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Two Bay County men convicted last month of attempting to kill three people they shot at during a chase across Northwestern Bay County received prison sentences Friday, according to State Attorney Larry Basford.
Jordan Hutchinson was sentenced to three concurrent 20-year sentences for his three convictions on Attempted Second Degree Murder with a Firearm, plus 5 years for Shooting into an Occupied Vehicle and Aggravated Assault. The three 20-year sentences will be served at the same time, but under Florida’s 10-20-Life law, the 20 years must be served day-for-day. The 5-year sentences also will run concurrent to each other, but will not begin until the 20-year sentence is served.
Prosecutor Frank Sullivan addresses the jury in the defendants’ August trial.
Circuit Court Judge Timothy Register sentenced Co-defendant Chase Chavez to three 15-year terms, to be served concurrently, for his three convictions of Attempted Second Degree Murder With a Firearm. The first 10 years of that sentence is minimum-mandatory. He also was sentenced to 3 years for Shooting into an Occupied Vehicle and that will not start until he finishes the first sentence under Florida’s 10-20-Life law.
A jury convicted both men Aug. 26 after a two-day trial, but found that while Chavez possessed a firearm during the July 4, 2019 offenses, he did not fire it.
Prosecutors Frank Sullivan and Jae Hee Kim presented evidence and witnesses, including the three victims and investigators from the Bay County Sheriff’s Office, proving that the defendants were in a confrontation with the victims and chased them at high speeds while firing shots into the truck in which they were traveling.
“But at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter which one of the defendants pulled the trigger each time and which was the driver,” Sullivan said to jurors at trial. “They both participated, and they both wanted this to happen. They are principals.”
A jury took about 30 minutes Friday to return a guilty verdict against a Panama City Beach man who shot his victim twice in the head and videotaped himself boasting about it from the crime scene, State Attorney Larry Basford announced.
Jonathan Lozada, 22, was found guilty as charged of Second Degree Murder Friday for killing Justin Reyes, 20, on Dec. 17, 2019. Under Florida’s 10-20-Life Statute, Lozada faces a minimum-mandatory 25 years and up to life in prison at his Sept. 29 sentencing before Circuit Judge Brantley Clark.
Prosecutor Peter Overstreet, right, questions former Bay County Sheriff’s Office investigator Matthew Cutcher about the murder weapon (on screen to the left).
Prosecutors Peter Overstreet and Josh James presented testimony from 18 witnesses over two days and videos the defendant took of himself at the victim’s Panama City home. The videos included one of the defendant and others, including the victim, talking and joking at 11:20 p.m.– and one at 11:40 p.m. of the defendant videotaping himself boasting about killing the victim with his body visible behind him.
“This was a thorough, well-done investigation by the Bay County Sheriff’s Office and the other law enforcement agencies,” lead Prosecutor Peter Overstreet said after the verdict. “This killing was the picture of evil based on the defendant recording himself after essentially executing the victim by shooting him in the head twice at close range.”
Testimony and evidence at trial showed Reyes was most likely sitting at his computer desk when he was shot twice in the head from close range: once in the face and once in the back of the head.
Lozada took some items from the home and returned home, where he showed one roommate the video he made, and a second roommate saw part of it as well. They called Panama City Beach police, but Lozada was not there when they arrived.
Beach police returned at 5:55 a.m. when Lozada returned home and they found blood-stained clothing and several rounds of 9mm ammunition on the defendant’s bed. Beach police determined that the defendant had obtained a ride from a friend, who, when located, said he had been with the defendant earlier and gave police that address, which was in unincorporated Bay County.
Sheriff’s deputies checking that house found the victim. A search warrant for the defendant’s phone led to the discovery of the videos. And the friend admitted he had been at that residence with the defendant earlier but left before the shooting took place. He later admitted the defendant contacted him after the shooting asking for a ride and help in getting rid of evidence.
“As a result of the tireless work and dedication of the Bay County Sheriff’s Office, justice was served today and the jury reached the correct verdict,” Prosecutor James said. “Although nothing will ever bring Justin Reyes back, I hope and pray that today’s verdict will provide some solace to his family. The citizens of Bay County are made safer by the conviction of Jonathan Lozada.”
For additional information contact Mike Cazalas at mike.cazalas@sa14.fl.gov, or call 850-381-7454.
BLOUNTSTOWN – An Altha man who pled no contest to sexually assaulting a young girl will spend the rest of his life in prison, State Attorney Larry Basford announced.
Shane Whitfield, 53, entered an open plea of No Contest to Lewd and Lascivious Molestation and Lewd and Lascivious Conduct. The defendant admitted to sexually assaulting the child over a 2-year-period in 2019-20. An open plea means there was no agreed-upon sentence.
Calhoun County Chief Prosecutor William Wright, standing, with the defendant, seated at right, during a court proceeding earlier this year.
Thursday, based on the evidence Calhoun County Chief Prosecutor William Wright was prepared to present from the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office and the Department of Children and Families’ Child Protection Team, Chief Circuit Court Judge Chris Patterson sentenced the defendant to life in prison without the possibility of parole. He was also designated a Sexual Predator.
The defendant, his attorney, mother, and sister all asked the court for leniency, saying the defendant pled in part to spare the victim from trial and that his parents suffer serious health issues.
The victim’s mother, however, asked for more. In her prepared statement, she said her child is afraid to go outside, afraid to use a restroom by herself in public, has frequent nightmares and remains “terrified.”
“She has severe anxiety from the trauma that he caused,” she said. “She has frequent nightmares that affect her sleep and her daily living. Hearing her cry at night because of the nightmares breaks my heart.
“(She) will get through this because she is a strong child,” the mother continued. “But the limits he has put on her, at times are so severe, that there are days that I don’t know if she will make it.”
Prosecutor Wright argued that while he understood Judge Patterson must consider those things, that the defendant’s previous history and the damage done to the 7-year-old victim in this case were more serious considerations.
“Judge, to look at the damage done to this child … it’s just horrible,” Wright said. “He needs to be sentenced and placed somewhere where he doesn’t have access to any children for the rest of his life.”
Basford thanked the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office and Inv. John Scheetz for their work on the case, as well as the Department of Children and Families’ Child Protection Team.
For more information, contact Mike Cazalas at mike.cazalas@sa14.fl.gov, or call 850-381-7454.
Bay County Sheriff’s Office deputies and bailiffs provided security during sentencing, which was attended by the victim and her family.
A Panama City man received 9 consecutive life sentences Wednesday after being found guilty of sexually assaulting a 10-year-old girl multiple times over a period of months and videotaping the attacks, State Attorney Larry Basford announced.
Phillip Lyvonne Stephens, 38, was ordered to spend the rest of his life in prison Wednesday morning by Circuit Court Judge Brantley Clark, who also presided over Stephens’ one-day bench trial and found him guilty as charged on all 10 counts.
Prosecutor Jennifer Lieb, right, questions Bay County Sheriff’s Office Cpl. Murray Williams. Left is co-counsel Josh James.
The defendant waived his right to a jury trial on 7 counts of Sexual Battery on a Child Under the Age of 12, 2 counts of Lewd and Lascivious Molestation, and 1 count of Lewd or Lascivious Exhibition.
However, Judge Clark did not waive Stephens’ appearance for sentencing. With 8 Bay County Sheriff’s Office deputies and bailiffs – along with the victim and her family – in the courtroom, lead Prosecutor Jennifer Lieb asked Clark for the maximum sentence.
“He has refused to accept responsibility and has adamantly blamed everyone else, including the victim,” Lieb said in court. “He very carefully groomed this child to behave the way he wanted her to.”
Judge Clark said that based on the evidence before him, which included video the defendant recorded of the multiple sexual attacks, recordings of phone calls the defendant made from jail, and testimony from the victim, he was giving the defendant Life in prison on the first 9 charges and 15 years on the final charge. The defendant was also designated a Sexual Predator.
Lieb praised the victim, who was the State’s second witness, for her strength in testifying and being in court for sentencing.
“This child is incredibly brave to face the person that abused her multiple times,” Lieb said. “She wanted to testify against him to make sure he couldn’t do this to any other children. This defendant videotaped his abuse, creating a record of the abuse that would revictimize this child every time it was played.
“He will never harm another child in our area or anywhere else.”
The abuse came to light in June, 2020, when the defendant was arrested for domestic violence. The defendant called the victim’s mother from jail in an attempt to get her to destroy evidence. About the same time, the victim’s mother told a co-worker that she had found videotapes of the sexual abuse. The co-worker notified the Bay County Sheriff’s Office.
Detectives obtained a search warrant for the home where the crimes occurred and found both a camera mounted to the wall behind the bed and an electronic tablet. The memory card on the camera and the tablet both contained videos of the crimes with which the defendant was convicted.
The victim’s mother is serving a 20-year sentence for Neglect of a Child Causing Great Bodily Harm, Failure to Report Child Abuse, Felon in Possession of a Firearm, Possession of Methamphetamine, and Possession of Cocaine. She was charged with neglect and failure to report because evidence showed she was aware of the abuse and did nothing to protect the child.
Lieb thanked the Bay County Sheriff’s Office and Gulf Coast Children’s Advocacy Center investigators for their work in discovering and investigating the crimes.
PORT ST. JOE – A Gulf County jury Friday took less than 10 minutes to find a man guilty of leading police on a chase that included jumping train tracks from an access road, and the judge sentenced him to 8 years in prison, State Attorney Larry Basford announced.
Rasha Cummings, 30, of Port St. Joe, was sentenced by Circuit Court Judge Devin Collier following Friday’s verdict. He was also ordered to pay $1,008 in fines and court costs.
Rasha Cummings
Gulf County Chief Prosecutor Tracy Smith presented evidence and witnesses, including the officer who attempted the traffic stop on the defendant Oct. 4, 2021, to prove the State’s case. Fleeing to Elude a Law Enforcement Officer (Siren and Lights Activated with High Speed or Reckless Driving), is a second-degree felony.
According to the evidence, Port St. Joe Police Lt. Russell Burch was on duty Oct. 4, 2021, when he spotted a truck approaching him at more than 45 mph in a 20 mph zone residential neighborhood. Burch said he attempted a traffic stop but the driver sped away when he activated his emergency lights.
Lt. Burch called for backup as the defendant continued through a residential area at speeds of up to 60 mph, running multiple stop signs before turning onto an access road that ran parallel to the railroad tracks.
The vehicle crossed the tracks several times as it approached State 71 before the passenger jumped out of the fleeing vehicle into a ditch. Lt. Burch and another officer wrestled with and detained the passenger.
The vehicle continued for about 100 more yards before encountering Gulf County Sheriff’s Office Capt. Chris Buchanan, who had positioned his vehicle on the access road. The defendant abandoned the truck, leaving it in gear, and fled into the woods.
Gulf County Sheriff Mike Harrison captured the defendant a short distance away.
Basford thanked Lt. Burch and Sheriff Harrison for their actions that day and noted how the two agencies worked together in a rapidly developing situation to apprehend the suspects.
Lead Prosecutor Frank Sullivan makes a point with the jury.
A Bay County jury Friday convicted two men of attempting to kill three people who they shot at while chasing them across northwestern Bay County at speeds surpassing 100 mph, State Attorney Larry Basford announced.
Jordan Cayne Hutchinson, 22, and Chase Sonny Chavez, 21, were found guilty of three counts each of Attempted Second Degree Murder. On each of those counts, the jury found Hutchinson “actually possessed and discharged a firearm” during the crime, while Chavez was found to have possessed a firearm at the time.
The defendants were tried together with separate attorneys but one jury. Under Florida’s 10-20-Life Statute, Hutchinson faces a minimum-mandatory 20-year prison sentence on each of his Attempted Second Degree Murder charges, while Chavez faces a minimum-mandatory 10-year sentence on each of his.
Left to right, defendant Chase Chavez and his attorney. Defendant Jordan Hutchinson is on the far right with his attorney.
Additionally, both men were found guilty of Shooting into an Occupied Vehicle, and Hutchinson was also convicted of Aggravated Assault. Any sentences handed down on those charges would have to be served separately from the 10-20-Life sentences.
Prosecutors Frank Sullivan and Jae Hee Kim presented evidence and witnesses, including the three victims and investigators from the Bay County Sheriff’s Office, proving the state’s case. The jury took about 90 minutes to reach its verdict.
Sullivan told jurors they heard a lot of evidence from multiple witnesses about the shotgun blasts fired in a median along State 79 and then an ensuing chase and more shots on County 388 to the airport and back. A shotgun and a rifle were recovered from the defendants’ vehicle, along with spent shells.
“But at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter which one of the defendants pulled the trigger each time and which was the driver,” Sullivan said. “They both participated and they both wanted this to happen. They are principals.”
Testimony elicited by Sullivan and Kim showed there had been a party late the night of July 3, 2019, that went past midnight. As it broke up, some went to a convenience store at State 79 and Hwy. 388 – including the defendants and the victims.
An argument began between one of the victims, who was a passenger in a truck, and one of the defendants who was in a Jeep. Words were exchanged but the victims left without incident.
One victim, who was a passenger in the truck, said they pulled onto State 79 and then into a cut in the median to make a U-turn south back into town when the Jeep, and the defendants, came “sliding” in behind them.
He testified he got out of the truck thinking there might be a fight, but Hutchinson jumped out of the Jeep holding and then cocking a shotgun. He said he ran behind his truck for cover, but Hutchinson fired a shot at him and came around the other side of the truck. “(Hutchinson) had that shotgun cocked right in my face,” he testified.
The victim said he grabbed the barrel of the shotgun, they wrestled over it, and it went off again before he was able to jump back in his truck – which had the other two victims in it – and flee east on County 388 trying to get away.
He told jurors he was going well over 100 mph but the defendants kept pace, and kept firing. One projectile pierced the rear window and rearview mirror before striking the windshield, narrowly missing one of the passengers.
Near the airport, he testified, he made a U-turn and sped back toward State 79 and then Panama City Beach. One of the victims was on the phone with 911 and another with his stepdad, at the time a Beach police officer, and they found that officer near the Panama City Beach Police Department.
“Let me tell you what, I was scared,” the victim said, recapping the night. “It still gives me … I don’t even like to think about it.”
Hutchinson and Chavez were located a short time later in the Jeep and the two weapons recovered.
A Springfield man faces life in prison after being found guilty of forcing his way into a home, holding and assaulting three residents at knifepoint, and sexually battering two teens.
Jason Dowdell, 38, was found guilty of three counts of Sexual Battery, three counts of False Imprisonment, three counts of Tampering with a Witness or Victim, Burglary, Child Abuse, three counts of Aggravated Assault, and Battery.
Jason Dowdell
Circuit Court Judge Shonna Young Gay set sentencing for Oct. 7 and ordered a Pre-Sentencing Investigation.
Prosecutors Barbara Beasley and Jennifer Lieb presented evidence and testimony that the defendant, armed with a knife, forced his way into the home in May of 2021. Two of the victims were bound, evidence gathered by Springfield Police and Investigators showed, and all three were threatened. The defendant was found guilty of two counts of Sexual Battery against one of the victims.
Beasley and Lieb called 14 witnesses during the one-day trial, including the three victims, Florida Department of Law Enforcement experts and five Springfield police officers, including Chief Barry Roberts.
Altogether, 29 pieces of evidence including DNA findings and the knife used in the crime were shown to jurors.
The jury began deliberations around 5: 30 p.m. and returned with a verdict about 1 hour and 15 minutes later.
Basford thanked the Springfield Police Department for the case it put together and FDLE agents for their testimony.
For additional information please contact Mike Cazalas at mike.cazalas@sa14.fl.gov, or 850- 381-7454.
Andre Devon Bivins will spend the rest of his life in prison for the 2019 shooting death of Edward Ross on Panama City Beach, State Attorney Larry Basford announced.
The defendant was found guilty last month of First Degree Felony Murder and Attempted Robbery in the death of Ross, who was shot multiple times inside the home he shared with his father.
Circuit Court Judge Shonna Young Gay sentenced the defendant to life in prison without the possibility of parole under Florida’s 10-20-Life Statute on the murder conviction, and 15 years on the Attempted Robbery.
Andre Bivins looks toward the prosecutor as he is fingerprinted after sentencing.
Prosecutors Mark Graham and Frank Sullivan presented the case to jurors, who took about 25 minutes to deliver the verdict. Monday, Graham said the evidence in the case was clear: “The defendant led the other defendants (all armed) into the home in search of money and drugs.”
The evidence gathered by Bay County sheriff’s investigators showed that as the defendant and two others burst into the home with pistols and confronted the victim’s father, Kenneth Ross, the victim came walking down the hall to see what was happening. He had been taking a shower and had only a bath towel.
Evidence and testimony showed that Bivins fired the first shot and struck Ross, and the two other defendants then opened fire as well before fleeing.
Kenneth Ross, the victim’s father, witnessed it all.
The victim’s father walks by the defendant and his attorney at sentencing.
“I was told from the very beginning that the perpetrators would be caught and punished,”
Ross said during sentencing. “That promise was fulfilled.”
Addressing the defendant, Ross told him, “in some ways your attempted robbery was a success; you robbed me of a son.”
“I’ll have to live for the rest of my life with the image of my son lying on the floor bleeding out, gasping for air, and watching as the life light bled out of his eyes while I was on the phone with 911,” Ross said.
And despite that pain, Ross told the defendant, “I forgive you and will pray for your soul, because, sir, you are definitely going to need it.
Basford thanked the Bay County Sheriff’s Office for its thorough and lengthy investigation into the complicated case.
For additional information please contact Mike Cazalas at mike.cazalas@sa14.fl.gov, or 850- 381-7454.
A Panama City man convicted last month of breaking into another man’s garage and smashing the windshield of a car with a hammer has been sentenced to prison, State Attorney Larry Basford announced.
Circuit Court Judge Brandon Young sentenced Lee Daniels, 36, to 10 years in prison for Burglary of an Occupied Dwelling and 5 years in prison for Criminal Mischief ($1,000 or greater). Judge Young ordered the sentences to be served concurrently, and they will be followed by 5 years’ probation.
Prosecutors Dustin Miller and Nicole Reed presented evidence and two witnesses – the victim and Panama City Police Detective Matthew Kelly – proving that the defendant committed a burglary when he entered the victim’s garage to vandalize his car with a hammer.
Miller told jurors during his closing argument that, by law, an attached garage is part of a home and has the same protections.
After the trial, Miller explained that an open garage door is no more an invitation to enter than is the open front door of a home.
“Just because you open your garage door, it does not make your house or garage open to the public,” Miller said. “It’s not rocket science, it’s common sense. Your garage door being open doesn’t change the nature of your home, it’s still your dwelling.”
Basford thanked Kelly, the Panama City Police Department, and other witnesses and neighbors who were prepared to testify if needed.
For additional information, contact Mike Cazalas at mike.cazalas@sa14.fl.gov, or call 850-381-7454.
BONIFAY – A Walton County man found guilty of soliciting what he thought was a 15-year-old girl for sex via social media has been designated a Sexual Offender and now faces sentencing Sept. 7, State Attorney Larry Basford announced.
Samuel Carl Lepone, 33, was found guilty as charged by a Holmes County jury last week of Soliciting a Minor or a Person believed by the Defendant to be a Minor for Unlawful Sexual Conduct, and Transmission of Harmful Material to a Minor. Both charges are third degree felonies, meaning the defendant faces up to 10 years in prison and $10,000 in fines.
Prosecutors Benjamin A. Keown and Jennifer Lieb presented evidence at trial that Lepone believed he was communicating with a 15-year-old girl when he sent a sexually graphic video and solicited the person for sex. In fact, the defendant was talking to Holmes County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Bill Pate, who was using a covert Facebook account.
The case began in September, 2020, evidence and testimony showed, when the defendant sent an unsolicited nude photograph of himself to a young adult resident of Holmes County. The resident and her parents reported it to the Holmes County Sheriff’s Office, which initiated a proactive investigation into the defendant’s activities.
Lt. Pate, using a covert Facebook account, traded messages online with the defendant, who sent a pornographic video of himself engaged in sex. Later, he solicited sex from what he believed to be a teenaged girl.
Lt. Pate confirmed the defendant’s identity and the arrest was made.
Basford would like to thank Investigator Pate and the Holmes County Sheriff’s Office for the hard work, professionalism, and diligent investigation of this case. Basford also thanked the Holmes County citizens who quickly reported the defendant’s unwanted sexual photos to law enforcement for investigation.
For additional information, please contact Mike Cazalas at mike.cazalas@sa14.fl.gov, or 850-381-7454.
