A Louisiana man who was part of a burglary crew that stole more than $100,000 in collectible baseball cards from a Panama City business in 2023 was sentenced to 10 years in prison and ordered to make $183,000 in restitution Monday.

State Attorney Larry Basford said Leon Rowe Jr., 31, of Louisiana, is the first of the four defendants to go to trial in any of the cases. A second defendant here pled to his charges and testified against Rowe. Rowe was found guilty on Sept. 19 of Grand Theft (more than $100,000) and sentenced Monday by Senior Judge Joe Grammer.

A third defendant is awaiting trial and the fourth has not been captured.

Prosecutor Zachary VanDyke said Rowe and was part of a burglary and theft spree involving gaming and collectible stores that stretched from Panama City west to Louisiana in late 2022 and early 2023. The three defendants in the Panama City case are from the same area of Louisiana.

“In 2 minutes, they destroyed a business that a man spent decades building,” VanDyke said. “We are glad the perpetrator has been held accountable and that restitution has been ordered. But we understand nothing can replace what this victim lost.”

In the Panama City case, the defendants took hundreds of collector’s cards ranging from a 1955 Sandy Koufax ($4,500) to a 1954 Hank Aaron ($4,000). The collection included 65 Mickey Mantles, 34 Hank Aarons, 11 Whitey Fords, and cards from Tom Seaver, Roger Maris, Nolan Ryan, and Johnny Bench.

RELATED: Rowe Guilty in theft of $100K in baseball trading cards

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In the Panama City case, surveillance video showed a man swinging a large hammer at the glass entrance door and kicking a hole in it. Four men wearing gloves and with their faces covered rushed through the hole, with at least two grabbing collectible bats to smash the glass cases inside.

Following that, there was a string of similar thefts across the Gulf Coast. DNA found at one crime scene in Alabama was matched to Rowe and Cedric Vondo, 37, also of Louisiana. Vondo gave a statement incriminating himself, Rowe, and another co-defendant.

Basford thanked the law enforcement network across the Gulf Coast that collaborated in connecting the cases, and the Bay County Sheriff’s Office for its work on a similar case that assisted the Panama City Police Department’s case.

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

A Georgia man who sexually assaulted a young teen here in 2004 was sentenced to 15 years in prison Friday after pleading guilty rather than going to trial, State Attorney Larry Basford announced.

Leslie Earl Cannon, 73, entered an open plea to Sexual Battery Upon a Child older than 12 but younger than 18, and Lewd or Lascivious Battery. An open plea means there is no agreement on the sentence, it is decided by the judge. Cannon was designated a Sexual Predator and sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Circuit Court Judge Timothy Register said he considered that the defendant has been in prison for the last 20 years for a similar assault on the victim that took place in Georgia around the same time as the offense in Florida, testimony from the victim who is now in his 30s, as well as the sentencing guidelines.

“Your honor, what the victim and what we really want here is that this man not be turned loose so that he can victimize another child,” Prosecutor Jeff Moore said during sentencing.

The defendant was in a position of trust with the victim, who was 13 years old when the Bay County assault occurred.

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With the victim, now in his 30s, standing by his side in court, Moore read the victim’s statement to the judge.

The victim wrote that his “childhood was ripped from me.”

“I spent the best years of my life hiding from people alone in the darkness, scared and afraid of society,” he said in his statement. “Scared that the next person around me will betray me. So emotionally ruined that a 13-year-old would shut himself out from the world.”

The victim wrote that the defendant began grooming him when he was 10 years old.

“This crime continues to affect me every day,” he wrote. “I am working to heal, but the harm that was done will always be a part of my story. This man hasn’t changed; this man deserves to die in prison.”

Basford thanked the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for its work on the case over the years and for its collaboration with Georgia authorities.

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

A man found guilty of 4 sex offenses involving a young girl that took place last year was sentenced to Life in prison without the possibility of parole Wednesday, State Attorney Larry Basford announced.

James Edward Mixon, 43, of Youngstown, was found guilty Sept. 26 of 2 counts of Sexual Battery and 2 counts of Lewd and Lascivious Molestation by a jury that deliberated for 90 minutes. Circuit Court Judge Dedee Costello gave Mixon Life for each of the Sexual Battery charges, and 15 years on each of the Lewd and Lascivious Molestation charges, with all four running concurrent.

Prosecutor Morgan Morrell thanked the Bay County Sheriff’s Office, and Inv. Dakota Merrit in particular, saying the sentence will make Bay County a safer place to live.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“This is somebody who is a sexual deviant and he stole the innocence from 2 young girls,” Morrell said. “And if he was given the chance to be out on the streets, he would do this again.

“With this sentence from Judge Costello, he will not be given the opportunity to hurt another little girl.”

Morrell also praised the victim in this case and another young girl who is the victim in a second case. That victim was allowed to testify at this trial about what happened to her.

“Both of these young girls suffered a lot of trauma because of this defendant, and with each of them knowing they were not alone, I think it boosted their confidence to be able to get up there and testify and be able to stand up for themselves,” Morrell said. “It was very difficult for them to testify, but without their courage it would have made this a more difficult case.”

RELATED: Third defendant Mixon guilty in sexual battery

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The victim in this case was adopted by an out-of-state family member.

In all, three people have now been convicted and sentenced to prison in this case. Jonathan Allen Mixon, 39, of Youngstown, pled to Lewd or Lascivious Molestation and several other charges and was sentenced to 18 years in prison. He testified against James Mixon. Amber Gunder, 39, pled to several charges and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

The victim said the defendant sexually abused her twice in incidents involving the co-defendants.

Basford thanked the Bay County Sheriff’s Office and the Gulf Coast Children’s Advocacy Center for their work and collaboration in investigating and putting together a case that put three abusers in prison.

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

 

 

 

A Georgia woman convicted of Vehicular Homicide in August was sentenced to 10 years in prison Tuesday for hitting and killing a motorcyclist in 2022, State Attorney Larry Basford announced.

Tammi Michelle Hornsby, 50, of Senoia, Ga., was sentenced by Circuit Court Judge Shonna Young Gay after the judge heard from family members of the victim and the defendant. Gay also revoked Hornsby’s driver’s license for life and gave her 5 years’ probation following prison. The wreck occurred late Saturday night, April 30, 2022 during Thunder Beach.

“My son’s death has left a hole in my heart that can never be filled,” the victim’s mother said in a statement Circuit Chief Prosecutor Mark Graham read at sentencing. “The memory of that night we lost him is burned into my mind forever. No parent should have to experience this.”

She said her life, and her family’s will never be the same. “This is a life sentence for us.”

At trial in August, Graham and Prosecutor Jack Lyons called witnesses and presented evidence, including video surveillance from nearby businesses, proving Hornsby had been drinking and was driving about 29 mph over the 35 mph speed limit when she hit the motorcyclist in the westbound lane of Thomas Drive.

RELATED: Hornsby guilty in Thunder Beach biker’s death

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The victim was attempting to turn left from Silver Sands Road when he was struck, causing the vehicles to erupt in flames.

Graham said the combination of Hornsby’s speed and delayed reactions from drinking led to the crash, which he said was a tragedy for all involved. Hornsby, 50, “really had no substantive criminal record, but she came down here on bike week, and she was drinking … and speeding and her decision making was clearly flawed,” Graham said.

Graham noted crash data showed the defendant did not hit the brakes until .8 seconds before impact.

“But for her slowed reaction due to some of the alcohol she drank and if she had been driving the speed limit, she and the victim never would’ve collided,” Graham said.

Basford thanked the Florida Highway Patrol for its work on the case.

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

 

(Left to right below: defendant Kevin McCray, 1 kilo of fentanyl, Prosecutor Frank Sullivan)

A man convicted of smuggling in enough Fentanyl to cause an overdose death in every resident of the 14^th Judicial Circuit was sentenced to the maximum 30 years in prison, State Attorney Larry Basford announced.

Kevin Matthew McCray, 33, was found guilty Oct. 1 of Trafficking in Fentanyl (more than 28 grams). The first 25 years of the sentence given by Circuit Court Judge Brantley Clark is minimum-mandatory under Florida’s enhanced drug trafficking penalties. Prosecutor Frank Sullivan said even if the defendant receives gain time for good behavior, he will still be in prison for more than 25 years.

Bay County Sheriff’s Office Special Investigations Division arrested McCray Dec. 6, 2022, hours after he got off his return flight from California. He had mailed himself about a kilo of fentanyl from there to a Bay County residence.

“The sheer amount of fentanyl Mr. McCray imported into the state of Florida is mind-boggling in this case,” Sullivan said to Judge Clark at Monday’s sentencing. “So I’m asking for the full 30 years.”

The first 25 years of the sentence given by Circuit Court Judge Brantley Clark is minimum-mandatory under Florida’s enhanced drug trafficking penalties. Prosecutor Frank Sullivan said even if the defendant receives gain time for good behavior, he will still be in prison for more than 25 years.

Bay County Sheriff’s Office Special Investigations Division arrested McCray Dec. 6, 2022, hours after he got off his return flight from California. He had mailed himself about a kilo of fentanyl from there to a Bay County residence.

“Arresting users is easier but doesn’t stop the problem,” Sullivan continued. “In this case the Sheriff’s Office worked its way to close to the top, and together we have made sure that person will not have a chance to harm our residents for decades.”

RELATED: McCray guilty in Fentanyl Trafficking case

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The fentanyl crisis is spawned by many factors, but there are three that make it particularly deadly to users and of concern to law enforcement and prosecutors.

One is the sheer potency of the drug – used legally in medical settings to control severe pain, as in cancer patients, and in surgeries as an anesthesia/analgesia. Prescription fentanyl is 50-100 times stronger than medical morphine or heroin, and 100 times more potent than Oxycodone.

The second is that because fentanyl can be made illegally at much less cost than heroin, Oxycodone, and other painkillers, drug dealers use it as a substitute to increase their profits and sell it to unwitting buyers.

The third is that because the main supply comes from clandestine labs operating south of the U.S. border with no legal controls, the amount of fentanyl and thus the potency of it varies from batch to batch. It even varies from samples taken from the same batch because the fentanyl is mixed in with benign powders.

Those combine to produce results like the Manslaughter conviction last week of a man who sold a pill with fentanyl disguised to look like Percocet to a 16-year-old who overdosed and died.

In McCray’s case, when picked up by Bay County Sheriff’s Office investigators, he admitted to getting the drugs in California and mailing them back here. He helped lead them to the drugs.

Basford thanked the Bay County Sheriff’s Office for its investigation that enabled it to track the drugs from California to Panama City and then make an arrest before it got into the hands of local dealers.

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

A 61-year-old Panama City woman was sentenced to 25 years in prison Friday for shooting and killing a 44-year-old Chipley man in a Holmes County hotel room 2 years ago, State Attorney Larry Basford announced.

Lois K. Merkel was facing trial for the May 29, 2023 shooting death when she entered an open plea to Manslaughter with a Firearm on Sept. 22. An open plea means there was no agreement on the sentence, it would be decided by Circuit Court Judge Russell Roberts. The charge is a 1^st-Degree Felony punishable by up to 30 years in prison.

Prosecutor Peter Overstreet asked for a sentence at the upper end of the maximum. Judge Roberts, after hearing from both sides, handed down the 25-year sentence to the 61-year-old defendant.

“This was an unfortunate incident between two people where the defendant essentially lost her cool and shot and killed Mr. Hall,” Overstreet told the judge. “The victim may not have been a perfect man and may not have led a perfect life, but he did not deserve to die.”

RELATED: Man guilty in death of juvenile who OD’d on fentanyl

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Overstreet was prepared to call witnesses and present evidence showing that Merkel, who was married to another man, was doing methamphetamine and having an affair with the victim. The night of the shooting the two were in a Bonifay hotel room and had been arguing and using drugs.

Texts from the victim earlier showed he was afraid Merkel was going to hurt him. Pictures he took secretly on his phone in the minutes leading up to his death showed Merkel appearing angry and pointing at him with one hand while hiding her other hand behind her back. Less than a minute after the last picture was taken, Hall was shot.

The evidence and the state’s case was that Merket was angry with the victim, the victim told others he feared she would hurt him, she was standing over an open gun safe with her hand behind her back arguing with him moments before the shot was fired, and that it was clear she fired the shot. Merkel admitted firing the shot but claimed it was an accident.

Basford thanked the Holmes County Sheriff’s Office for its work on the difficult case.

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

 

 

A 24-year-old man was found guilty of Manslaughter Wednesday for selling a fentanyl-laced pill to a 16-year-old who overdosed and died in 2022, State Attorney Larry Basford announced.

Elijah Tee McLeroy, who was 21 when he sold what the victim thought were pain pills at a beach party, was found guilty after more than 4 hours of deliberation. Prosecutor Peter Overstreet asked for the maximum sentence, and Circuit Court Judge Timothy Register agreed, giving McLeroy a total of 20 years in prison on the second-degree felony and a violation of probation charge.

Overstreet said the guilty verdict and sentence send a clear message to drug dealers as the country struggles with the deadly fentanyl epidemic.

“If you sell fentanyl in this Circuit, in this case by passing it off as a painkiller, and someone overdoses and dies, you are facing the possibility of ending up in prison for a long, long time,” he said. “It is a highly potent and dangerous drug that is taking innocent lives. We will not tolerate it.”

The overdose death of the 16-year-old victim in this case highlighted one of fentanyl’s many dangers – because it is cheap and potent, drug dealers often use it to make pills that appear to be authentic painkillers like Oxycodone or Percocet but are cheap knockoffs.

McLeroy’s victim thought he was buying Percocet, a painkiller, but he and some friends were instead given pills with fentanyl. One overdosed and survived after going to the hospital and another became ill. The victim’s mother found him dead in his bed the next morning.

“I want you to know the impact of what you’ve done,” the victim’s mother wrote to McElroy in a statement read before sentencing. “You didn’t just take Brayden from me – you took my future, my peace, and a part of my soul. You didn’t just end one life – you shattered so many others.

“Our family will never be the same,” she continued. “The pain and emptiness you caused will last for the rest of my life.”

Overstreet called witnesses ranging from the victim’s mother and friends who were with him that night, to Panama City Beach Police Department officers and investigators who handled the case.

The evidence compiled and shown to jurors by Overstreet proved the victim and his friends were on the sandy beach near Pier Park on July 21, 2022, when they purchased the pills in separate transactions from McLeroy. The victim was found dead in his bed the following morning by his mother.

His friends, using the same app (Snapchat) that they used to find McElroy when he posted “Shop Open” from his “Enokthegoat2” account during the beach party, warned the dozens of people who had been in the group chat not to buy or use McElroy’s drugs.

They posted screengrabs, which they later provided police, that included: a $120 payment for 6 of the pills that night, a picture of McLeroy, a picture of the pills, and a video of them flushing the remaining pills down the toilet.

Police retrieved that information and more from cellphone downloads.

“They were diming (McLeroy) out, telling people, ‘Don’t buy what he’s selling,’” Overstreet said. “Why? Because they knew they were deadly and had killed their friend.”

Overstreet asked jurors to use their common sense, not emotions, and to look at the evidence.

“We all did dumb things when we were kids,” he said. “Many of us have kids who do dumb things. But (the victim) didn’t deserve to die for his mistakes, he didn’t deserve the death penalty.”

Basford thanked the Panama City Beach Police Department for its work on the case, and the Bay County Sheriff’s Office and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for their collaboration.

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

A man who was 48 years old when he had sex with a 15-year-old after they snorted cocaine was found guilty Thursday of Lewd and Lascivious Battery, State Attorney Larry Basford announced.

John C. Bradly, 49, who was living in Panama City at the time of the Jan. 13 offense, was found guilty by a jury that deliberated for about 20 minutes. Circuit Court Judge Shonna Young Gay set sentencing for Dec. 2.

Prosecutor Zach VanDyke called two witnesses – the victim, and Bay County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Jake Roberts. He also introduced numerous text messages between the defendant and the victim, and the defendant’s statement to Roberts where he admitted having sex with the girl.

“This is a defendant who not only refused to take responsibility for his actions, but who repeatedly lied and denied, and then attempted to put blame on the victim,” VanDyke said. “He tried to make her a victim again with his testimony, and I’m grateful the jurors saw through that. His behavior will send him where he belongs – prison.”

VanDyke told jurors during his opening statement and closing argument there might be things they did not like or disagreed with as to the behavior and actions of all involved – but the simple fact was that it is illegal for a 48-year-old man to have sex with a 15-year-old. And the defendant knew that, referencing it both in his statement to Roberts and his texts with the victim afterward.

The victim testified that the defendant went to high school with one of her relatives and it was through that connection that she met him. She said he picked her up at her residence Jan. 13, drove her around, and they stopped and used cocaine twice. She said after the second time, he initiated sex with her.

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That came to light later when investigators looking into another case found text messages on the victim’s phone to and from the defendant. In them, the defendant referenced doing drugs with the victim, attempted to meet up with the victim again, and on the night of the incident texted her to remember to take an after-sex birth control pill.

The defendant took the stand and denied having sex with the victim, despite his statement to BCSO investigators that he did have sex with her in the back of his car. When asked if he even kissed her, he claimed she tried to kiss him, “but I pushed her away.”

Basford thanked the Bay County Sheriff’s Office for its follow-up work that led to Bradly’s arrest and the thorough investigation that helped the case end successfully.

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

Prosecutor Frank Sullivan is one of only eight trial attorneys – and the only prosecutor – across the country to receive the 2025 President’s Award from the National Board of Trial Advocacy, State Attorney Larry Basford announced.

The NBTA was formed “out of a strong conviction that both the law profession and its clients would benefit from an organization designed specifically to create an objective set of standards illustrating an attorney’s experience and expertise in the practice of trial law.”

The President’s Award is given annually to select members who stand out in both the legal community and in improving their communities.

“As a prosecutor you have big challenges,” a spokesperson for the NBTA said in Sullivan’s notification. “It is clear from the work that you are taking on and the successes you have had that your community is better because you are there.”

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Sullivan has successfully prosecuted more than 80 jury trials, ranging from attempted murder and aggravated child abuse to drug trafficking and sexual battery. He is also involved in community efforts through the Gulf Coast Children’s Advocacy Center and by overseeing the State Attorney’s Office’s participation in an “An Angel Tree” for the past several Christmas seasons.

The NBTA was founded in 1977 and has about 2,000 members – who undergo an “elaborate” process for selection – nationwide.

Sullivan joined the 14^th Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office in November 2016. He is a graduate of the Pennsylvania State University Dickinson School of Law.

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