A federal judge sentenced the fourth defendant in a large-scale methamphetamine trafficking organization operating primarily in Washington County, announced Jason R. Coody, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.

The investigation was led by the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Panama City Resident Office Task Force. They worked closely with the Washington County Sheriff’s Office with help from the Chipley Police Department, the Bay County Sheriff’s Office, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and the 14th Judicial Circuit’s State Attorney’s Office in Washington County. Assistant United States Attorney Walter Narramore prosecuted the case.

 

The defendants and their sentences were:

•  Ashley Zurica, 43, of Caryville, Florida, 220 months in prison
•  Ashley Brown, 41, of Caryville, Florida, 180 months in prison
•  Donald Skipper, 55, of Chipley, Florida, 180 months in prison
•  William Carter, 52, of Wausau, Florida, 168 months in prison

“Methamphetamine distribution is a scourge on large and small communities of our district,” stated U.S. Attorney Coody. “With our dedicated law enforcement partners, we are committed to identifying and aggressively prosecuting those who threaten our citizens’ health and safety by distributing such addictive, controlled substances. These sentences demonstrate that resolve.”

All will be on supervised release when they are eventually released from custody.

In 2019, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Panama City Resident Office Task Force initiated an investigation targeting the distribution of multiple kilograms of methamphetamine by Ashley Zurica, Ashley Brown, Donald Skipper, William Carter, and others in Washington county and surrounding areas of north Florida.  Over the course of the three-year investigation, DEA, working with state and local partners, compiled evidence to secure indictments on four Federal defendants in the Northern District of Florida in addition to indictments in other federal districts and multiple State of Florida defendants.  The investigation led to the seizure of several kilograms of methamphetamine, and the identification of illegal drug sources in Florida, Alabama, and Georgia.

“Our work with the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Northern District of Florida and DEA is resulting in convictions and removing illegal narcotics from our community,” said Washington County Sheriff Kevin Crews. “We remain committed to working with our federal, local, and state law enforcement partners to keep these highly addictive and destructive drugs out of our community.”

“Methamphetamine is a highly addictive and destructive substance, which can inflict great harm to our communities,” said DEA Miami Field Division Special Agent in Charge Deanne L. Reuter.  “The success of this investigation is a direct result of the collaboration between the DEA Miami Field Division and our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners, working together to keep our communities safe and healthy.”

This case resulted from a joint investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office,

This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General. To access public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website. For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Florida, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.

BONIFAY – A man found guilty of sexually abusing a minor is facing up to 30 years in prison at his Sept. 1 sentencing, State Attorney Larry Basford announced.

A jury took about 25 minutes Tuesday to find Vu Huy Huynh, 34, a Dothan, Ala. native, guilty as charged of Lewd or Lascivious Battery on a Minor and Unlawful Sexual Activity with Certain Minors. Circuit Court Judge Russell S. Roberts set sentencing for Sept. 1.

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Holmes County Chief Prosecutor Ben Keown and Prosecutor Lawrence Gill called four witnesses and presented evidence proving to jurors that the defendant began a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old when he was 30 years old and continued it for two and a half years.

Evidence at trial showed that 6 months after the relationship ended, the juvenile confided in someone who also knew the defendant and the victim was encouraged to report the crime.

The Bonifay Police Department began its investigation in late 2021 and it led to the defendant’s arrest in January, 2022.

Basford thanked the Bonifay Police Department for its hard work on this case. The State Attorney’s Office would also like to thank the Gulf Coast Children’s Advocacy Center for their diligence and assistance in the investigation of the case and all witnesses who came forward to help find justice for the victim.

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

A man who was drunk and driving the wrong way on Panama City Beach Parkway when he hit a woman head-on, critically injuring her, was sentenced to 3 years in prison Friday, State Attorney Larry Basford announced.

Former WMBB-TV reporter Tess Rowland, who has endured multiple surgeries since the 2019 wreck, told defendant Jacob Savage at sentencing that he changed her life forever when he chose to drink and drive.

“You may be serving three years, but you, Mr. Savage, have handed me a life sentence,” Rowland said in court. “There isn’t a day I don’t live in pain, see my scars and shutter, or replay the final moments of the crash in my mind. All because you had to celebrate your 22nd birthday.”

Prosecutor Frank Sullivan told Circuit Court Judge Brantley Clark that if the case went to trial he would prove the defendant was intoxicated and in possession of marijuana and a controlled substance at the time of the wreck. He pled No Contest and Judge Clark adjudicated him guilty. In addition to prison, he was given 6 years’ probation, his driver’s license was suspended for a year after he serves his sentence, and he must perform 250 hours of public service work. The judge reserved ruling on restitution.

Rowland was involved in the plea process and in agreement with the resolution.

“You are a lot stronger person after the accident, you had to be to make it through that,” Clark said. “And I think you are an inspiration not just for people who are victims of DUI drivers, but for victims of other crimes.”

Rowland was headed to work, eastbound on Panama City Beach Parkway in her 2019 Honda SUV, on May 4, 2021. The defendant, driving a 2007 Chevy Avalanche, turned west into the eastbound lanes and a short distance later hit the Honda head-on, destroying the vehicle. The defendant was not injured, and tests showed his BAC (blood-alcohol content) was 1 ½ times the legal limit of .08.

In addition to the multiple surgeries for the damage to her right shoulder and leg, Rowland is preparing for a shoulder replacement and still cannot lift more than 5 pounds with that arm.

“My knee still gives out on me after I’ve walked a long distance, and I’ve learned to tolerate constant pain,” she said at sentencing. “My shoulder is still classified as broken as the plates and screws have backed out, meaning I could need a shoulder replacement as soon as this year.”

Rowland said she could never forgive the defendant but would pray for him for the sake of others.

“Because if you make this choice again, you could easily kill someone,” she said. “Let it be known that I made a choice to survive, you did not leave me in a position to.”

Basford thanked the multiple agencies involved in the investigation, including the Panama City Beach Police Department, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and Florida Highway Patrol.

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

A judge sentenced Jeremiah Beazley to Life in prison Friday, one day after a jury took about 40 minutes to find him guilty of murder, State Attorney Larry Basford announced.

Beazley, 46, was found guilty-as-charged Thursday of Second-Degree Murder with a Firearm and Felon in Possession of a Firearm after a two-day trial for the March 31, 2021 shooting death of Bryan Thomas Anderson. He was facing 25 years to Life in prison under Florida’s 10-20-Life Statute.

“This is probably one of the most well-known criminals in this area,” Prosecutor Peter Overstreet told Circuit Judge Dustin Stephenson in asking for a Life sentence Friday. “I think just about everything that could be done to try and correct that have been tried and have failed.”

Overstreet said the only way to protect people from the defendant was for him to be kept in prison, which is what members of the victim’s family also requested.

“It’s clear to me that Mr. Anderson was well-liked and loved by all who knew him,” Judge Stephenson said to the defendant before sentencing him to Life in prison. “What’s also abundantly clear … is Mr. Anderson is no longer with us and he’s no longer with us because you killed him.”

Overstreet called 13 witnesses ranging from the victim’s wife and a juvenile who was in the Southport trailer when the victim was shot, to 5 Bay County Sheriff’s Office deputies and 4 Florida Department of Law Enforcement experts.

The testimony and evidence proved that the victim had given the defendant a place to stay, and that the two were friends although they sometimes argued about what they believed were governmental conspiracies.

The morning of the shooting, the victim, who lived a short distance away, walked to the trailer where the defendant was staying and went into his bedroom. The other occupants of the trailer who testified said they could hear the two talking, but did not hear raised voices or any indication of a scuffle or fight.

They testified they were not concerned until they heard gunshots from the bedroom. The defendant left the bedroom without explanation, got into the passenger’s side of a car that was leaving the residence and hid the gun at a nearby park. The victim was found in the bedroom shot twice, once in the back. The defendant was captured later that day by Bay County sheriff’s deputies.

Basford thanked the Sheriff’s Office for its work in capturing the defendant so quickly and the case it put together, as well as the FDLE for its expert testimony that included findings that the defendant was under the influence of methamphetamine at the time of the shooting. The victim had no intoxicants in his system.

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

Two prosecutors have joined the 14^th Judicial Circuit’s team, one with a dozen years’ experience and another who is returning to the courtroom, State Attorney Larry Basford announced.

In the Bay County office, Jeff Moore is handling felony cases with 12 years of prosecutorial experience in Alabama under his belt. Moore previously worked in Alabama’s 12^th Judicial Circuit – which includes Enterprise, Ala., – handling cases ranging from drug offenses to homicides.

Moore, who graduated second in his class at Jones School of Law, Faulkner University, has been a frequent visitor to our beaches, Panama City’s Downtown Farmer’s Market, and his favorite ice cream store in Marianna. The last 3 years he taught and served as an administrator at Covenant Christian School, in Troy, Ala., where his daughter attended.

“This area is special to me for a variety of reasons because when my grandparents decided to retire my grandmother bought a place on Panama City Beach,” Moore said. “We spent many summers here.”

With his daughter headed for middle school, Moore’s eyes turned to Bay County. His heart turned toward returning to the courtroom.

“I thoroughly enjoy trial litigation and law enforcement is just something that is very close to me,” he said. “My dad retired from law enforcement and he did become an attorney and dreamed of being a prosecutor, but never achieved that dream. This is one of those things that he was always proud of.”

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The Jackson County office in Marianna also picked up a prosecutor with the return of Kara Bremer, who previously handled cases in Bay County out of the Panama City office.

Bremer, a Mitchell Hamline School of Law Dean’s List Recipient, is active in her church and community, spent time as a teacher, and worked for a private attorney in Marianna.

Bremer left Bay County and moved closer to family but found herself missing the courtroom.

“I had actually just been talking to my mom about how I missed doing the legal work and loved what I’d been doing and wished I could get back into that,” Bremer said. “She agreed, and that very day I got a text from (Bay County Chief Prosecutor) Mark Graham asking if I was ready to come back.”

Bremer said it was not a tough decision. “I’m very grateful to be back and I love being part of the State Attorney’s Office family,” she said.

For additional information contact Mike Cazalas at mike.cazalas@sa14.fl.gov.

 

A man who brought enough Fentanyl into Bay County to cause 25,000 overdoses has been sentenced to 35 years in prison, State Attorney Larry Basford announced.

Joseph Earl Lord, 47, was set to go to trial this week on charges of Trafficking in Fentanyl (28 grams of more), Trafficking in Illegal Drugs, and Trafficking in Amphetamine (14 grams but less than 28). Instead, he entered an open plea to the charges, meaning he admitted guilty but left sentencing up Circuit Court Judge Dustin Stephenson.

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All three charges are first-degree felonies normally punishable by up to 30 years in prison. But Prosecutor Nicole Reed proved that Lord’s previous criminal history qualified him to be sentenced as a Habitual Felony Offender – meaning he faced up to Life in prison.

Judge Stephenson adjudicated the defendant guilty on all charges, sentencing him to 35 years with a 25-year minimum-mandatory on the Fentanyl case. The defendant was sentenced to 30 years each on the other trafficking charges to be served consecutively, or at the same time, as the first sentence.

“This wasn’t his first trip, he’s a known supplier of one of the most lethal drugs out there and he was living outside of our area and bringing it into Bay County for sale,” Reed said. “Unfortunately for him, the Bay County Sheriff’s Office was ready and waiting and made the arrest. Our office was ready and waiting to prosecute and now, at 47, he’s been sentenced to spend the next 35 years in prison.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reed was prepared to present witnesses and evidence showing that the BCSO had been investigating drugs coming into Bay County through a specific address and developed information the defendant would arrive there Nov. 10, 2021, with a large amount of narcotics.

When the defendant arrived and walked into the house with a backpack, deputies served a previously obtained search warrant. The defendant ran into the kitchen area and the backpack was found on the floor under a table. Inside the backpack deputies found 50 grams of Fentanyl, 5 ounces of Methamphetamine, and 9 grams of heroin.

Basford thanked the Sheriff’s Office and case agent Phillip Hill for making one of the larger Fentanyl seizures in the area, and their proactive work in seizing the drugs before they made it onto the streets.

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

A man who wrestled a gun from a deputy investigating a jewelry theft and tried to shoot him is awaiting transfer to state prison where he has been sentenced to spend the rest of his life, State Attorney Larry Basford announced.

Michael Caleb Barrett, 40, a transient, was found guilty May 31 of Attempted 1^st Degree Murder of a Law Enforcement Officer, Aggravated Battery on a Law Enforcement Officer, and Depriving an Officer of Means of Communication. Circuit Court Judge Timothy Register Monday sentenced Barrett to Life.

Prosecutor Peter Overstreet presented the case, which resulted in a guilty verdict in about 90 minutes.

“Law enforcement and their families risk so much every single day,” Overstreet said. “This verdict will remind those who try to harm our law enforcement officers that we will aggressively prosecute these cases and seek the mandatory life sentences they deserve. And it will remind our officers that this community supports them.”

Former Bay County Sheriff’s Office Inv. Dakota Merritt was investigating a jewelry theft April 29, 2021. He received information the defendant, a suspect in the case, was outside near the Bay County Library and headed there even though his shift was minutes away from ending.

Overstreet presented testimony and witnesses proving Merritt found the defendant, identified himself as a deputy, and the defendant reached into his pocket and refused commands to stop. A struggle ensued and the defendant gained control of Merritt’s weapon, striking the investigator in the face. Bloodied, Merritt testified he held onto the slide of the gun as the struggle continued and a bullet was fired beside his face.

Merritt, who suffered a severely broken nose and orbital socket around his eye, was able to regain control of the gun and the defendant was shot once in the shoulder.

BCSO Cpl. Jacob McGowin spoke for Merritt, who retired a few months after the attack, at Monday’s sentencing. McGowin said Merritt was “put on this earth to be a cop,” and took every case seriously.

“He is more than a victim” in this case, McGowin told the court. “He is a survivor, a warrior, and a hero. He won a fight for his life that others wouldn’t have won.”

Basford thanked the Sheriff’s Office and the Panama City Police Department for their rapid response that day, and for the thorough investigation conducted with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

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

A woman found guilty of Trafficking in Methamphetamine after bags of the drug fell from her bag during a foot pursuit was sentenced to 22 years in prison Thursday, State Attorney Larry Basford announced.

Kizzy Gentina Patterson, 44, of Panama City, was found guilty as charged of Trafficking in Methamphetamine (more than 200 grams), after 26 minutes of deliberation May 3.

Circuit Court Judge Brantley Clark Thursday sentenced her to 22 years in prison. Under Florida’s enhanced drug trafficking statutes, the defendant will have to serve a minimum-mandatory 15 years and pay a $250,000 fine.

“This defendant made some bad choices to avoid capture when she fled deputies, drove into their vehicles and then fled on foot – all with innocent bystanders nearby,” Prosecutor Frank Sullivan said after the trial. “Florida has made some good choices with its enhanced penalties for drug traffickers.”

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At trial, three current or former Bay County Sheriff’s Office investigators testified that on Jan. 9, 2020, the defendant was under surveillance after information was received that she was going to be in possession of a large amount of methamphetamine.

She fled from deputies who attempted to pull her over, colliding with at least two of their vehicles, before fleeing on foot. She stumbled crossing a ditch and bags of what turned out to be methamphetamine spilled out of her bag. The recovered drugs weighed about 420 grams.

Basford thanked the Sheriff’s Office for its work on the case and for safely apprehending the defendant, as well as the Springfield Police Department for capturing the video.

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

MARIANNA – A Jackson County jury took about 40 minutes Wednesday to return a guilty verdict against a man who sliced his victim from his chest to his neck with a box cutter, State Attorney Larry Basford announced.

Johnathon Clarence Coulliette, 37 of Marianna, was found guilty of Aggravated Battery (With a Deadly Weapon Causing Great Bodily Harm) after a two-day trial. Circuit Court Judge Ana Maria Garcia set sentencing for July 13.

Prosecutor Lawrence Gill is seeking to have the defendant, who was released from prison about two months before this offense, sentenced as a Habitual Felony Offender and Prison Release Reoffender. That would double the potential penalty from up to 15 years in prison to 30 years.

“In this case, a defendant who had only been out of prison about two months nearly killed a man,” Gill said. “People making false claims of self-defense will be held accountable.”

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Gill and Jackson County Chief Prosecutor Shalla Jefcoat called five witnesses and put on evidence proving that the defendant attacked the victim with a box cutter Sept. 11, 2021.

The evidence showed the defendant’s girlfriend invited the  victim and his girlfriend to the defendant’s home, but shortly after they arrived the defendant was upset and pacing back and forth. The evidence showed that the victim and victim’s girlfriend had only been at the defendant’s residence for approximately 15 minutes, when the defendant went into a shed and came back out with a box cutter.

 

Witnesses said he approached the victim and swung at him, creating a cut from his chest to near his throat that took dozens of staples to close. The jury rejected the defense’s argument that it was self-defense.

The victim and his girlfriend made it back to their car and called 911.

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

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