Deputies responding to a report of a possible accident near Crow’s Corner Store in Liberty County around 6:30 a.m. Sunday, arrived to find one man lying in the roadway and another passed out in a truck that was still running.

One deputy roused the man found in the westbound lane of State Road 20 while another went to see about the driver, Wuilfredo Hernandez, 24.

Hernandez was asleep in his truck, which had stopped in the ditch. A deputy reached in to turn off the ignition and wake up the driver, who smelled strongly of alcohol, according to the arrest report.

When asked if he had been drinking, Hernandez replied: “I’m drunk. I drank three 12-packs and don’t even know where I am.” Then he asked the deputy, “What county do you work with?”

He agreed to attempt a field sobriety test, but stated, “I’m just drunk. I know I’m going to county.”

Hernandez had difficulty following directions for the roadside test, losing his balance several times. While attempting to walk heel-to-toe, he told the deputy, “This is hard when you’re drunk.”

Hernandez was handcuffed and taken to the county jail. Breath alcohol testing gave results of .137 and .127, well over the legal limit of .08. He was charged with driving under the influence.

His passenger, who was believed to be from Quincy, was allowed to call a relative who picked him up at the scene and gave him a ride home.

Hernandez listed a Bristol address but his driver’s license indicated he lives in Tallahassee.

A 31-year-old Cottondale man was arrested on charges of criminal use of a personal ID and fraudulent use of a credit card after a Calhoun County couple discovered over $400 in unauthorized transactions had been made on their Regions Bank debit card.

Kevin Kuntzman, 31, was arrested July 29 following an investigation by the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office. He was released from jail after posting $4,000 bond.

According to the arrest report, the couple rented a U-Haul from a Cottondale business on April 3. The store clerk – later identified as Kuntzman – told them he needed to verify their information when they returned the truck and asked to see their debit card. They showed it to him.

Later, when reconciling their checking account records, they discovered several suspicious charges that totaled up to $403.31.

The first charge was made the day they returned the U-Haul for $39.95 at County Connection, the store where the rental business was located. The owners of the business told investigators they had received similar complaints involving the use of unauthorized credit cards from other customers while Kuntzman was working there. They said they did not know his whereabouts at the time of the investigation but thought he could be in South Carolina.

Investigator Michael Bryant discovered that Kuntzman had been previously arrested 15 times for theft, credit card fraud and criminal use of personal information and had served time in prison.

While looking into other items paid for using the debit card information, Bryant found that since April 3, multiple online transactions were made through Google. Most of the purchases were for games and music.

The debit card was also used to pay for inmate phone calls and a commissary account in the amount of $107.95 through JPay Correctional, which verified that the transaction was made April 5 to an inmate identified as Ricardo Cole.

Cole, who is housed in a Washington County facility, previously served time with Kuntzman at Carryville and the North West Florida Reception Center Annex. Kuntzman was released from the Department of Corrections in Oct. 2011.

The prison discovered a phone call between the inmate and a woman who told him that “K.K.” had put money on his account.

Four people, including one juvenile, were arrested Thursday by the Liberty County Drug Task Force when Ecstasy, marijuana and synthetic marijuana were found at a Garden of Eden Road residence.

The arrests followed several monitored buys made by informants working with the task force. More arrests are pending.

Those charged last week include:

•Andra D. Fountain, 26, three counts sale of marijuana, possession of more than 20 grams of marijuana and possession of a controlled substance (MDMA/Ecstasy)

•John Ammons, 21, possession of more than 20 grams of marijuana and possession of a controlled substance (MDMA/Ecstacy)

•Kuris Mathis, 23, sale of marijuana

•Unidentified female juvenile, 17, sale of marijuana

Investigators found marijuana – both natural and synthetic – in numerous containers and baggies scattered throughout the house, along with two sets of digital scales and many small baggies used to package the product for sale. A pink box hidden under a bed was found to contain a small baggie containing a white substance that field-tested positive for MDMA.

In all, investigators seized over eight ounces in synthetic marijuana, a little more than two ounces of marijuana, a small amount of Ecstasy and $524 in cash.

A man who outran deputies on a stolen motorcycle but got caught a short time later driving his truck is facing a long list of charges that include vehicle theft, reckless driving, aggravated fleeing and attempt to elude, possession or use of drug paraphernalia and possession of a scheduled narcotic.

Deputies were on their way to the Tom B. Arnold Road address around 2:30 p.m. Aug. 6 where Aaron Benjamin Bruce, 38, was staying to question him about a motorcycle that had been stolen from Tallahassee. En route to the Telogia residence, deputies met Bruce on CR 67 riding a bike matching the description of the one they were looking for.

Sgt. Bobby Revell and Deputy Colby Beck turned around to follow Bruce, who ignored their emergency lights, sped up and kept going.

Bruce who made a right turn onto SR 65, continued on at a high rate of speed. He then turned right onto SR 20 and accelerated, reaching speeds up to 130 mph while passing cars with oncoming traffic.

Deputies broke off the chase after losing sight of the motorcycle but later got information the bike was spotted speeding along Blue Creek Road.

A perimeter was set up in the area. Deputies were posted at SR 20 and Blue Creek Road when they spotted Bruce drive up to a stop sign in a red pickup with three passengers.

The truck was stopped and Bruce was taken into custody.

His passengers said Bruce had called and asked them to bring his truck to him at a dirt road, known as Fire Break 20, off Blue Creek Road. He told them he had run from deputies on the bike.

The Florida Highway Patrol found the motorcycle hidden in the woods off Fire Break Road. After running the bike’s vehicle identification number, it was identified as the one reported stolen from Leon County.

Deputies also discovered that Bruce’s driver’s license was suspended.

His friends were allowed to leave and the truck was searched. Inside, deputies reported finding four plastic containers with methamphetamine residue that were under the driver’s seat. A green bag that held three glass pipes, one rubber hose, one plastic container and one glass container with methamphetamine residue was found in the back seat of the truck.

He is being held without bond.

Charges are pending against a 30-year-old Blountstown man after he allegedly stabbed a woman in the arm as she tried to prevent him from running outside where he had been fighting with another man, according to a report from the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office.

Several people were gathered in the yard at a Ridge Avenue residence around 11:49 p.m. Saturday night when Dashawn Demetrious Holmes, 30, and another man got into a fight. The two had been arguing earlier inside the home.

Witnesses said the man hit Holmes in the mouth, causing him to bleed. Holmes then ran into the house and grabbed a kitchen knife. A woman was injured when she tried to stop him from leaving with the knife.

Holmes pulled away when Deputy Zachary Whitfield arrived and tried to handcuff him. Whitfield pushed Holmes against a car and attempted to pull both of his hands behind his back but stated that the suspect managed to keep one hand in front and appeared to be reaching for a weapon.

The two fell to the ground and during the struggle, Holmes tried to pull the deputy’s gun from his holster, according to the report. Whitfield then hit Holmes in the face with his elbow, stepped back and drew his taser.

Two Blountstown Police Department officers arrived and helped take Holmes into custody for resisting arrest with violence. Additional charges are expected.

A Blountstown man was arrested for battery on a person over 65 after the staff at Calhoun-Liberty Hospital saw him mistreat his 93-year-old father as the older man was being discharged from the facility Friday.

According to a report from the Blountstown Police Department, witnesses reported that James Stephen Davis, 56, was seated and waiting as his father was signing paperwork to check out.

When the older man asked to speak with a doctor before he left, Davis stood up, began yelling at his father and refused to let him talk with a doctor.

Davis then grabbed his father by the waistband of his pants, pulled him up from his chair and then pushed him out the door. As they reached the emergency room lobby, both men fell to the floor.

The fall left the older man with an injured elbow, which was bleeding.

Davis’ father told a police officer he didn’t know what was wrong with his son, stating, “He has never acted this way.”

Davis told the officer that he was his father’s sole caretaker and was “just tired of it.”

He was arrested and taken to the Calhoun County Jail.

The disappearance of between $50 to $70 in change from a residence at K&K Trailer Park has led to the arrest of a Bristol man on charges of burglary, petty theft and dealing in stolen property.

According to a report from the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office, a woman reported someone had entered her home and taken the money from her living room. Some of the change was loose; some of it was in rolls.

A neighbor reported seeing Allen Webb, 19, at the woman’s home that morning. He said he dropped Webb off at Thompson’s Grocery after he asked him for a ride.

The store owner said Webb entered the business around 9:45 a.m. Sunday to trade the change for paper currency.

When a deputy later caught up with him, Webb said the money he had at the store came from a job he had done in Tallahassee.

While being driven to the county jail, Webb admitted that he had taken the money and said he did it because he needed food.

by Teresa Eubanks, Journal Editor

Felony charges have been filed against two juveniles and other arrests are pending after a van stolen from the Head Start Center was used in two burglaries and then totaled when it slammed into a tree in the Mayhaw Community Sunday morning, according to Capt. Adam Terry of the Blountstown Police Department (BPD).

A large amount of blood and numerous items similar to those taken in the burglaries were found in the wrecked van.

Two 17-year-olds were charged with grand theft Tuesday afternoon. One was also charged with burglary. Other arrests are pending.

The keys to a Chevrolet Venture were taken from a classroom at the North Florida Child Development Center during a break-in on July 28. Nothing else was missing, the staff reported.

Nearly three weeks later, the van was stolen from the center’s fenced-in yard.

“While they had the van, they committed a burglary at Land’s Store in the Ocheesee Community and also burglarized a store in the Greenwood area of Jackson County,” Terry said.

The stolen property included beer, cigarettes, cigars, candy and shotgun shells.

“It all started around midnight Saturday night, Aug. 16,” he said. “Three of them got the van, rode around and then broke into the stores.” He said it appears a door was broken at the store in Ocheesee.

Things at the second burglary site didn’t go as well, he said, explaining one of the boys was injured at the scene. “He had a large laceration on his left leg,” said Terry. The boy driving the van began bleeding profusely. “When he realized how badly he was bleeding, he stopped and changed seats with his passenger,” Terry said. He was driven back to Blountstown and dropped off at the emergency room around 4:54 a.m.

The driver left the hospital and then headed for Faircloth Road, where he lost control of the vehicle. “He was driving too fast, didn’t make a turn and hit a tree,” Terry said.

A resident along Faircloth Road looked out and noticed the crashed vehicle around 9 a.m. Sunday.

Those who had been in the van had vanished but some of the loot for the night remained inside, along with what Terry described as “a large amount of blood in the driver’s compartment and the front passenger’s seat.”

Terry said they had gotten confessions for one of those already charged and from another juvenile whose arrest is still pending and is being held on an unrelated charge.

“We think we’ve cleared this one up,” Terry said. “We have physical evidence and statements to corroborate their involvement.”

One of those charged Tuesday is from Bristol; the other one lives in Blountstown.

Additional charges are pending with both the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office and the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office.

The theft is being investigated by the BPD, along with Lt. Jared Nichols and Lt. Todd Wheetley of the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigation Division.

by Teresa Eubanks, Journal Editor

A Bristol man who later told a deputy he was angry following an argument with his mother was charged with fleeing or eluding a law enforcement office and resisting arrest without violence after he refused to pull over for a traffic stop until he drove onto a dead end road early Saturday morning.

Liberty County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Jonathan Gentry was on routine patrol around 12:40 a.m. along SR 20 when he noticed a westbound vehicle traveling at a high rate of speed.

He pulled in behind the vehicle and verified with his radar that it was going 55 mph in a 35 mph zone.

The car then accelerated, slammed on the brakes and turned onto SR 12 South as the deputy’s patrol lights were activated.

The deputy followed the man, identified as Abdullah Reisoglu Jr., 20, as he continued southbound and saw him go around another vehicle in a no passing zone.

With lights flashing and his siren going, the patrol car stayed behind Reisoglu as he headed toward Veterans Memorial Park Civic Center while reaching speeds up 70 mph. The driver stopped twice, each time hitting the brakes and pulling onto the grass for a moment before accelerating and returning to the road, according to the arrest report.

The second time he returned to the road, Reisoglu entered the driveway of the civic center and drove to the back of the park, where he came to a dead end.

When ordered to exit the car, the driver slammed the door and stared at the deputy before complying with his command to lay on the ground. As he was being handcuffed, he became belligerent, cursed and screamed, “Take me to jail!”

Once inside the patrol car, he continued to scream and started banging his head against the back window and side glass.

He continued to act erratically as he was taken into the jail and deputies attempted to put him in a holding cell. He resisted by turning in circles, grabbing a deputy’s hand and tried to trip another deputy while screaming, “You’re not putting me in that holding cell!”

Two officers finally managed to secure him in the cell.

A shopping trip to Wal-Mart ended with the arrest of a 69-year-old Calhoun County man after Dothan police charged him with a misdemeanor charge of child endangerment.

Angus Lamar Shelton, 69, of Altha, was arrested Sunday after leaving his nine-year-old grandson alone for over an hour in a Dothan Wal-Mart while he went shopping to Sam’s Club, according to a report in the Dothan Eagle.

“The child was just left in the store to wander and one of the employees noticed,” according to Dothan Police Sgt. Maurice Eggleston.

After posting $500 bail, Shelton was released from custody at the Dothan City Jail.

A driver who decided to kick up a little dust late Friday afternoon wound up getting a friend in trouble after he caught the attention of a deputy driving through Sam Atkins Park.

Calhoun County Sheriff’s Deputy Nate Jordan was on patrol around 6:30 p.m. when he noticed a big cloud of dust coming up from the fairgrounds and saw a dark truck driving recklessly in circles.

When he went to check it out, the dark truck and a white car tried to leave but were blocked in by the patrol car.

The driver of the white car, identified as Deonte Isiah Dudley, 18, was charged with possession of synthetic marijuana after his car was searched and some of the substance was discovered inside a plastic bag tucked in the glove compartment.

Dudley was also issued a citation for possession of alcohol by a minor after an empty gin bottle and a bottle of malt liquor were found inside a gym bag in the back seat.

A man who recently moved to Liberty County from Washington County and sold a trailer he brought from there was charged with selling stolen property after an investigation by the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office.

Brian McDaniel, 35, was charged with dealing in stolen property after deputies learned he and another man collected $500 after they delivered the trailer to a Burlington Road residence.

When McDaniel returned a few days later to try to sell some other items – including a generator and a black utility trailer – the man who had purchased the first trailer contacted the sheriff’s office.

Further charges are pending once it is determined if the other items were also stolen.

Deputies who responded to a call about a domestic disturbance at a trailer park last Wednesday saw a flower pot and a piece of rebar had been thrown through the windshield of a truck and noticed that the woman at the residence had marks on her throat indicating someone had grabbed her.

She told them it was the result of an argument between her and her boyfriend, Jamie Parker, 35, of Clarksville, after he got angry that she hadn’t cooked french fries for him.

During the argument, Parker broke the windshield of their truck and destroyed the furniture in their home, according to the victim. While there was a red-colored area on the side of her throat, she denied that he had choked her although she acknowledged they had struggled before she broke free.

The victim would not give a statement nor would she allow her injuries to be photographed as evidence, according to the event report. Photos were taken of the damage to the home and the broken windshield.

Parker was charged with domestic battery.

A 31-year-old Bristol man is facing charges for trafficking in methamphetamine after he was found with the drug and paraphernalia during an August 11 traffic stop.

When a deputy began to do a pat-down search of Chet Geiger, Geiger removed a pill bottle from the crotch of his pants and said, “I guess you want this, too.”

Eighteen grams of a substance found inside the bottle tested positive for methamphetamine, according to the arrest report.

During a search of the vehicle, the deputy found a Sprite bottle in the center console which held 152 grams of methamphetamine oil, along with a piece of tin foil that had methamphetamine residue.

In addition to trafficking in methamphetamine (over 14 grams), Geiger was also charged with possession of methamphetamine, possession of listed chemicals and possession of drug paraphernalia.

by Teresa Eubanks,

Journal Editor

The Liberty County Drug Task Force discovered a thriving marijuana growing operation Friday afternoon in the Rock Bluff Community after following up on a tip that they would find a plentiful amount of the illegal plant there.

Deputies arrived to find a total of 49 plants, ranging from just a few inches tall to at least eight feet.

Many were at or near the mobile home at NW CR 270, where Joe Lee Cox, 36 lives. Other plants were recovered from an adjacent property.

Cox was taken into custody that evening and charged with cultivation of marijuana.

“Some of the marijuana was being processed for consumption,” according to a news release from The Liberty County Sheriff’s Office. “Items on the property, along with the quantity of the plants and method of production, are clear indications that the marijuana was destined for the illegal drug trade.”

Along with the plants, a firearm was seized during the investigation.

The sheriff’s office set the street value of the plants at over $150,000.

When deputies arrived at the residence, they were met at the door by Cox. He acknowledged that he had been cultivating a number of marijuana plants, including some growing in plain sight next to the back wall of his trailer, and mentioned that he had just finished trimming them.

Members of the Liberty County Drug Task Force arrested one man and collected 49 marijuana plants, some as tall as eight feet, Friday night.

A Liberty County man who allegedly broke into his ex-girlfriend’s home, attacked her current boyfriend, stole her phone and ran from deputies was arrested Aug. 25.

Taji Kelly, 30, is charged with home invasion robbery, battery, grand theft and resisting arrest without violence.

According to the event report from the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office, Kelly’s ex-girlfriend was home with her current boyfriend when Kelly entered the residence by breaking in the front door. The entire door jam was forced open and ripped from the walls of the home, the report stated.

Kelly’s ex and her boyfriend were in the bedroom when they heard the noise coming from the front of the house.

The couple told deputies that Kelly then came in the bedroom, said something to his ex and then jumped on her boyfriend.

The woman called 911 and said Kelly had her boyfriend in a headlock. When she tried to separate them, the men fell to the floor.

She said Kelly then grabbed her cell phone and ran out of the house.

The woman told deputies that was not his first intrusion at the home. She said that while she and Kelly once dated and had two children together, they have been separated for some time and he will not leave her alone.She accused him of coming to the house and knocking on the doors and windows. She added that he had kicked the door in during a previous visit.

The man Kelly fought with was left with red marks on his forehead, right arm and chest, according to a deputy’s report.

A key chain that held a single key that was believed to have been left behind by Kelly was collected as evidence.

No one answered the door when deputies went to Kelly’s home in Gertrude’s Trailer Park to serve him with an injunction and take him into custody. While at the site, deputies realized Kelly was inside and heard him running to the back.

Once outside, Kelly tried to crawl under the house while ignoring orders to stop. Deputies caught up Kelly, put him on the ground and handcuffed him.

The stolen phone was found in his back pocket.

A Hosford man has been charged with three counts of petty theft and five counts of forgery after his grandmother discovered several of her checks had been stolen and used at local stores.

Donny Bolding Jr., 22, was arrested Aug. 28 after copies of the forged checks were presented to the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office.

According to the arrest report, three checks were written to Telogia Grocery, one for $30 and the other two for $25 each. A check for $25 and another for $20 was used at T&P Grocery. A $15 check was written to Blackburn’s Grocery.

Bolding’s grandmother said he lives with her and had open access to her home but never gave him permission to take checks or sign her name on a check.

In addition to the amount of the checks, the grandmother incurred additional charges with a stop check fee of $30 and fees for overdrawing her account.

The brother of a man who was arrested after 49 marijuana plants were seized from an area around three homes in the Rock Bluff Community is now facing charges.

Terry Cox, 53, was charged with cultivating marijuana on Aug. 25. His brother, Joe Lee Cox, 36, was arrested Aug. 22.

The elder brother turned himself in, according to Liberty County Sgt. Lee Keith. When Cox arrived at the sheriff’s office, he stated, “I’m Terry Cox and I’m here because I know you guys are going to be coming for me,” according to Keith.

Keith said Cox then gave a recorded statement about his activities with the marijuana-growing operation.

Deputies found a number of large plants growing in the area where the two brothers and their father live. Keith described the plants as being “as big as a Christmas tree” with some ranging seven to eight feet in height.

Two men are charged with burglary of an unoccupied dwelling after someone reported seeing them load up a metal chair frame and a stove at a vacant residence Friday morning in Calhoun County.

The chair had been left outside but the two men went inside the building to remove the stove, according to the arrest report.

The witness contacted the sheriff’s office around 6:40 a.m. and stated that the pair, described as two white males, were traveling in a red Dodge Dakota that was last seen traveling west on Oak Street.

Calhoun County Sheriff Glenn Kimbrel found the truck, which still had the stove in the back, near the intersection at Sutton Creek Apartments, not far from the scene of the theft.

The sheriff spoke with the two occupants of the truck – Eric Tracy Mayo, 26, of Blountstown and James B. McCardle, 27, of Clarksville.

The men admitted that had not gotten permission to take the property and stated they thought it was junk. The said the stove was under a carport by a refrigerator.

The sheriff told them to return the property while he determined who it belonged to. The pair took the stove back to the house but instead of putting it back in the garage, they left it by the road in front of the residence.

When the sheriff checked later, he found that the stove was missing.

After getting in touch with the woman who owned the home, the sheriff learned that it was a working electric stove which she had planned to install in the house. She said she had not given any permission to take it and wished to press charges.

Deputies later made contact with the two men at a residence and they were taken into custody.

When asked about the whereabouts of the stove, both said it had been returned.