Homicide Investigation
Walton County Sheriff’s Deputies have an arrest warrant on 32-year-old Ira Alexander Randall, on one count of open murder investigating a suspicious incident that occurred around 8:30pm Wednesday evening.
Wednesday evening Walton County Sheriff’s Office investigators received a tip of a possible battery at a residence located on German Club Road, northeast of DeFuniak Springs. Investigators discovered evidence, including blood, indicating the victim had been severely injured however the victim could not be located.
A search was started for Randall and Okaloosa County Deputies found his car at the Country Inn & Suits in Destin. They eventually found Randall. The suspect is being held in the Holmes County Jail on dealing in stolen property charges and is awaiting transfer to Walton County to answer the charge of murder.
Information obtained from Randall gave a location in a wooded area off Highway 179 in the Gritney Community in Holmes County, not far from the Gritney Mall and law enforcement began the search for the victim. With darkness set in the search was called off until daylight and Randall was brought from Okaloosa to the Gritney scene. Eventually, with the assistance of Holmes County Sheriff’s Office, the remains of the victim, Robert James Dickens, 45 years-old of Ponce De Leon, were recovered.
The Walton County Sheriff’s Office says Randall and Dickens knew each other and the assumption is the situation arose due to drugs or money. Randall, who confessed to the killing, has a a brief criminal history. The victim, Dickens, also had a criminal history with charges from drugs to murder. The two are said to have hung together. It is believed Randall choose the Gritney area to dump the body due to being familiar with it. The site is where a type of development was once planned.
The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office, US Marshall’s, State Attorney Office, and Holmes County Sheriff’s Office assisted in this investigation.
Meth Labs
Sunday evening,
Walton County Sheriff’s Narcotics Investigators seized two methamphetamine
laboratories while assisting the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office. Walton County
Sheriff’s investigators responded to a residence in Mossy Head to assist
Patrick Smith was arrested at his residence after a search of his residence and a camper on the property. While performing the search two clandestine methamphetamine laboratories were found, along with listed chemicals such as Pseudoephedrine, Acetone, and Iodine. Investigators also found finished methamphetamine, marijuana, hallucinogenic mushrooms, and drug paraphernalia.
NFSC Trustee Meeting
More registered nurses will be trained at Northwest Florida State College this coming year thanks to changes in the RN program admissions process approved by the college’s Board of Trustees during their July 20 meeting. Trustees spent the majority of their meeting discussing significant changes to the college’s admissions process for the highly competitive programs in nursing and radiography. The programs each have up to five times more applicants than available slots.
Charlotte Kuss, director of nursing explained to trustees that this year there were more than 100 applicants to the nursing program who scored a perfect 100 points on the admissions criterion. There were also 250 additional highly qualified applicants for the 54 once-a-year slots.
College trustees also approved an agreement with the Mid Bay Bridge Authority (MBBA) to provide additional baffling to the college’s Niceville campus Public Safety Firing Range to ensure safe conditions between the range and the new limited access highway that will connect the north approach of the Mid Bay Bridge to State Road 85. As the road will run just north of the Niceville campus and fairly close to the firing range, the Bridge Authority requested the college install additional overhead structures to ensure that there is no unprotected “blue sky” visible from any firing position that could potentially result in any object or ordnance from the range reaching any portion of the easement granted by Eglin to the MBBA. The MBBA authority agreed to pay the $17,600 cost to design the baffling and will pay for the construction, the cost of which will be determined following completion of the design. The college will oversee the construction.
Trustees honored Wesley Wilkerson of DeFuniak Springs for his two years of service as chairman of the trustee board and approved an agreement between Walton County Public Schools and Sacred Heart of the Emerald Coast for the college to support the district’s efforts to provide increased access to medical science careers for Walton students.
Business Owner Steals From
Customers
The Okaloosa
County Sheriff’s Office Street Crimes Unit has arrested a Fort Walton Beach area
business owner after catching him on surveillance video stealing from customers’
cars.
So far,
42-year old Danny Noel Riggs, owner of Tip Toe Tanning on Beal Parkway, faces
five counts of burglary. The Sheriff’s Office had received complaints that Riggs
was suspected of stealing money and other items from cars parked at his
business.
Thursday, the
Street Crimes Unit conducted an undercover operation including video
surveillance in which Riggs was observed burglarizing two vehicles, one of them
being a Sheriff’s Office bait car. An undercover officer had entered Tip Toe
Tanning and paid to use a stand-up tanning booth. The undercover officer then
placed her bag and money in the bait car. The undercover officer entered the
booth and Riggs took the officer’s keys from the business and unlocked the bait
car. Riggs then stole $60.00 worth of prerecorded police bait money and $10.00
change from a bag inside the vehicle. After burglarizing the bait car, Riggs
re-entered his business. Deputy Michael Rader followed Riggs inside and placed
him under arrest. Riggs had the keys to the bait car and $70.00 from the vehicle
in his hands at the time.
Prior to Riggs
breaking into the bait car, during the time the Street Crimes Unit was staging
in the parking lot, deputies also videotaped Riggs entering a customers’ van
while she tanned inside the business.
Deputies say
Riggs admitted after his arrest that he would enter locked rooms while customers
were in tanning beds, take their keys, go out to their cars and steal, then
return the keys to the rooms before the customers were done
tanning.
Phone
Scam
There is
another phone scam circulating in our area. Several residents report recently
getting calls from a group calling itself the “National Medical Association”.
The caller asks for personal data such as banking numbers or other financial
information.
WZEP News Segment 3
In Gulf Coast Pro
Baseball
This Sunday, July 25th, the DeFuniak Red
Sox travel to Cambellton, FL to take on the Wild Cats. This will be the first
time the teams have played each other since 1986. For more information, call
218-0134.
Obituaries
Mr. Ellis Williams of the Pleasant Grove Community of North Walton County passed away Friday, July 23. Arrangements will be announce by Jerry Evans for Mr. Ellis V. Williams, age 90 of the Pleasant Grove Community.
Mrs. Lennie Mae Henderson-Prevatt, age 69, passed away Wednesday, July 21. A time of visitation will be held 6:00~8:00 PM, Sunday, July 25, at Clary-Glenn Funeral Home. Funeral services will be held 1:00 PM, Monday, July 26, at Clary-Glenn Funeral Home Chapel. Burial will follow in the Paxton Cemetery. Floral arrangements are being accepted. You may go online to view obituaries, offer condolences, sign guest book, at www.clary-glenn.com. Clary-Glenn Funeral Home is entrusted with the arrangements.