Press Release

The Office of State Attorney Glenn Hess announces that on March 6, 2019, a Bay County jury found Sonny Eric Pierce guilty as charged of Aggravated Battery with a Firearm and Shooting into an Occupied Vehicle.

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.  Circuit Judge Brantley Clark, Jr., set sentencing for March 22, 2019.  The Defendant faces up to 25 years of imprisonment and a 20-year minimum mandatory sentence under the 10/20/Life statute.

For additional information, contact Chief Assistant State Attorney Larry Basford.

Press Release

The Office of State Attorney Glenn Hess announces that on March 1, 2019, Sam Armstrong joined our Jackson County office as an Assistant State Attorney in the felony division.

Mr. Armstrong received his law degree, with honors, from the University of Florida College of Law. Prior to attending law school, Mr. Armstrong worked as a Certified Public Accountant, having obtained an accounting degree from the University of North Florida.  Mr. Armstrong has litigation experience from both private practice and as a prosecutor.  While in private practice, Mr. Armstrong worked on a wide variety of civil cases and was a partner with the Miami law firm of Richey, Munroe, Fine, Goodman, and Armstrong.  Mr. Armstrong has served as both a state and federal prosecutor, and worked as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for a total of 22 years.  While an Assistant U.S. Attorney, Mr. Armstrong worked in the forfeiture, civil, and criminal divisions, and served as a press spokesperson.  He also served as the Chief of the Ocala Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida.  More recently, Mr. Armstrong served as an Assistant State Attorney in the State Attorney’s Office for the Fifth Judicial Circuit.  Mr. Armstrong has tried a wide variety of criminal cases, including trials in bank robbery, strong arm robbery, drug, murder, solicitation for murder, assault, tax evasion, law enforcement corruption, immigration, firearm, and burglary cases.  We welcome Mr. Armstrong to our team!

For additional information, contact Chief Assistant State Attorney Larry Basford.

On Friday, we celebrated the retirement of Sherry Moore, who worked as a legal assistant in our Holmes County office for nearly 21 years.  Thank you, Sherry, for your many years of service to our office and to the citizens of Bonifay and the 14th Circuit.  We wish you all the best in your new position as a full-time grandmother!

Press Release

The Office of State Attorney Glenn Hess announces that on February 28, 2019, Circuit Judge Brantley Clark, Jr., sentenced Matthew Fiquett, Jr., to a minimum mandatory 15 years in the Department of Corrections.  Fiquett was sentenced as a Habitual Felony Offender and Prison Releasee Reoffender.

Fiquett was previously convicted of Robbery by a Bay County jury on February 7, 2019.  Evidence presented at trial proved that on August 12, 2018, Fiquett, along with two juvenile co-defendants, devised a plan to meet and rob another juvenile at the Men’s Club in Callaway, Florida.  The juvenile victim testified at trial that when he arrived, he was expecting to meet one person, but there were at least three others present.  He told the jury the older man, Fiquett, asked him to come into a wooded area that was out of the line of sight from the roadway.  The juvenile victim testified when he bent down to retrieve Xanax from his backpack he was hit in the face.  Fiquett put him in a headlock and held on to him while the two other juvenile co-defendants fled the area with some of his belongings; including a backpack and tablet.

After the other juvenile co-defendants left, Fiquett released the juvenile victim and told him to give him his watch.  After Fiquett left the area, the juvenile victim walked out of the wooded area and found two officers sitting nearby in their patrol vehicle.  He approached the officers, allowed them to take photographs of him and his injuries, and gave them a description of the individuals who attacked him.  The patrol deputies contacted the on-call investigator with the Bay County Sheriff’s Office, Christian Williams.  Investigator Williams responded to the scene and while he was walking around the Men’s Club looking for evidence, the juvenile co-defendants returned to the park.

The juvenile co-defendants implicated Fiquett as the leader and the one who devised the plan to steal from the juvenile victim.  Investigator Williams was able to locate Fiquett at his girlfriend’s house later that night.  Inside the house, Investigator Williams located the juvenile victim’s birth certificate, shredded and stuffed into the toilet bowl, and he found the juvenile victim’s tablet in the water tank of the toilet.  He also located the juvenile victim’s backpack in the bedroom where Fiquett stayed.

Assistant State Attorneys Cord Grimes and Alyssa Yarbrough prosecuted the case with the help of the Bay County Sheriff’s Office and the juvenile victim.

For additional information, contact Chief Assistant State Attorney Larry Basford.

Press Release

The Office of State Attorney Glenn Hess announces that on February 13, 2019, Michael Brinegar was found guilty as charged by a Bay County jury of Attempted Second Degree Murder with a Firearm, Shooting into a Building and Discharging a Firearm While Under the Influence.  The charges arose from an incident on September 30^th, 2017, when Brinegar was angry with his neighbor and shot a firearm more than 10 times at his neighbor’s family, including three children. The case was prosecuted by Assistant State Attorney Frank Sullivan and investigated by the Bay County Sheriff’s Department. Brinegar faces a minimum mandatory sentence of 20 years in prison under Florida’s 10/20/Life law. Sentencing is set for March 26, 2019, before Circuit Judge Brantley Clark, Jr.

For additional information, contact Chief Assistant State Attorney Larry Basford.

Press Release

The Office of State Attorney Glenn Hess announces that on February 26, 2019, Circuit Judge Brantley Clark, Jr., sentenced Antwain Chapman to 15 years in the Department of Corrections.  Chapman was sentenced as a Prison Releasee Reoffender.

Chapman was previously found guilty as charged of Burglary of a Dwelling by a Bay County jury on January 16, 2019.  Evidence presented at trial demonstrated that the victim, who was the Defendant’s former brother-in-law, saw the Defendant on his way to work, and knowing that he had just gotten out of prison, attempted to help the Defendant by providing him clothing, money, and a place to stay for the night. However, after the victim left for work, the Defendant returned to his residence, kicked in the door, and stole some items out of the victim’s home. Surveillance video captured the Defendant walking away from the victim’s residence with a pillowcase stuffed with the victim’s belongings. The jury deliberated for 48 minutes before returning a verdict of guilty as charged.

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

For additional information, contact Chief Assistant State Attorney Larry Basford.

Press Release

The Office of State Attorney Glenn Hess announces that on February 7, 2019, a six-member Bay County jury found Matthew Fiquett, Jr. guilty of Robbery.  Evidence presented at trial proved that on August 12, 2018, Fiquett, along with two juvenile co-defendants, devised a plan to meet and rob another juvenile at the Men’s Club in Callaway, Florida.  The juvenile victim testified at trial that when he arrived, he was expecting to meet one person, but there were at least three others present.  He told the jury the older man, Fiquett, asked him to come into a wooded area that was out of the line of sight from the roadway.  The juvenile victim testified when he bent down to retrieve Xanax from his backpack he was hit in the face.  Fiquett put him in a headlock and held on to him while the two other juvenile co-defendants fled the area with some of his belongings; including a backpack and tablet.

After the other juvenile co-defendants left, Fiquett released the juvenile victim and told him to give him his watch.  After Fiquett left the area, the juvenile victim walked out of the wooded area and found two officers sitting nearby in their patrol vehicle.  He approached the officers, allowed them to take photographs of him and his injuries, and gave them a description of the individuals who attacked him.  The patrol deputies contacted the on-call investigator with the Bay County Sheriff’s Office, Christian Williams.  Investigator Williams responded to the scene and while he was walking around the Men’s Club looking for evidence, the juvenile co-defendants returned to the park.

The juvenile co-defendants implicated Fiquett as the leader and the one who devised the plan to steal from the juvenile victim.  Investigator Williams was able to locate Fiquett at his girlfriend’s house later that night.  Inside the house, Investigator Williams located the juvenile victim’s birth certificate, shredded and stuffed into the toilet bowl, and he found the juvenile victim’s tablet in the water tank of the toilet.  He also located the juvenile victim’s backpack in the bedroom where Fiquett stayed.

The jury deliberated for twenty minutes before returning a verdict of guilty for Robbery.  Fiquett faces up to 30 years in the Department of Corrections as a Habitual Felony Offender and a Prison Releasee Reoffender.  Circuit Judge Brantley Clark, Jr., will sentence Fiquett on February 28, 2019.  Assistant State Attorneys Cord Grimes and Alyssa Yarbrough prosecuted the case with the help of the Bay County Sheriff’s Office and the juvenile victim.

For additional information, contact Chief Assistant State Attorney Larry Basford.

Press Release

The Office of State Attorney Glenn Hess announces that on February 12, 2019, Jerome Roulhac Jr., was found guilty as charged by a Bay County jury of Attempted Second Degree Murder with a Firearm after the jury deliberated for just over an hour.  Roulhac had been in an ongoing dispute with the victim.  After an argument with the victim, Roulhac returned to the victim’s home, exited his car, and discharged a firearm at the victim.  A neighbor witnessed the event and immediately called 911.  The case was investigated by the Panama City Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant State Attorney Peter Overstreet.  Roulhac faces a minimum mandatory 20 years in prison under Florida’s 10/20/Life law, and a maximum of 30 years in prison.  Sentencing is set for March 20, 2019 before Senior Circuit Judge Allen Register.

For additional information, contact Chief Assistant State Attorney Larry Basford.

Press Release

The Office of State Attorney Glenn Hess announces that on January 29, 2019, a six-member Bay County jury found Charles Strickland guilty as charged of Battery on a Law Enforcement Officer, Resisting Officers With Violence, and Battery.

Evidence presented at trial proved that the Defendant battered an acquaintance, and when police responded to investigate that battery, the Defendant hit a Bay County Sheriff’s Deputy on the forehead with a flashlight, and then fought three deputies when they tried to take him into custody.  The case was investigated by the Bay County Sheriff’s Office and was prosecuted by Assistant State Attorneys Lawrence Gill and Nicole Reed.

The jury deliberated for approximately 2 hours.  Circuit Judge Christopher Patterson remanded the Defendant into custody and he will be sentenced at a later date.

For additional information, contact Chief Assistant State Attorney Larry Basford.

Press Release

Bill Eddins, State Attorney for the First Judicial Circuit of Florida, and Glenn Hess, State
Attorney for the Fourteenth Judicial Circuit of Florida, announced that on Monday,
January 28, 2019, Rocky Ali Beamon was sentenced to death in Jackson County,
Florida, for First Degree Premeditated Murder.

The conviction and sentence arose from the July 5, 2012, murder of Bruce Hunsicker at
the Apalachee Correctional Institution in Sneads, Florida.  Beamon and Hunsicker were
both inmates at the prison, and subsequent confessions by Beamon revealed that the
motive for the murder was primarily Hunsicker’s status as a sex offender.  Hunsicker
also owed Beamon money.

After watching the victim for several days to learn his schedule, Beamon killed
Hunsicker in the shower area of the prison dormitory by approaching him from behind,
choking him, and stabbing him 80 times with a homemade shank.  Beamon then rinsed
himself off and flushed the shank, a towel, and a pair of boxers, after which he
proceeded to dinner.

Beamon entered a guilty plea to First Degree Premeditated Murder and waived his right
to a jury trial for guilt and sentencing.  A Penalty Phase Judge Trial was then held on
December 17, 2018.  The State presented evidence of the heinousness of the killing as
well as details regarding Beamon’s prior criminal history, which included 2005
convictions for Murder, Kidnapping, and Robbery in Hillsborough County for which
Beamon was sentenced to life in prison.

The Honorable Christopher N. Patterson, Circuit Judge of the Fourteenth Judicial
Circuit, determined that the aggravating factors in this case outweighed the mitigating
circumstances applicable to the Defendant and found that death was the appropriate
sentence.

The investigation was conducted by the Inspector General’s Office of the Department of
Corrections with assistance from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
Assistant State Attorney Clifton Drake was responsible for the prosecution, with
assistance from Assistant State Attorney Jack Schlechter and Chief Assistant State
Attorney Bill Bishop.  All three attorneys are employed by the First Judicial Circuit but
were cross-designated with the Fourteenth Judicial Circuit for the prosecution of this
case.

State Attorney Bill Eddins also indicated that Rocky Beamon is under investigation for
an additional murder that occurred in January of 2017 while Beamon was incarcerated
at the Santa Rosa Correctional Institution.  The state intends to seek an indictment for
first degree murder in that case and also intends to seek a death sentence.

Any questions may be directed to Mr. Drake at (850) 689-5620.