Crime Archive

On December 5, 2023, Santa Rosa Circuit Court Judge Clifton Drake sentenced Courtney William Howell to two consecutive life sentences in prison in Florida’s Department of Corrections for two counts of Second Degree Murder. Courtney Howell had previously entered a guilty plea to the charges on September 8, 2023.

The ex-boyfriend of Cassie Carli, the woman who was found in a shallow grave in Springville, Alabama, will have his day in court in January 2024. Marcus Spanevelo, 36, is facing the charge of abuse of a corpse.

Under Alabama law, a person commits the crime of abuse of a corpse if they knowingly treat a human corpse in a way that would “outrage ordinary family sensibilities.” The abuse of a corpse charge carries a prison sentence of up to 10 years if a conviction is obtained.

Cameron Dain Gillilan, 31, of Navarre, was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. The sentence was announced by Jason R. Coody, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.

A Navarre woman was arrested after she allegedly refused to leave a Santa Rosa County District Schools bus Sept. 21.

Dana Stuart was charged with trespassing and disturbing the peace. She was booked into Santa Rosa County Jail Sept. 29 and released later that day.

A Navarre man was arrested after a Sept. 6 incident, in which he was allegedly in possession of drugs while driving with a suspended license.

Marcus Timothy Darring, 39, was arrested and charged with felony drug possession and a misdemeanor moving traffic violation.

A Gulf Breeze resident has been arrested for possessing three videos and 10 images of child pornography.

Jason Ball, 48, is charged with possession of obscene material, which is a felony. According to his arrest report, the offense occurred at the 5300 block of Boots Byers Court in Gulf Breeze, which is Ball’s residence.

According to the District One Medical Examiner’s Office, which covers the four westernmost counties in Florida, northwest Florida has the highest number of overdoses per capita in the state. A large part of the issue is the flow of illegal narcotics. To combat this, Santa Rosa County and the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office have stepped in to take down a drug house, literally. On Wednesday, Sept. 20, the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office held a news conference/demolition event at 5912 Congress St.

A Gulf Breeze man was arrested after he allegedly swindled money from Greensmith Construction Group. Andrew Patrick Wallace, 37, was charged with forgery of or altering a public record, fraud impersonating someone to obtain property and fraud swindling to obtain property worth more than 20K and less than 50K.

The Gulf Breeze doctor accused of overprescribing pain medications to her patients is being taken to court. Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) is the plaintiff in a case before the circuit court of the First Judicial Circuit for Santa Rosa County. Dr. Elaine Sharp, the doctor in question, is the defendant. According to court records, two banks were identified as places Sharp commonly used to make deposits.

Dr. Elaine Sharp of Gulf Breeze is facing possible criminal charges and the loss of her ability to practice medicine following an investigation into a possible ‘pill mill’ scheme being run out of her office, allegedly contributing to the overdose death of a patient. On June 22, the Florida Department of Health (FDOH) issued an emergency restriction of Sharp’s license to practice as a medical doctor in the State of Florida. Under the order, she can still practice but cannot order or prescribe controlled medications.