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Daniel Johnson, a U.S. Air Force veteran with a combined 12 years of active and reserve duty, is the newest addition to the 14th Judicial Circuit’s prosecution team in Bay County.
State Attorney Larry Basford said Johnson will be handling misdemeanor cases in Bay County.
Johnson believes his military experience and his year-long internship with the City of Columbus, Ohio, Prosecutor’s Office, combine to make him a good fit.
Prosecutor Daniel Johnson, left, and State Attorney Larry Basford.
“My 12 years of military service have instilled in me a sense of purpose and duty to serve the community,” Johnson said. “It also taught me the importance of upholding the law and protecting the interests of others.”
His year at the prosecutor’s office in Ohio, along with interning as a mediator for the Automotive Consumer Action Program, helped fine-tune the skills he acquired in the military.
“My legal internship provided me with valuable courtroom experience and the opportunity to work with judges, law enforcement, and court personnel,” he said. “My time as a mediator strengthened my communication and customer service skills.”
All of that, he said, gives him the knowledge and skills to serve the community.
Johnson graduated from high school in Spring Valley/Columbia, N.C., before entering Park University in Parkville, Mo., while still on active duty. From 2020-2023, while on military reserve, he attended and obtained his law degree from Capital University Law School in Columbus, Ohio.
Johnson most recently provided consultative services to legal customers at LexisNexis before relocating to Florida to prepare for the bar exam.
For more information, contact Mike Cazalas at mike.cazalas@sa14.fl.gov, or call 850–381–7454.
A Bay County man who robbed a couple at gunpoint and raped the female was given 2 consecutive Life sentences Wednesday, State Attorney Larry Basford announced.
Circuit Court Judge Shonna Young Gay sentenced Markeal Donvelt Byrd, who turned 41 today, Life in prison for both Sexual Battery with a Deadly Weapon, and Carjacking with a Firearm. Prosecutor Zachary VanDyke successfully sought to designate the defendant as a Habitual Violent Felony Offender, which led to enhanced sentences of 20 years for Robbery with a Firearm, and 10 years for Aggravated Assault with a Firearm.
Prosecutor Zachary VanDyke, top, during the trial. The defendant and his attorney, bottom left, at sentencing. VanDyke showing jurors the defendant’s weapon, bottom right.
“Two Life sentences is justice for the victims in this case, who suffered tremendously,” VanDyke said. “Both were held at gunpoint – one while being sexually battered – and both had the courage to testify against their attacker at trial. Sentences like this are the result of the collaborative efforts between our office, the Bay County Sheriff’s Office, and the victims.”
VanDyke called 6 witnesses at the one-day trial June 18. The jury deliberated for less than 30 minutes before returning the verdicts of guilty as charged.
According to trial testimony and evidence, the male victim was in a car outside his girlfriend’s place of employment when he met the defendant and the two smoked marijuana. When the woman got off work, the defendant said he could get more marijuana for them if they would give him a ride from the beach into town.
During that drive, the defendant pulled a pistol, forced the male victim to withdraw money from ATMs, and sexually attacked the female victim. The defendant then made them drive to the Thomas Drive area. He ordered them out of the car and stole it.
Responding Bay County Sheriff’s Office deputies caught the defendant at a nearby convenience store getting gas in the stolen vehicle.
Basford thanked the Bay County Sheriff’s Office, the victims for their testimony, and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement which provided DNA evidence corroborating the victims’ statements.
A Callaway man found guilty as charged of sexually battering a child has been sentenced to Life without parole in prison, State Attorney Larry Basford announced.
Mark N. Jackson, Jr., 29, was found guilty as charged Wednesday of Sexual Battery of a Person Less than 12 Years of Age, and Lewd or Lascivious Molestation. Circuit Court Judge Timothy Register sentenced the defendant to Life in prison on both counts. He ordered the sentences to be served consecutively, or one after the other. Judge Register also designated the defendant as a Sexual Predator.
The defendant during questioning and time of arrest.
“I’m very proud of the child victim and hope this finally brings closure to a long-endured nightmare,” said Major Crimes Prosecutor Peter Overstreet. “We will continue to prosecute child predators to the fullest extent of the law.”
Overstreet called 6 witnesses, including the victim who was 4 years old at the time of the crime, and presented evidence proving the defendant sexually battered the girl and molested the child. The defendant was questioned by Bay County Sheriff’s Office investigators after the victim disclosed what happened to a Department of Children and Families Investigator.
During the questioning, the defendant admitted the sexual contact had taken place and he was placed under arrest.
The two-day trial ended with the jury deliberating for 90 minutes before returning its verdict.
Basford thanked Bay County Sheriff’s Office and Gulf Coast Children’s Advocacy Center for their work on the case.
For more information, contact Mike Cazalas at mike.cazalas@sa14.fl.gov, or call 850-381-7454.
Prosecutor Josh James, left, listens as one of the victims speaks to Circuit Judge Dustin Stephenson at sentencing.
A man who filed fraudulent paperwork to take ownership of a beach condominium for more than 18 months was sentenced to 40 years in prison Tuesday, State Attorney Larry Basford announced.
Circuit Court Judge Dustin Stephenson ordered Olandis Dean Hobbs, 37, to 25 years in prison for Fraudulent Use of Personal Identification Information, and a consecutive 15 years in prison for Grand Theft (over $100,000). The defendant also faces 30 years’ probation.
The defendant moments after his sentence was announced.
“I hope this sends a strong message,” Basford said. “Do not come to Northwest Florida and try to steal people’s identification and/or property by squatting because we will not tolerate this.”
Hobbs was found guilty as charged July 9 with the above offenses, and Unlawfully Filing a False Document, Uttering a Forgery, and Forgery. Prosecutor Josh James presented witnesses and evidence proving the defendant used fraudulent documents to have the victim’s condominium transferred to his possession.
The minimum sentence required by law was 10 years. Judge Stephenson said there are matters of “forgiveness” and matters of “justice,” and “forgiveness is not mine to give. Justice is mine to give.”
“This might be your first significant conviction, but it is a doozy,” Judge Stephenson told the defendant. “You stole rest from the sunset of someone’s life and should be punished for it.”
The condominium, valued at more than $500,000, belonged to an elderly woman and her two daughters. Both daughters spoke in court during the sentencing, saying while they believe in forgiveness, the crime called for a sentence that reflected its severity.
“Sentencing was important because we really wanted a stiff, but fair, sentence to send a message that this is not some victimless crime,” one sister said. “This was more than just squatting; he actually took ownership.”
The second sister, both live out of state, said the financial wounds from the crime will last for years, but she was happy with the guilty trial verdict and sentence.
“We counted on the justice system and it came through for us and we’re very happy with that,” she said. “We’re very grateful at how serious this was taken and the resources that went into finding him guilty and getting this sentence so he can’t do it to someone else.
“If we’re any indication, they fight for their residents.”
Basford thanked the Panama City Beach Police Department for its work on the case and the victims for their perseverance and testimony.
BONIFAY – A Bonifay man has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for being in possession of multiple items of child pornography, State Attorney Larry Basford announced.
Benjamin Timothy Smith, 49, of Bonifay, was found guilty as charged June 26 of 10 counts of Possession of Child Pornography. Circuit Court Judge Russell Roberts Wednesday sentenced the defendant to 20 years in prison, to be followed by 15 years’ probation. Smith also was designated a Sexual Offender.
Holmes County Chief Prosecutor Jacob Cook at an earlier trialDefendant Benjamin Smith
The defendant was arrested in October following an investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
Holmes County Chief Prosecutor Jacob Cook called three witnesses and presented evidence proving that the defendant was in possession of 10 sexually explicit images of girls who
appeared to be between 6 and 10 years of age. Some of the images depicted the victims being sexually assaulted.
The 6-person jury deliberated for 23 minutes before finding the defendant guilty as charged.
Testimony and evidence showed that the FDLE received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children on May 11, 2023, about suspected upload of images of sexual
exploitation of children. The NCMEC provides services nationwide to prevent the abduction and sexual exploitation of children.
That tip led them to the defendant. Investigators executed a search warrant and recovered the images uploaded by the defendant.
Basford thanked the FDLE and the NCMEC for their successful investigation.
For more information, contact Mike Cazalas at mike.cazalas@sa14.fl.gov, or call 850-381-7454.
Prosecutor Frank Sullivan, bottom, shows some of the seized methamphetamine to jurors as the defendant, upper left, watches.
A jury took about an hour Tuesday to find a Panama City man guilty as charged of trafficking in a large amount of methamphetamine within 1,000 feet of a school, State Attorney Larry Basford announced.
Steven Wayne Stottlemyer, 61, was found guilty as charged of Trafficking in Methamphetamine (more than 200 grams), and Possession of Methamphetamine with Intent to Sell within 1,000 feet of a school or college. Following the verdict, Circuit Court Judge Shonna Young Gay sentenced Stottlemyer to 25 years in prison. Under Florida’s enhanced trafficking statutes, 15 years of that sentence is minimum-mandatory.
“The message is not complicated,” Prosecutor Frank Sullivan said of the verdict and sentence. “If you come here and traffic in drugs, our law enforcement agencies – in this case the Bay County Sheriff’s Office – are going to catch up with you.
“And our office is going to continue to prosecute these people and send them to prison using every statutory tool available,” he continued. “We will not tolerate people spreading this poison onto our streets.”
Sullivan called witnesses and presented evidence proving that the defendant was in possession of about 234 grams of methamphetamine at his residence and on his property March 29, 2022. Testimony showed he agreed to sell some of the drugs, which led to a search warrant being obtained by sheriff’s investigators.
The search resulted in the seizure of nearly 300 grams of methamphetamine.
Basford thanked the Bay County Sheriff’s Office for its work on the case.
Quantavious Fuller, upper left, was found guilty of drug trafficking and as of July 16 was a fugitive.
A man who failed to appear for his own trial Friday for drug trafficking was found guilty as charged and sentenced to 30 years in prison, State Attorney Larry Basford said.
Quantavious Geraud Fuller, 44, of Panama City, was present Monday, July 8, when a jury was picked to hear his case for Trafficking In Illegal Drugs (14 grams or more), Destruction of or Tampering with Physical Evidence, and Possession of Paraphernalia. Bay County Sheriff’s Office investigators arrested him Oct. 5, 2021, and said he was in possession of more than 28 grams, but less than 30 kilos, of heroin.
But when it was time for trial and opening arguments from Prosecutor Frank Sullivan Friday, the defendant was nowhere to be found. Circuit Court Judge Brantley Clark ordered that the trial move forward without the defendant present. A warrant for his arrest was issued and as of Monday, July 16, the defendant was still being sought.
“Heroin is a dangerous drug that has devastated communities across the country,” Sullivan said. “Its investigations, prosecutions, and sentences like these that have helped decrease our local drug overdose rate by 65 percent over the last few years, compared to the national average of 3 percent.”
A warrant has been issued for the arrest of Quantavious Fuller.Prosecutor Frank Sullivan, shown here in an earlier trial, tried the defendant in absentia Friday.
Sullivan called two witnesses – BCSO Inv. Phillip Hill, who was the case agent, and Florida Department of Law Enforcement analyst Stephanie Spiegle. Their testimony and the evidence shown to jurors proved that on Oct. 5, 2021, deputies served a search warrant on the defendant’s Panama City residence.
The defendant was found inside. Investigators also found a toilet clogged with plastic baggie someone had attempted to flush. The baggie was recovered and found to contain a large amount of a substance that tested positive for heroin.
Testimony showed the defendant flushed the baggie after deputies knocked on the door and announced their presence.
Jurors took about 40 minutes to return guilty verdicts. The trafficking charge is a First-Degree Felony. Judge Clark ordered a 30-year sentence, with a 15-year minimum-mandatory under Florida’s enhanced trafficking statutes.
Basford thanked the Bay County Sheriff’s Office for its proactive work in getting a large amount of opiates before they could be sold on the street.
Quantavious Fuller is described as a black male, 5 feet, 7 inches tall, weighing about 160 pounds. Anyone with information about his whereabouts is encouraged to call the Sheriff’s Office at 850-747-4700 or Panhandle CrimeSTOPPERS at 850-785-TIPS. Callers may remain anonymous.
Justin Isaac Drinkard was sentenced to Life in prison Friday for beating a young man to death with a baseball bat in 2018, State Attorney Larry Basford announced.
Drinkard, 38, was found guilty of Second-Degree Murder and Trespassing (while armed) on April 19 after a 4-day trial. Prosecutor Peter Overstreet presented witnesses and evidence proving the defendant repeatedly beat Jerry Dee Benefield, Jr., 20, in the head with a baseball bat after Benefield tried to defend his girlfriend.
The defendant during sentencing.Prosecutor Peter Overstreet addressing jurors during the trial.
The defense argued that the defendant should get a 22-year sentence followed by probation due to his drug addiction.
After hearing from the defense and Overstreet Friday, Circuit Court Judge Shonna Young Gay agreed with Overstreet’s argument that a life sentence was the only way to protect the community.
“This was a vicious, senseless case and the defendant was on probation at the time,” Overstreet said. “He’s been placed on probation over and over for drug charges and he can’t hack it, and now while he’s on probation he commits this murder.
“So, there’s nothing more this court can do to protect this community except to sentence him to the rest of his life in prison.”
The defendant was arrested for beating Benefield to death in his Lynn Haven home Nov. 25, 2018.
Overstreet proved to jurors that the defendant showed up unannounced at the victim’s home trying to buy methamphetamine. After using meth with the victim and his girlfriend, testimony showed he refused to leave and instead followed the girl into a bathroom and shut the door.
The girl screamed for help. The victim got the door open and became engaged in a struggle with Drinkard, who grabbed a baseball bat and beat the victim in the head, even after he lay unconscious.
Basford thanked the Bay County Sheriff’s Office for its work on the case, which occurred just a month after Hurricane Michael hit and while the county was in a state of emergency.
A man who used false documents to take ownership of a condo from an 85-year-old woman and her children was found guilty Tuesday and will remain jailed until his sentencing, State Attorney Larry Basford announced.
Olandis Dean Hobbs, also known as “Genesis Bey,” 37, was found guilty of Grand Theft Over $100,000, Fraudulent Use of Personal Identification Information (both First Degree Felonies), Unlawful Filing of False Documents or Records Against Real Property, Uttering a Forgery, and Forgery. Circuit Court Judge Dustin Stephenson set sentencing for July 23.
Prosecutor Josh James, who presented a case that jurors needed only 35 minutes to decide, said the Fraudulent Use of Personal Identification Information charge alone carries a minimum-mandatory 10-year sentence.
Olandis Dean Hobbs
“This defendant is a dangerous man,” James said, “and this conviction is more than a win for the victims. He committed similar acts in other places, like New York, and was sued but never arrested. That may be acceptable in other places, but when he did it in Bay County he was arrested and held accountable.”
“His incarceration will protect all Bay County residents from falling victim to his cons and send a message to other like-minded fraudsters: If you come to Bay County and attempt to cheat our citizens out of their hard-earned property, you will be arrested, we will take you trial, and you will go to prison.”
James called 9 witnesses – including 2 women who along with their 85-year-old mother owned the $700,000 condo through an LLC – and presented evidence proving that the defendant filed fraudulent paperwork with the Clerk of Circuit Court transferring ownership of the condo to himself in late 2022.
James told jurors in his opening statement that they likely had heard stories from around the country of “squatters” moving into peoples’ vacant homes and taking over.
“This defendant is a squatter on steroids,” James told jurors. “He didn’t move into a vacant building; he created fraudulent documents and illegally claimed a condominium worth hundreds of thousands of dollars as his own.”
The defendant then changed the locks on the condo and notified the condo’s management of the change in ownership. The real owners, who live out of state, only became aware of it when they sent a maid to clean in preparation for some friends who were going to stay at the condo, and the maid could not get in.
On Jan. 13, 2023, Panama City Beach Police served a search warrant on the unit and arrested the defendant. He had barricaded himself inside.
Even though the defendant has been in custody since his arrest, he remained the listed owner of the property pending civil litigation and the outcome of the criminal case. James said the victims had to continue to pay the monthly HOA fees to keep the unit safe, as well as the property taxes.
They also were unable to obtain property insurance on the unit since it wasn’t in their name, leaving it at risk the entire 2023 Hurricane Season.
“Because of this con artist’s ongoing behavior, the victims were not just deprived of their right to enjoy their property for more than 18 months, they were put at risk,” James said. “Despite the emotional trauma of having their property stolen by a fraudster, they remained dedicated to seeing justice served and cooperated with us fully.
“I’m honored they put their faith in our office to hold this defendant accountable and get their property back,” he continued. “But most of all I’m happy for them that they can put this nightmare of an ordeal behind them.”
Basford praised the Panama City Beach Police Department for its work on the case, and the victims for their strength and testimony.
A Bay County jury deliberated less than 10 minutes Wednesday before finding a man guilty of Possession of Cocaine, State Attorney Larry Basford announced.
Gerald Lishun Gary, 50, of Panama City, was sentenced to 18 months in prison by Circuit Court Judge Brantley Clark.
Gerald Gary
Prosecutor Morgan McAfee said Gary was released from prison on another drug charge 3 months before committing this offense.
McAfee called three witnesses: the citizen who called police, Panama City Police Officer Ryan Michael, who made the arrest, and Florida Department of Law Enforcement analyst Julie Nelson, who identified the cocaine.
The witnesses and evidence presented at trial showed that a concerned citizen called Panama City police Dec. 1, 2023, to report a suspicious person wandering through yards in the area.
Officer Michael found the defendant on someone else’s property by a vacant home. A probable cause search led to the cocaine being found in the defendant’s possession.
McAfee said the defendant told police that he could not tell them who gave him the cocaine, but that it was for personal use.
Basford thanked the Panama City Police Department for its prompt response to the citizen’s complaint and subsequent arrest.
