in his possession.

The jury deliberated for only 7 minutes before finding Irwin guilty as charged on all counts.  Sentencing is scheduled for July 23, 2021, before the Honorable Brantley Clark, Jr, where the Defendant faces a maximum sentence of 35 years in prison.  The case was investigated by the Springfield Police Department with assistance from the Bay County Sheriff’s Office and Parker Police Department.  It was prosecuted by Assistant State Attorneys Lynelle Dowe and Jennifer Lieb.

For additional information, contact State Attorney Larry Basford.

Press Release

The Office of State Attorney Larry Basford announces that on July 1, 2021, a Bay County Jury found Thomas King guilty of Capital Sexual Battery on a Victim Under the Age of 12.  Evidence presented at trial proved that King had been having sex with the victim from ages 9-11.  King was like a grandparent to the child involved and a family friend.  The disclosure of the abuse occurred after the mother saw the child accessing a cell phone with inappropriate content.  The mother then reviewed her in-home surveillance, which captured the defendant calling the victim into a bedroom and performing sexual acts on the victim outside of the camera’s view.  The jury deliberated for 30 minutes before returning with a verdict.

The Defendant was immediately sentenced to Life in prison without the possibility of parole by Senior Circuit Judge Dedee Costello.  He was also designated a sexual predator.

The case was investigated by the Panama City Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant State Attorneys Peter Overstreet and Dustin Miller.

For additional information, contact State Attorney Larry Basford.

Press Release

The Office of State Attorney Larry Basford announces that on July 1, 2021, 36 year-old Adam Keith Horne was sentenced to two life sentences and one 10 year sentence.  The sentences will run concurrently on each count.  Mr. Horne was previously found guilty by a Bay County jury in June 2021 of Kidnapping, Robbery with a Deadly Weapon, and Grand Theft Motor Vehicle.  Judge Clark imposed the life sentences after receiving and hearing evidence regarding Mr. Horne’s prior convictions.  Mr. Horne had numerous prior felony convictions from North Carolina and had just been released from prison in North Carolina approximately six months before committing these crimes in Bay County.

The case was investigated by Panama City Beach Police Department with assistance from Bay County Sheriff’s Office and FDLE.  It was prosecuted by Assistant State Attorneys Jennifer Lieb and Lynelle Dowe.

For additional information, contact State Attorney Larry Basford

Press Release

The Office of State Attorney Larry Basford announces that on June 29, 2021, a Bay County Jury found Stanley Woods guilty of Sexual Battery with a Deadly Weapon / Serious Bodily Injury, Aggravated Battery, Kidnapping, and Domestic Battery by Strangulation.

Evidence presented at trial proved that the Defendant accused the victim of cheating on him and became enraged.  He then raped the victim for over 6 hours while confining her in his trailer.  During the 6 hours he beat the victim repeatedly and strangled her with an extension cord.

The Parker Police Department investigated the case with the help of the Gulf Coast Sexual Assault Program.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant State Attorneys Peter Overstreet and Dustin Miller.  The Defendant is a 5-time felon and is facing life imprisonment.  Sentencing is set for July 13, 2021, before the Honorable Judge Christopher Patterson.

For additional information, contact State Attorney Larry Basford.

Press Release

The Office of State Attorney Larry Basford announces that on June 29, 2021, a Jackson County Jury found Timothy John Jokinen Guilty as Charged of Lewd or Lascivious Molestation.

Evidence presented at trial proved that on November 25, 2019, the Defendant visited the Victim’s family at the Grand Ridge Park at the corner of Broadway Street and Porter Avenue in Grand Ridge, Florida. While the Victim’s father was in the restroom, the Defendant began to place his hands down the pants of the Victim in a lewd and lascivious manner. An eyewitness exiting the restroom caught the Defendant in the act of molesting the Victim. Two more eyewitnesses on the scene also were able to observe the Defendant’s actions and confronted him about those actions before calling local law enforcement. The facts at trial went on to prove that the Defendant was over the age of 18 at the time and the Victim was under the age of 12.

Once law enforcement arrived on the scene, and after a thorough investigation, the Defendant was arrested and charged with the crime. Subsequently, the Victim was interviewed by the Gulf Coast Children’s Advocacy Center’s Child Protective Team and further evidence of the abuse was disclosed that incriminated the Defendant.

The State Attorney’s Office would like to thank Deputy Brandon Arroyo and the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office for their hard work, professionalism, and diligent investigation of this case. The State Attorney’s Office would also like to thank the Gulf Coast Children’s Advocacy Center for their diligence in this investigation and all witnesses who came forward to help protect the Victim in this case and assist in the prosecution.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant State Attorneys Benjamin Keown and Shalla Jefcoat. The Defendant faces up to life imprisonment in the Department of Corrections with a minimum mandatory of 25 years incarceration. Sentencing is set for August 20, 2021, at 3 pm before the Honorable James J. Goodman.

For additional information, contact State Attorney Larry Basford.

On July 4, 2020, Raul Ambriz Guillen was shot and killed in Holmes County, Florida. His body was taken to a remote location and buried.  After a long investigation and important tips from the public, Mr. Guillen’s body was discovered on August 25, 2020, by the Holmes County Sheriff’s Department with the assistance of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.  The 14th Circuit Medical Examiner’s office determined that Mr. Guillen died from a single gunshot wound to the back of his head.