Man Driving Impaired by Meth Guilty in Death of Girlfriend and Unborn Child

Posted on July 15, 2026 by Admin SA

A jury Wednesday agreed that Mark Pegg was under the influence of methamphetamine when he rear-ended a van on U.S. 231, killing his girlfriend and their unborn child.

State Attorney Larry Basford announced Pegg, 39, was found guilty as charged of DUI-Manslaughter in the March 23, 2024 death of his 33-year-old girlfriend and their unborn child. Kristen Clark was 35 weeks pregnant. Circuit Court Judge Dustin Stephenson sentenced Pegg to 30 years in prison – 15 years on each count to run consecutively – and a lifetime of probation.

Prosecutor Frank Sullivan called 6 witnesses, including two experts who said the amount of methamphetamine in the defendant’s blood after the wreck was well above therapeutic ranges and would have impaired his cognitive functioning. The defendant, according to the evidence, never even hit the brakes when he rear-ended a van stopped at a red light at U.S. 231 and State 390 that night.

“These deaths, this wreck, were a terrible tragedy and they were avoidable,” Sullivan said. “Two innocent lives were lost all because this defendant decided to smoke meth and get behind a wheel.

“Whether it is from alcohol, or in this case high levels of methamphetamine, no one is safe from an impaired driver,” he continued. “The Panama City Police Department did an excellent job of thoroughly investigating this case and determining the level of meth in the defendant’s blood was well above therapeutic levels.”

The evidence showed the defendant was driving north on U.S. 231 around 12:10 a.m. March 23, 2024, with his pregnant girlfriend in the passenger seat and a child in the backseat. A Bay County Sheriff’s Office van transporting Spring Break defendants to the jail was stopped at the red light at U.S. 231 and State 390. The defendant never slowed and slammed into the rear of the van, killing his passenger almost instantly. The unborn child died due to the mother’s death.

An interview at the hospital following the crash showed the defendant was asleep when police tried to question him around 2 a.m. Once awake, police bodycam showed he was groggy – he had not been sedated at the hospital – and fell back asleep while being questioned.

State experts said the .43 mg/L of meth in the defendant’s blood – a therapeutic level would never exceed .1-.2 mg/L – combined with his actions and the evidence from the wreck showed he was on the “downward” side of the usage. That means the body is metabolizing the drug, the high is wearing off, and the user becomes tired and depressed.

“They can be in a state where they’re sleeping and hard to wake up,” said Chris Chronister, Lab Director at the University of Florida. “In this case (the high level) is clearly from use and abuse of methamphetamine.”

Panama City Police Sgt. Preston Allyn said he woke the defendant up to interview him but he fell back asleep. When he was told his girlfriend and unborn child had died in the wreck, Allyn said, he didn’t really react.

“The best I can explain it is a lack of emotion,” Allyn said. “His demeanor did not change. It wasn’t the reaction I was expecting.”

Basford thanked the Panama City Police Department and collaborative efforts with the Bay County Sheriff’s Office and Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

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

102-Month Sentence for Impaired Man who Seriously Injured 2 Teens in Golf Cart

Posted on July 9, 2026 by Admin SA

A 62-year-old man who was driving impaired when his truck turned into oncoming traffic at Bay Point and hit a golf cart head-on, seriously injuring two teens, was sentenced to 8½ years in prison Thursday, State Attorney Larry Basford announced.

Richard Stanley Barker, who hit the girls near his home on Wahoo Road Feb. 4, 2025, earlier pled no contest to 2 counts of DUI With Seriously Bodily Injury. Each charge was punishable by up to 5 years in prison. Barker’s prison term will be followed by 18 months of probation.

Barker was impaired and driving east in the westbound lane of Wahoo Road near his house when his pickup truck hit a westbound golf cart carrying the two girls – 16 and 15 years old at the time. The golf cart was destroyed, one victim had life-threatening injuries, and both victims suffered lifelong damage to their bodies.

Prosecutor Ryan Phillips asked Circuit Court Judge Dustin Stephenson to consider the deterrent function, the severity of the injuries, and that Florida’s Criminal Justice System is designed to punish offenders. The defense asked the court to consider the defendant’s age, his remorse and that he is recovering from cancer.

“Everyone in this courtroom (the victims, the defendant, and their families) received a life sentence that day,” said Stephenson, adding this was one of the most difficult cases he has handled. “Mr. Barker, you will feel the impact of that decision today, if you haven’t already. This decision was not easy for this court; it was not easy for anyone. But there is no way to erase the events of that night and there is a price to pay for that.”

During the 2½ hour sentencing, emotional testimony came from both sides, including the two young victims.

“I’m 17 now … and nothing will ever feel the same as it did before that night,” one victim testified at Thursday’s sentencing. “I have not been able to enjoy my teenage years like most people; I’ve been struggling to recover.”

Her injuries included two fractured legs, a broken pelvis, broken ribs and multiple injuries to her face. She suffers nightmares, PTSD, and debilitating anxiety. She will never run again and is constant pain.

“These scars are permanent reminders of something I never chose and I’ll never forget,” she said. “No 15-year-old should have to rebuild their life because of someone else’s choice. We have to live with the pain he left us with because of his actions.”

The second victim, also 17 now, suffered fractures to both legs, a broken pelvis and a punctured lung.

“I should not have to be in this much pain as a 17-year-old,” she said. “All I can think about is what it felt like to lay there in the street, like I was nothing. I’ve tried to talk about my trauma to help get through it but some things never go away.”

Family members spoke as well.

“We were drug into hell and Richard Barker brought us there,” said the mother of one of the victims. “I had never heard of him before that night. Now his name is forever attached to the worst day of our lives.”

Before the sentence was imposed, Barker apologized.

“I’m very sorry this happened and the remorse I feel, no one in this courtroom knows,” Barker said. “I’m sorry, it was a terrible accident, I’m so sorry.”

Basford thanked the Florida Highway Patrol for its investigation and reconstruction of the crash. He also credited first responders who were able to stabilize the victims until they reached the hospital.

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

Hotel shooting earns convicted felon 20-year stay in prison

Posted on August 8, 2025 by Admin SA

A convicted felon found guilty in June of shooting another man twice in the leg was sentenced to 20 years in prison Friday, State Attorney Larry Basford announced.

Christopher Lorenzo Hatcher, 48, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for Attempted Manslaughter, 5 years for being a Felon in Possession of a Firearm, and 5 years for Shooting into an Occupied Dwelling. Circuit Court Judge William Henry ordered those sentences be served consecutively, or back-to-back.

Prosecutor Brea Dearing called 8 witnesses, including the victim who was shot twice in the leg and once in the hand, along with evidence like video surveillance gathered by Panama City police to prove her case at the June 19 trial.

“Panama City police did a good job investigating this case so we could prosecute this defendant and get him in prison where he belongs,” Dearing said. “This easily could have ended with someone dying, and Panama City is a safer place today with this sentence.”

The testimony showed that on July 27, 2022, the victim had spoken to Hatcher in the defendant’s room. Later, Hatcher went to the victim’s room, barged inside and fired several shots before fleeing.

The video showed blood on his shirt as he ran. Panama City police captured him about 5 blocks away shirtless, but still wearing the same pants as in the surveillance video.

Basford thanked the Panama City Police Department for its work on the case and the quick identification and capture of the suspect.

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

Man guilty of sexually battering, impregnating child is sentenced to Life

Posted on February 8, 2023 by Admin SA

A man found guilty Tuesday of sexual battery upon a child multiple times and impregnating her was sentenced to Life in prison Wednesday, State Attorney Larry Basford announced.

Nadir Al Bashir, 49, of Panama City, was found guilty of 3 counts of Sexual Battery Upon a child 12 years of age or older. A jury took 11 minutes to find him guilty of sexually battering the 12-year-old victim both before and after he impregnated her. Circuit Judge Brantley Clark sentenced him to three consecutive life sentences.

Prosecutor Jennifer Lieb addresses the jury.

Assistant State Attorney Jennifer Lieb presented witnesses and evidence from the victim’s family, the Panama City Police Department and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. FDLE analyst Jennifer Wilkerson testified that DNA samples from the defendant, the victim, and the baby showed a 99.99% likelihood that the was the father.

During the cross-examination of the defendant, Lieb asked him if he had had sex with the victim when she was 12 years old. The defendant admitted he had but said he believed it was legal after he researched the law. “So, you decided to have sex with a 12-year-old child. Based on your research you decided to have sex with a 12-year-old child multiple times?” Lieb asked the defendant. The defendant replied that “Y’all don’t get it.”

“The State has called witnesses, including the victim, who have testified about what this defendant did to this child,” Lieb told jurors in her closing argument. “But there’s no doubting that it happened thanks to the DNA because the FDLE was able to show that half the child’s DNA profile comes from the defendant. This man forced her into a situation that no 12- or 13-year-old is prepared for, becoming pregnant and having a child to care for.”

“We believe life is the appropriate sentence in this case based on the nature of these crimes and the defendant’s own testimony.” Lieb stated at sentencing. “This defendant will always be a danger to the children in our community. He doesn’t believe the law applies to him and he doesn’t think he has done anything wrong, he has shown no remorse.”

The defendant is fingerprinted after being found guilty.

The defendant told the judge, when speaking about the crime, that he “didn’t force nobody to do that” and that it was just something that happened and that he is not a danger to children.

The victim also spoke to Judge Clark at sentencing.

“It has affected me every day of my life since I was a child,” the victim said in a soft voice, adding it has negatively affected her relationships with others, caused pain in her family, and led her to being homeless and without her child for a period of time.

After sentencing the victim said it felt like a weight had been lifted off of her and that she could finally breathe.

Basford thanked the Panama City Police Department and assisting agencies for their work on the case.

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