A Bay County jury took about two hours Wednesday to find a man guilty of Second-Degree Murder for provoking a fight at a worksite and then shooting the man he challenged, State Attorney Larry Basford announced.

David Allan Donaldson, 42, was found guilty as charged of Second-Degree Murder and Aggravated Assault with a Firearm in the Oct. 27, 2020, death of Gordon McKinney at a 23^rd Street construction site. Circuit Court Judge Timothy Register set sentencing for May 10.

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Prosecutors Peter Overstreet and Jacob Cook proved to jurors that the defendant was culpable for the death, with evidence showing he challenged the victim to a fight and then shot him as they tussled. They told jurors that the defendant’s claims of self-defense were baseless and that he knew he had the upper hand from the beginning – with his pistol tucked into his pants.

“He shot an unarmed man after provoking a fight,” Overstreet told jurors. “Ladies and Gentlemen, the simple truth is that you can’t invite someone to fight you, and then use that as a justifiable excuse to pull out a gun and kill them.”

Witnesses testified that both men were on a 23^rd construction site for a business set to open the next day, and the victim was not happy with the work the defendant had performed. McKinney notified his supervisor of the issues, and the defendant engaged in “trash talking” with the victim.

The defendant was asked to leave but continued the argument, telling the victim they could take the dispute across the street to settle it. Instead, there was a confrontation by the defendant’s truck and he  pulled a pistol from his waistband and shot McKinney twice, including once in the back.

“I submit the defendant is a man who bit off more than he could chew,” Overstreet told jurors. “And when he bit off more than he could chew, he had that gun and he knew who was going to win that fight.

“He shot an unarmed man after provoking a fight.”

During closing arguments, Overstreet pointed out to jurors the inconsistencies in the defendant’s claim of self-defense. He noted that despite the defendant’s claim that he was taking a beating and had to shoot to protect himself, he did not have a single scratch, scrape, bruise or red mark on his body.

As far as the defendant’s testimony, he told jurors, “You may discard it in the trash where it belongs.”

“Mr. McKinney is dead. Your verdict will not change that,” Overstreet told jurors. “But your verdict will define forever what happened that day.”

State Attorney Larry Basford took note of the Panama City Police Department’s response to the scene and the evidence that was quickly gathered, including the statement from the defendant.

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

The first defendant to go to trial in the 2019 Shooting death of Edward Ross has been found guilty of first-degree murder and attempted armed robbery, State Attorney Larry Basford announced.

A 12-person jury returned the verdict against Abel Ortiz, 19, Wednesday evening after about four and a half hours of deliberation. Circuit Court Judge Shonna Young Gay set sentencing for Aug. 15.

Five people are charged in the case. Two defendants have entered pleas and both testified against Ortiz. Two others are awaiting trial.

“I’ve been doing this for a long time,” Prosecutor Mark Graham told jurors in in his closing argument. “And I’ve never had a case where I had not one, not two, but three confessions from the defendant. If you look at the admissions, this defendant admitted to intimate details of this crime. How would he know, it wasn’t out to the public? Because he was there.”

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Graham and Prosecutor Frank Sullivan presented evidence and testimony showing that Ortiz agreed to participate in a plan to rob Ross, 30, in his home on Dec. 29, 2019. What started as a planned robbery “went south,” according to testimony, and the victim was shot multiple times.

The victim’s father testified he was at his Sunset Drive home when three armed men burst through the door looking for his son. When the victim, unarmed, walked down the hall toward them to see who was there, the gunmen opened fire.

Witnesses said Ortiz fired a number of those shots. Medical Examiner Jay Radtke said a bullet recovered from the victim’s back was the same caliber as the gun the defendant used in the attempted robbery.

Bay County Sheriff’s Office investigators began a complicated investigation, with hundreds of hours spent tracking down leads and travel across Northwest Florida before making the arrests two months later.

One of the big breaks came when a teacher at Ortiz’ school reported that Ortiz told her he had killed a man on the beach. When she didn’t believe him, he told her she could look it up and at the same time gave her details about the crime that were not public knowledge. The teacher testified that she was a mentor to the defendant and told him, “I just pray you’re not telling the truth,” but Ortiz insisted it was true.

Sheriff’s Office investigators put together evidence ranging from the types of vehicles used and video of them meeting at a nearby store moments before the shooting, to a taped confession from the defendant.

Prosecutor Sullivan told jurors that while the initial plan only involved a robbery, under Florida’s Felony Murder law all those involved were accountable for what happened, even if they didn’t fire the fatal shot.

“He wasn’t just going along for the ride,” Sullivan said of the defendant. “He was a willing participant in this armed robbery plan. He was excited about it.”

Basford thanked the Bay County Sheriff’s Office for the lengths it went to in putting together the evidence needed to arrest the defendant and the quality of the evidence provided to prosecutors.

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

A 95-year-old World War II veteran who was the victim of a home invasion took the news of his attacker’s prison sentence with the same calm reaction as his 911 call when he reported the original crime.

“Maybe he’ll learn a lesson in those 17 years,” the victim said of Michael E. Smith, 47, who was sentenced to 17 years in prison for the Dec. 5 attack and two subsequent offenses. “It takes all kinds of people to make up this world, but there are some of them I believe we can do without.”

The defendant pled no contest to Home Invasion Robbery, Grand Theft-Auto, and two counts of Introduction of Contraband into a Correctional Facility.

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The victim said he was happy with both the sentence and the speed of the case through the courts.

“To be honest, I figured he’d drag it out for a year longer, so I was glad of it when (the State Attorney’s Office) told me he’d taken the plea and was going to prison,” he said. “He won’t be fooling with nobody else for a while.”

The victim was in his Hiland Park area home Dec. 5 when he reported being grabbed from behind and choked by a man later identified as the defendant. It happened so fast, he told Bay County Sheriff’s Office deputies and investigators, that he didn’t see the attacker at first.

The victim called 911 as soon as his attacker fled with his money and truck, sounding calm and collected as he gave them his name, address, and said, “my truck has been stolen and all my money.”

State Attorney Larry Basford commended the Sheriff’s Office for solving the case quickly and Assistant State Attorney Barbara Beasley for bringing the case to a speedy conclusion for the elderly victim.

Sheriff’s Office investigators and deputies canvassed the neighborhood and found the stolen truck abandoned about a mile away, no suspect in sight, according to Inv. Christopher Coram. However, after speaking with neighbors and reviewing surveillance videos from the neighborhood, investigators were able to determine that the defendant was staying at a nearby hotel. The defendant was arrested on the home invasion charge Dec. 5. The following day, Bay County Jail staff developed information that the defendant was in possession of contraband, which led to the final two charges.

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

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State Attorney Larry Basford and his staff met with U.S. Attorney Jason Coody Friday to discuss ways they can continue working together to make the most effective use of their resources to prosecute crimes involving firearms, drugs, violence, and human trafficking.

Assistant U.S. Attorney James A. McCain discussed with State prosecutors the strengths of both federal and state laws, and what kinds of cases best fit in each category.

Coody fielded questions from prosecutors and investigators while saying that above all else, communication is the key.

“We all want to compare, see which is the best way to go,” Coody said of federal versus state prosecution in any particular case. “If there are things we could be doing better, tell us, that’s why we’re here.”

A woman convicted of shooting and injuring two people will spend the next 25 years in prison, State Attorney Larry Basford announced.

Alana Annette Savell, 37, who lived in the Hiland Park area where the shooting took place in 2016, was found guilty of two counts of Aggravated Battery Feb. 23 following a two-day trial.

Tuesday, Circuit Court Judge Shonna Young Gay sentenced the defendant to 25 years in prison on both charges, to be served concurrently, under Florida’s 10-20-Life statute. Under that law, the defendant will not receive any gain time and must serve the full sentence.

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Prosecutors Barbara Beasley and Jacob Cook presented witnesses and evidence at the trial showing that both victims were invited guests at the home the night of the shooting and were either in or near the doorway, or attempting to leave, at the time they were shot from behind by the defendant.

The male victim testified a group got up as if to go outside to smoke, but instead he was told they wanted him and his girlfriend to leave. He testified he was in or near the doorway trying to let his girlfriend know it was time to go when he was shot from behind in the calf by the defendant, who was inside the home. His injuries required three surgeries and two weeks in the hospital.

The female victim testified she was still inside the home when she heard shots, and her then-boyfriend yelling to her that he had been shot and they needed to leave. She said she was shot from behind in the left leg and right hell as she tried to leave.

“I didn’t hear any arguing before the first gunshot,” she testified. “I don’t know what went wrong, why it went wrong. Everything was going fine and then, ‘Pop, pop, pop, pop,’ and (the male victim) yelling, ‘Let’s go, I’ve been shot.’”

Basford thanked the Bay County Sheriff’s Office and Florida Department of Law Enforcement for their work in investigating the case and gathering key evidence, as well as prosecutors Beasley and Cook for their presentation of it to jurors.

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

A man charged with pawning a piece of equipment stolen from a boat at a family member’s business where he worked is serving a 15-year sentence after he was found guilty as charged.

David Wesley Underwood, 44, was charged with Dealing in Stolen Property, a second-degree felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison. Circuit Court Judge Timothy Register imposed the maximum sentence following the jury’s verdict, which took less than 15 minutes.

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At the March 29 trial,  Prosecutors Jae Hee Kim and Josh James proved that Underwood had possession of a Garmin GPSmap,valued at about $2,300, and went with a co-defendant to sell it at a local pawn shop.

The prosecution showed that Bay County Sheriff’s Office investigators located the invoice for the item at the pawn shop. Information on the invoice matched the device to the one missing from the business where Underwood had worked.

Also, a co-defendant testified that the defendant called her and asked for a ride to the pawn shop. She testified he lied to her about the item and asked to use her identification to pawn it.

Basford thanked the Bay County Sheriff’s Office for its handling of the case and the evidence they gathered, as well as Kim and James for their presentation of the case that resulted in a quick verdict.

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

MARIANNA – On Tuesday, the man convicted of killing Blake Allen Cain and shooting at a dozen others in a hail of gunfire two years ago was sentenced to life in prison, plus 80 years, State Attorney Larry Basford announced.

Circuit Court Judge Ana Maria Garcia granted prosecutor Shalla Jefcoat’s request to sentence Steven Mantecon, 23, to Life in prison with a minimum-mandatory 25 years under Florida’s 10-20-Life law. Garcia then sentenced the defendant to 15 years each on two counts of Shooting into an Occupied Vehicle, and ordered both of those to be served consecutive to each other and the first sentence.

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The victim’s grandfather, right, standing beside Prosecutor Shalla Jefcoat, addresses the judge during sentencing.Garcia followed by adding 5 years in prison for each of the 10 Aggravated Assault with a Firearm charges, and ordered that each one of them be served consecutive to the others. That means each sentence will be served individually, one after the other.

At a three-day trial in February, Jefcoat and co-prosecutor Lawrence Gill proved that the defendant and Cain had agreed to a fight the night of the shooting to settle a dispute over a ring Cain had given his former girlfriend – the defendant’s sister.

Evidence showed the defendant drove to a park where Cain and others were gathered, argued with the victim, and without getting out of his truck opened fire from about 10 yards away with a semi-automatic AK47-style rifle.

Three shots hit the victim, killing him almost instantly. Other bullets hit vehicles driven by Cain’s friends. Every bullet fired hit either the victim or a vehicle.

Cain’s grandfather spoke at Tuesday’s sentencing, telling Judge Garcia that the family’s loss is unimaginable.

“He took a lot away from me, but he took a lot away from  a lot of  other people too,” he said. “It was a $40 ring I gave to him … this was all over a stupid ring. But you have no regard for life if you do what (the defendant) did.

“I just thank god Blake was the only one killed,” he added, “even though I lost my grandson. And you don’t have any idea how bad that feels. They say it gets easier over time, but that’s a lie. It doesn’t get easier, it gets worse.”

In asking for the maximum sentence, Jefcoat told Judge Garcia that many lives were changed forever that day and that was evident in the surviving victims’ testimony during trial.

“Mistakes were made that day,” Jefcoat said. “But Mr. Mantecon made choices that ended in his taking a life.”

Basford again thanked the Jackson County Sheriff’s office and its deputies and investigators for the tremendous amount of work both the night of the shooting and in the following weeks, as well as the Florida Highway Patrol, which helped serve a search warrant on the home where the murder weapon was recovered.

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

BONIFAY – The third defendant in the 2020 shooting death of Raul Ambriz Guillen has been found guilty as charged Tuesday and sentenced to life in prison.

William Shane Parker, 36, was found guilty of Second Degree Murder, and Destruction of, Tampering with, or Fabricating Physical Evidence. The jury took less than hour to reach its verdict after two days of testimony.

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Chief Circuit Court Judge Chris Patterson ordered Parker to serve life in prison on the first charge, and 5 years in prison on the second.

Parker was the final of three defendants in the case, and the one accused of pointing a gun at the back of Guillen’s head and pulling the trigger as they watched fireworks July 4, 2020.

Jeremie Odell Peters is serving a 20-year sentence after he was found guilty of Accessory after the Fact to Second Degree Murder with a Firearm, and Conspiracy to Commit First Degree Tampering with a Witness. Lauren Wambles pled no contest to Accessory After the Fact to Second Degree murder with a Firearm and is serving a 10-year sentence, to be followed by 5 years felony probation. As part of her plea, she agreed to testify truthfully against Parker and Peters.

Prosecutors Peter Overstreet and Ben Keown presented evidence and witness testimony Monday and Tuesday proving that Parker intended to kill Guillen that day at co-defendant Peters’ residence.

“For 50 long days and nights Raul Guillen’s body lay in the ground,” Overstreet told jurors. “Raul Guillen’s body, wrapped in black tarp and blankets, covered in barrels, and put in the ground. In a grave dug by two men – William Shane Parker and Jeremie Peters.”

Evidence showed that while fireworks were set off to cover the noise, the defendant shot Guillen in the back of the head and he fell to the ground but was not dead. Wambles testified the victim was making a “snoring” noise and that the defendant first shoved dirt into the victim’s mouth and nose, then beat him with a shovel as he was dragged to the woods.

His body, wrapped in a black plastic tarp, was relocated and buried the next morning by Parker and Peters.

“The defendant hoped that no one would come looking for Raul Guillen, that he would never be found, that he would never be held accountable for what he had done,” Overstreet said. “They were never going to find him where he was buried.”

However, Guillen’s daughter testified she communicated with her dad almost daily. When she couldn’t get in touch with him following July 4, 2020, she soon reported him missing to several agencies.

On Aug. 24, a man contacted authorities saying Peters told him that Parker had killed Guillen after Wambles “lured” him out of the house. He said Peters admitted to helping Parker bury the victim.

Within a day authorities found the body and began questioning suspects, with all three implicating themselves.

Wambles testified she was Parker’s girlfriend at the time and pregnant with his child. She said after he shot Guillen, she did what he told her to do because she was afraid he would kill her, too.

State Attorney Larry Basford thanked the Holmes County Sheriff’s Office, Houston County, Ala., Sheriff’s Office, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the other agencies involved for their collaboration and work on the lengthy investigation.

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

A judge sentenced one of three men arrested in the 2020 robbery and shooting of a Springfield man to 20 years in prison Thursday, State Attorney Larry Basford announced.

On Jan. 27, a jury found Mark Salmon, 22, guilty of Robbery with a Firearm and Attempted Manslaughter.

Thursday, Prosecutor Frank Sullivan noted Salmon faced at least 10 years in prison for one of the crimes under Florida’s 10-20-Life law. He asked for a total sentence of 20 years. Circuit Court Judge Timothy Register ordered a 20-year sentence, with the first 10 years being served day-for-day with no gain time.

The case

At trial, Sullivan and co-prosecutor Jae Hee Kim proved that while Salmon did not pull the trigger or commit the robbery, he was armed and drove two co-defendants to the victim’s home knowing a robbery was planned. Anyone who participates in a crime is culpable for what happens under Florida law.

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The defendant is one of three men charged in the case, and the first to go to trial. One co-defendant is accused of shooting Sessions during the Feb. 22, 2020, incident. The other is accused of physically taking about $2,000 from him. Salmon was also there, armed with a pistol, according to testimony.

“If you find Mark Salmon participated in any way, he is just as guilty,” Sullivan said to jurors during his closing statements. “He is a principal to it and he’s just as guilty as the person who took the money.”

The victim, who Sullivan said was lucky to survive, testified at trial and said there were three men involved – the one who shot him, the one who robbed him, and Salmon.

“They started asking, ‘Where the money at, where the money at? We know you got money,’” the victim testified.

Sessions said he was trying to get it out of his pocket when the man with the rifle shot him, the bullet passing through his chin/lower lip and he was forced to the ground.

“That’s when I spit the teeth out and spit the bullet out,” he told jurors. Police recovered the bullet.

Basford thanked Springfield police, who investigated the shooting, interviewed the suspect, and testified at trial, for their work.

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