Office of State Attorney
Larry Basford, State Attorney
14th Judicial Circuit
Our mission is to uphold the public’s trust in the pursuit of justice and the enforcement of the law. The Office of the State Attorney works to protect the public from those who endanger, threaten, and degrade the security of the community and to protect the personal rights of those we serve...more
Press Release
The Office of State Attorney Glenn Hess announced that on March 31, 2017, Governor Rick Scott appointed Jackson County Chief Assistant State Attorney Ana Maria Garcia as the newest Circuit Judge for the 14th Judicial Circuit. Judge Garcia replaces longtime Circuit Judge Bill Wright, who was based in Marianna and who recently retired. Congratulations, Judge Garcia!
Please contact Chief Assistant Attorney Larry Basford at 850-819-6985 with any questions.
Press Release
The Office of State Attorney Glenn Hess announced that on March 28, 2017, a Washington County jury found Daryl Wayne Mollett guilty as charged of Attempted Felony Murder with a Weapon and Armed Carjacking.
Assistant State Attorneys Shalla Phelps Jefcoat and Laura Wahlquist presented evidence that Mollett, while on the run from authorities who were attempting to arrest him on an outstanding warrant, came upon the victim as she was returning from a run in the Sunnyhills subdivision, hit her in the head with a brick, and stole her vehicle. The victim sustained serious, life-threatening injuries. The case was investigated by the Washington County Sheriff’s Office. Sentencing is set for April 17, 2017, where Mollett faces a potential sentence of life imprisonment. The State will seek a Habitual Felony Offender and/or Prison Releasee Reoffender sentence.
Please contact Chief Assistant Attorney Larry Basford at 850-819-6985 with any questions.
Press Release
The Office of State Attorney Glenn Hess announced that on Monday March 27, 2017, , a circuit court jury in Bay County deliberated approximately thirty-five minutes before returning a verdict of Guilty as Charged for Possession with the Intent to Sale Oxycodone against Tito Young. Prosecutors Devin Collier and Brittany Forester presented evidence that Young, who is forty-four years old, was arrested by D.E.A. Agents on April 8, 2016 on Panama City Beach in possession of 50 Oxycodone tablets. During an interview with the agents, Young admitted to bringing the drugs from Pahokee, Florida to distribute to various individuals in Bay County. The defendant has several prior felony convictions for various drug convictions throughout the state. Circuit Judge Michael Overstreet scheduled a sentencing hearing for April 13, 2017.
Please contact Chief Assistant Attorney Larry Basford at 850-819-6985 with any questions.
Press Release
The Office of State Attorney Glenn Hess announced that on Tuesday March 28, 2017, Circuit Judge Shonna Young Gay sentenced Ricky Leon Wynn, Jr. to serve twenty five years in the Florida Department of Corrections after a jury convicted Wynn last month of Aggravated Battery with a Firearm. The sentence imposed by Judge Gay was pursuant to Florida’s 10/20/Life Statute. Wynn will be required to serve every day of the twenty-five year sentence imposed, because that is the minimum mandatory sentence required by law.
Assistant State Attorneys, Ana Maria Garcia & Tyler Land, proved to jurors that Wynn, 31, of Marianna, Florida battered a victim on May 14, 2016 while at Club Secrets in Marianna. After an argument between Wynn and the victim, Wynn later armed himself with a firearm and clubbed the victim over the head with the firearm, which caused it to discharge injuring another club patron. The club patron that was shot was taken to Jackson Hospital and later transported to Tallahassee Memorial Hospital due to the seriousness of the injuries. The case was investigated by the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office.
Please contact Chief Assistant Attorney Larry Basford at 850-819-6985 with any questions.
Press Release
The Office of State Attorney Glenn Hess announced that on March 24, 2017, a six-member jury found Joshua David Lee guilty as charged of Aggravated Stalking. On October 29, 2016, law enforcement officers responded to 911 calls made by the victim in this case where she showed deputies with the Bay County Sheriff’s Office text messages sent to her by the defendant. Those messages included threats of death and bodily injury to the victim. It took the jury 30 minutes to find the defendant guilty as charged. The defendant is set for sentencing on April 11, 2017, at 8:30 am in front of the Honorable Kathleen Dekker. The defendant is facing a mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years in the Department of Corrections as a prison releasee reoffender.
Please contact Chief Assistant Attorney Larry Basford at 850-819-6985 with any questions.
Press Release
The Office of State Attorney Glenn Hess announced that on Friday March 24th, 2017, Jose Antonio Gonzalez was re-sentenced by Circuit Judge Hence McClellan to Life in Prison for the First Degree Murder of Timothy Humphries in August of 2008.
Press Release
The Office of State Attorney Glenn Hess announces that on Wednesday, March 22, 2017, a six-member jury found Andrew Clegg guilty as charged of Felon in Possession of Firearm. On July 13, 2016, Panama City Police Department received a call that the Defendant was threatening to commit suicide and was possibly armed with a firearm. Witnesses reported that the Defendant was on foot carrying a pillow case of his belongings. Officers Danyell Sanders and Curtis Bland located the Defendant at an apartment complex. The Defendant had hidden the pillow case inside an acquaintance’s apartment knowing that law enforcement was looking for him. Inside the pillow case was an unloaded Russian Nagant 7.62 mm x 38R caliber revolver. It took the jury 59 minutes to convict the Defendant of actual possession of the firearm. Judge Kathleen Dekker sentenced the Defendant to a minimum mandatory sentence of 36 months in the Department of Corrections.
The State’s case was prosecuted by Assistant State Attorneys Barbara Beasley and Kyle Rash.
Please contact Chief Assistant Attorney Larry Basford at 850-819-6985 with any questions.
Press Release
The Office of State Attorney Glenn Hess announces that on Monday, March 13, 2017, Gene Anthony Quinones Rivera, a 27 year old Hispanic male, entered a plea of No Contest to Second Degree Murder. The investigation began last December when the defendant walked into the Springfield Police Department and began to tell officers that he had caused the death of his infant son during June of 2015, when he was living in Parker. Once it was determined the crime had occurred in Parker, Lt. Aaron Wilson of the Parker Police Department and members of the Bay County Sheriff’s Office interviewed the defendant who readily confessed to placing a sock in the infant’s mouth to make him stop crying. Quinones continued to cooperate with the investigators and led them to a location in eastern Bay County where he had attempted to dispose of the body. Circuit Judge Micheal C. Overstreet accepted the plea and sentenced Quinones to Life in Prison without the possibility of parole, the maximum sentence for this crime.
If you have any questions or need additional information, contact Chief Assistant State Attorney Larry Basford at 850-819-6985
Press Release
The Office of State Attorney Glenn Hess announces that on March 6, 2017, Circuit Judge Michael Overstreet sentenced Brian Michael Proctor to the maximum sentence of 30 years in prison for Aggravated Manslaughter of a Child as charged, without the benefit of a plea agreement. The charges occurred in 2007 when Proctor smothered his girlfriend’s 13 month old child. After staying silent about his crime for nine years, Proctor confessed to the child’s mother in June of 2016. The mother convinced Proctor to report the crime to the Panama City Police Department. When questioned by Detective Chris Nichol, Proctor admitted to smothering the child to “get him to stop crying”. Proctor claimed he never meant to kill the child and claimed the child was in distress but still alive when he finally removed his hand. The investigation revealed that Proctor’s guilt and shame finally compelled him to confess to the child’s mother. The case was prosecuted by Assistant State Attorney Bob Sombathy.
Please contact Chief Assistant Attorney Larry Basford at 850-819-6985 with any questions.
Press Release
The Office of State Attorney Glenn Hess announces that on February 23, 2017, after 45 minutes of deliberation, a six-member jury found Marlon Edgardo Lara Castillo guilty as charged of one count of Lewd & Lascivious Molestation of a Victim Under the Age of 12. The child victim testified at trial that on the date of March 6, 2016, while at the Defendant’s home, the Defendant sat her on his lap and proceeded to touch her in her vaginal area, both above her clothing as well as under. The Defendant testified and admitted to the touching of the child victim, but claimed that it was accidental. The State’s evidence, however, showed that upon learning that deputies from the Bay County Sheriff’s Office wanted to discuss the allegation with him, the Defendant attempted to flee, and was apprehended with a bag full of his personal belongings, his Bible, his passport, and $900 in cash. The State’s case was prosecuted by Assistant State Attorneys A. Michele Lucas and Christine D. Smallwood.
The Defendant is set for sentencing on March 10, 2017, and is facing a minimum mandatory sentence of 25 years in the Department of Corrections.
Contact Chief Assistant Attorney Larry Basford at (850) 819-6985 with any questions.
