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.
Stephen D. Regis, Jr., 31, of Navarre, was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for the production, receipt, and possession of child pornography, as well as the transfer of obscene materials to minors. The sentence was announced by Jason R. Coody, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.
Santa Rosa County Code Enforcement has publicly declared the structure at 2657 Salamanca St. in Navarre a nuisance and unsafe, unsanitary or unfit for human habitation. The notice was delivered and posted on the property April 18, 2023.
The property is the location of the murder of 43-year-old Toby Hill on April 7, 2023. On that Friday, deputies responded to a reported shooting and found Hill with a gunshot wound. EMS responders later pronounced him dead.
On April 19, detectives with Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office began investigating reports of skimmer devices placed on local bank ATMs. In a series of days, it was reported that two individuals used at least 44 counterfeit cards to withdraw over $11,000 from several locations in Okaloosa and Santa Rosa County.
During that time period, it was reported to the agency that approximately 700 cards were skimmed at various locations. Through video surveillance and other investigation efforts, detectives were able to identify the vehicle and conduct a traffic stop.
The teenage son of Rebekah Jones, a data analyst and former Democratic Party candidate for U.S. House, has been charged with intimidation, a second-degree felony.
Jackson Jones, 13, was arrested for allegedly threatening to conduct a mass shooting at Holley Navarre Middle School, where he was previously a student. The threats first came to the attention of Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office March 20, when an East Bay K8 student told school officials about a school shooting threat she saw on social media.
At a news conference Monday, March 6, Sheriff Bob Johnson announced an arrest in a swatting case related to a gun threat was called into Milton High School last year.
Brad Parga, 17, of Guttenberg, New Jersey, was arrested and charged with felony fraud for a false report of using firearms in a violent manner and disturbing the peace by interfering with school administration functions, which is a misdemeanor.
A commander with Hurlburt Field’s 1st Special Operations Aircraft Maintenance Squadron has been demoted after being arrested Feb. 18 in Shalimar.
Collin Charlie Christopherson, 37, of Niceville, is charged with driving under the influence (DUI), hit and run and a moving traffic violation for reckless driving resulting in damage to property or a person.
The Shalimar Police Department responded to the incident involving Christopherson and made the arrest.
