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.

A Bay County jury Wednesday returned a guilty verdict against a woman caught with more than 400 grams of Methamphetamine after she fled from law enforcement and tripped in a ditch, spilling multiple bags of the drug, 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. Circuit Court Judge Brantley Clark set sentencing for May 25 at 9 a.m.

The crime is a first-degree felony and under Florida’s Statute for enhanced penalties in drug trafficking cases, the defendant faces a minimum of 15 years in prison and up to 30 years.

“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,” said Prosecutor Frank Sullivan. “Florida has made some good choices with its enhanced penalties for drug traffickers, and we anticipate she will pay a steep price for her actions.”

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Sullivan called three current or former Bay County Sheriff’s Office investigators who testified that on Jan. 9, 2020, the defendant was under surveillance after information was received she was going to be in possession of a large amount of methamphetamine. A fourth witness from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement testified that the seized drugs tested positive for methamphetamine and weighed about 420 grams.

Former investigator Stephen O’Bryen said the defendant was seen leaving the house with a large black bag which was believed to contain methamphetamine. Lt. Doug Smith said an undercover deputy using his emergency lights attempted to pull her over for a violation, but she fled.

O’Bryen testified he was in an unmarked vehicle in front of the defendant when the traffic stop was initiated, and she ran into the rear of his car trying to get away. Video from a Springfield patrol car captured the defendant then attempting to turn left and escape, but hitting another vehicle before being pinned against a power pole.

At that point, the video showed the defendant leaping out of the car and running away with a black bag. A pursuing investigator testified she stumbled while crossing a ditch and that multiple baggies of what turned out to be methamphetamine tumbled out. She was captured a few yards away.

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.

A Circuit Court Judge Monday sentenced a woman to 12 years in prison, one month after a jury found her guilty of Trafficking in Methamphetamine, State Attorney Larry Basford announced.

Jacqueline Michelle Long, 48, of Panama City was found guilty of Trafficking in Methamphetamine (28 grams or more) and Possession of Paraphernalia April 4 after jurors deliberated for about 15 minutes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Monday, Circuit Court Judge Devin Collier Monday sentenced her to 12 years in prison and she was fined $100,000. Under Florida’s drug trafficking laws, the defendant will have to serve a minimum-mandatory 7 years in prison for the first-degree felony.

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Prosecutor Josh James called witnesses who testified that a Bay County Sheriff’s Office investigation generated enough evidence for them to obtain a search warrant, which they served on May 7, 2021. The defendant and a male co-defendant were present.

Two Sheriff’s Office investigators testified they found about 34 grams of Methamphetamine in two baggies, hundreds of smaller baggies for distributing the drug, cash, and digital scales.

In bodycam footage played for jurors, the defendant stated the drugs were hers and. “there ain’t no more to find, you found it all.”

Basford thanked the BCSO investigators for the thoroughness of their case and the strong evidence they gathered.

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

A domestic argument that erupted with shots being fired at a gas station and a nearby home 3 years ago ended with a plea of no contest and a 20-year prison term, State Attorney Larry Basford announced.

Assistant State Attorney Frank Sullivan said that under Florida’s 10-20-Life law, Daniel Joseph Betsy, 49, of Panama City, will have to serve every day of the 20-year sentence imposed by Circuit Court Judge Dustin Stephenson before he is released. He pled no contest to Attempted Second-Degree Murder with a Firearm, Shooting into an Occupied Vehicle, Aggravated Assault with a Firearm, 2 counts of Tampering with a witness and being a Felon in Possession of a Firearm.

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While no one was injured in the June 27, 2020 shooting at a Parker gas station and residence, the discharge of a firearm during the defendant’s attempt to cause harm made him eligible for the penalty. The defendant was upset after seeing his ex-girlfriend with her new boyfriend at a gas station, fired shots at their vehicle as they departed, then followed them and fired more shots at her residence.

“He used a large-caliber pistol to shoot at a moving car and did it again after he followed it to the victim’s home,” Sullivan said. “Then he pointed the gun at a witness. The defendant endangered not only the lives of the people in that car, but of everyone in the vicinity.

“Florida’s 10-20-Life addresses crimes like this,” Sullivan continued. “If you use a firearm during the commission of a crime here, there is a heavy price to pay.”

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

MARIANNA – A convicted sex offender who was nearing his release from prison has instead been ordered to the Florida Civil Commitment Center as a Sexually Violent Predator under the Jimmy Ryce Act, State Attorney Larry Basford announced.

Eddie Caldwell, 63, has a long history of arrests and spent the bulk of the last 30 years in prison – most recently for Sexual Battery. He was set for release, but Assistant State Attorney Zach Taylor proved to 6 jurors in a civil trial Tuesday that the defendant had been to prison 11 times, did not take long to reoffend upon each release, was “unusually persistent” in repeating his behavior despite the repercussions, and was likely to offend again.

The jury took 42 minutes to find that the defendant was a Sexually Violent Offender under the Ryce Act and Chief Circuit Court Judge Christopher Patterson ordered him to be held at the Florida Civil Commitment Center where he can receive treatment. He will be re-evaluated at least once a year.

“He’s been offending and committing serious crimes, the evidence will show, since “M*A*S*H” was on television and “Dynasty” was popular and before there were cell phones,” Taylor told jurors. “It’s hard to (overlook) these 11 incarcerations and this most recent case.

“We wouldn’t be here today if not for his history of similar crimes,” Taylor continued. “What we have here is a pattern of disrespect and violence toward female victims.”

The Jimmy Ryce Act is a civil commitment process, after a prison sentence, for the most dangerous sexual offenders in the state. The State most prove the offender has been convicted of a sexually violent offense, that he suffers from a mental abnormality or personality disorder, and that the disorder makes it likely he would offend again.

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Dr. Gregory Prichard, a clinical and forensic psychologist, was one of two experts to testify that the defendant met the criteria.

“For Mr. Caldwell it’s been an exceptional number of sexually motivated crimes and an exceptional number of general crimes,” Prichard told jurors, referring to 9 of the previous offenses. “I really cannot emphasize enough how extremely rare that is.

 

 

“When he gets back into the community he generally offends again,” he continued. “He’s very, very persistent, which is unusual.”

Prichard testified that is a “strong indicator” the defendant would offend again.

“He doesn’t have any qualms about breaking the law, hurting other people, taking peoples’ things,” Prichard said. “It doesn’t deter him like most other people that he might be arrested and imprisoned again.”

The defendant’s most recent offense that sent him to prison was in 2010 when he was charged with Sexual Battery and Lewd and Lascivious Offense on a Disabled Adult. Previous arrests going back to 1985 include 2 charges of Sexual Battery, committing a Lewd and Lascivious Act, and charges involving prostitution.

Basford thanked the experts for their work on the case as well as Taylor, who handles all of the Sexually Violent Predator Commitment cases in the 14^th Judicial Circuit.

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

PORT ST. JOE – A man already serving 15 years for one escape is now serving a total of 30 years after pleading no contest to a second escape charge, State Attorney Larry Basford announced.

Rex Aaron Veasey, 31, and another inmate escaped from the Gulf County Detention Facility Sept. 7, 2021, after beating a correctional officer, dragging him into their cell and locking him inside. On Friday, Circuit Court Judge Devin Collier accepted the defendant’s plea to Principal to Escape and Principal to Battery on a Law Enforcement Officer. The defendant will begin serving this 15-year sentence when he completes the 15-year sentence from his 2020 escape from the same facility.

The first escape came on Oct. 27, 2020, when the defendant scaled two fences to escape from the detention facility’s recreational yard. He was captured about 4 hours later by Bay County the sheriff’s deputies acting on tips law enforcement received. The defendant was sentenced to 15 years in prison after pleading no contest that escape charge.

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Gulf County Chief Prosecutor Tracy Smith was prepared to call witnesses and present evidence that the defendant, who had been arrested for Sexual Battery, False Imprisonment, and Aggravated Assault, and a co-defendant were inmates at the facility when they attacked a correctional officer and dragged him into their cell, where they continued to strike him. The two locked the officer in the cell and ultimately made their way into the jail’s kitchen, prying the AC unit from the wall and escaping through the hole that created. Officers from multiple agencies converged and through the use of tips, drones, helicopters, tracking dogs from law enforcement and the Department of Corrections, the defendant was captured in Franklin County about 10 hours after his escape.

“The outpouring of assistance from multiple agencies across the region resulted in the defendant being caught the same day.  This demonstrates that our law enforcement agencies put the public’s safety first,” Smith said. “Our prosecution and resulting prison sentences on those cases show our support for that mission. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to keep our neighborhoods safe.”

Basford thanked all of the law enforcement agencies involved for their collaborative efforts in capturing the defendant and the evidence they gathered that helped lead to a plea.

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

MARIANNA –Trayvon Leon Dorsey, set for trial this week for the 2020 shooting death of Shannon Weatherington, pled to the charge Monday morning, and was sentenced to 30 years in prison, State
Attorney Larry Basford announced.

Dorsey, 21, of Dothan, Ala., pled no contest to Second Degree Murder with a Firearm and was adjudicated guilty by Circuit Court Judge Ana Maria Garcia. Judge Garcia accepted the plea agreement of 30 years in prison with the first 25 years being minimum-mandatory.

Jackson County Chief Prosecutor Shalla Jefcoat was prepared to present witnesses and evidence proving that the defendant shot the victim twice when something went wrong during an arranged marijuana buy in the restroom of a local fast-food business on Nov. 21, 2020.

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The defendant, who the evidence showed had paid for a haircut earlier in the day with counterfeit money, was supposed to be buying marijuana from the victim. Graceville Police found counterfeit bills in the victim’s possession, in the car the defendant fled in and in his home, where they also recovered the .38-caliber pistol used in the shooting.

Based on witnesses and video evidence, Jefcoat said the state’s theory pointed toward the defendant using counterfeit money to try to pay for the drugs, the victim noticing the bills were not real as the defendant started to leave, and the defendant reacting by turning back and shooting the victim twice.

“This is a significant case, as any homicide is, but it happened in public in a place where people have a right to feel safe,” Jefcoat said. “And it shows that whatever the circumstances, verbal disputes cannot be settled by gunfire and deadly force. And when that happens, justice will be served.”

Jefcoat said the evidence gathered by Graceville Police, former State Attorney’s Office Investigator Jeremy Pelfrey, and witnesses showed that a co-defendant helped set up a marijuana purchase between the victim and the defendant, who did not know each other.

The victim and friends arrived at the business, with the victim and defendant heading to the restroom for the drug deal. The evidence showed that as they left the restroom, the victim appeared to say something to the defendant, who turned around shot him twice before fleeing in a car driven by the co-defendant.

Basford thanked the Graceville Police Department and other agencies for their work and noted SAO Inv. Pelfrey responded from another county to assist and played a key role in the case.

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