Crime Archive

A Miami court has convicted a South Florida man of crimes related to posing as a flight attendant over a period of nearly seven years. Prosecutors said he was able to book more than 120 free flights.

A crash on Navarre Beach Causeway over Memorial Day weekend left one person seriously injured and another person in handcuffs.

Saturday, May 24, at 9:50 p.m., a pickup truck was traveling in the southbound lane on Navarre Beach Causeway, directly off the bridge. At the same time, a Dodge Nitro SUV was traveling in the northbound lane.

The Milton Police Department has arrested Mohamed Bakayoko in connection with a large-scale fraud investigation that resulted in the theft of $852,983.06 from the Santa Rosa County Clerk of Court & Comptroller’s Office. Mr. Bakayoko has been charged with Grand Theft – 1st Degree Felony (Florida Statute 812.014(2)(a)1), a charge punishable by up to 30 years in state prison.

A note left in a bathroom likely saved a woman’s life.

Wednesday, May 7, the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office apprehended Gary Stephen Altieri, 50, after a brief standoff on Morella Street in Navarre. Altieri had reportedly barricaded himself inside a residence.

Rachiel Moore, 27, is heading to prison for the rest of her life.

The Navarre woman was sentenced to life in prison without parole, April 24, for setting up the murder of her child’s father, 24-year-old Colby Vinson, in March 2023. Vinson, who had just won custody of their child, was murdered at his Cayo Grande apartment with his baby just feet away from him.

On Thursday, March 13, Toby James White, who was apprehended by law enforcement Jan. 25 for second degree murder, was found dead in his cell at Santa Rosa County Jail.

After resigning from Santa Rosa District Schools last October, Kelly Short, 57, was arrested on larceny charges related to her time as director of the district’s Office of Professional Learning. Short is accused of engaging in financial improprieties, which amounted to her allegedly stealing from the district over a two-year period. The arrest comes amidst a monthslong investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE).

A periodontist on Hurlburt Field was arrested after failing to comply with officers during a traffic stop in Tiger Point Feb. 25. Michelle Bongiovi, 59, is charged with public order crimes for failing to obey police or fire department instructions, resisting an officer and DUI.

A Navarre woman’s 2022 death has reentered the spotlight as her ex-boyfriend and the father of her child was set to go on trial April 28 for allegedly kidnapping her, which resulted in her death. The federal trial of Marcus Spanevelo, who is alleged to have transported Navarre resident Cassie Carli’s body to Alabama and buried it in a shallow grave in Springville, a 40-minute drive from Birmingham, is being examined by a capital review committee to see if he could possibly face the death penalty.