News & Updates
Niceville Man Arrested After Eight Hour Standoff
A Niceville man is in custody and facing multiple charges following a nine-hour standoff today with the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office. Deputies were called to a home on 23rd Street around 8:30 a.m. in reference to a domestic battery call. The suspect, Michael...
Niceville Man Charged with Sexual Battery
A Niceville man is charged with entering a truck where a woman was sleeping on Okaloosa Island and sexually assaulting her. The Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office has charged 23-year old Taylor Copeland of Farrah Avenue with sexual battery and burglary with battery. The...
Two Charged in Separate Child Porn Possession Cases
On May 11th, investigators with the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office Special Investigations Section executed simultaneous search warrants at 130 and 136 Noblat Drive in Mary Esther. The investigation began in 2022, after the OCSO Internet Crimes Against Children...
Crestview Man Charged with 30 Counts Possession of Child Porn & More
The Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office has arrested a Crestview man on thirty counts of possession of child pornography and other charges following a detailed investigation. In July 2021, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) received a cybertip...
Store Disruptions Leads to Discovery of Unattended Autistic Toddler
Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office deputies say a Fort Walton Beach man who hit a Beal Parkway store owner revealed after being taken into custody that he left a three year old autistic child at his home unattended. The store owner says 39 year old Ryan Williamson of...
Shalimar Man with Semi-Automatic Weapons Points Gun at Deputies
A Shalimar man wearing upper body armor while carrying a semi-automatic rifle and pistol early this morning in his neighborhood faces multiple felony charges including aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer and firing into a moving vehicle. Okaloosa County...
Texas Tourist Drowns in Gulf of Mexico
A Texas tourist who had just arrived in town drowned this afternoon after being caught in an apparent rip tide in the Gulf of Mexico. The tragic situation unfolded around 1:15 p.m. near the Shirah Beach Access in Destin. A lifeguard noticed the 39-year old in distress...
Niceville Teen Caught Burglarizing Beach Vendor Businesses on Destin Harbor
A Destin business owner who spotted someone breaking into her business on the Destin Harbor via her surveillance cameras Thursday night called the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office immediately, and deputies were on scene within seconds, detaining a 17-year old caught...
Seven Nabbed in Operation April Fools
During the month of April, members of the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office Special Investigations Section conducted an undercover operation targeting adults looking to meet minors online for sexual encounters. "Operation April's Fools" is part of an going OCSO effort...
South Carolina Man Charged with Human Trafficking
The Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office was conducting enforcement operations on Interstate 10 around 9 a.m. this morning when a stop was conducted for a traffic violation. The driver, 44-year old Jose Figueroa of Beaufort, South Carolina was transporting two illegal...
Thirteen Year Old Tourist Drowns in Gulf Waters
The Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office is investigating the tragic drowning of a 13-year old tourist from Kentucky in the Gulf of Mexico this morning. Deputies were called to 3690 Scenic Highway 98 around 11:30 for a distressed swimmer. Surfers had helped rescue several...
Spring Break Balcony Fall Fatality
The Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office is investigating a fatal balcony fall that took place at a Destin condominium early this morning. A person staying at a neighboring condo noticed a body on the ground near an entry way outside a building at 500 Gulf Shore Drive,...
Illinois Man Charged with Attempted Murder Following Okaloosa Island Swimming Pool Incident
An Illinois man is charged with attempted murder after an Okaloosa Island condominium security guard says the man tried to drown him in the property's swimming pool. 33-year old Seth Beavers of Sterling Illinois, a former Naval rescue swimmer, is currently being held...
OCSO Makes Arrest in 1999 Sexual Battery Case
24 years after a woman reported being sexually assaulted in the Poquito Bayou area near Shalimar, the suspect, now aged 60 and living under an alias, is behind bars in Okaloosa County. Charles Craig Senior was recently transferred to the Okaloosa County Jail from the...
Fugitive’s Getaway Attempt in Car & on Foot Fails
The Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office Street Crimes Unit (SCU) attempted to pull over a man with active felony warrants driving on State Road 85 last night, but the suspect decided to try to make a getaway instead. A traffic stop was attempted around 11:30 Tuesday...
K9 Team Tracks Holt Man with Felony Warrants
A Holt resident wanted on charges of aggravated assault, firing missiles into an occupied conveyance, and discharging a firearm in public tried to run from an attempted warrant service today but was ultimately captured. 21-year old Hunter Carmichael was taken into...
OCSO Charged Man with Sexual Assault of 12-Year-Old
The Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office has charged a Fort Walton Beach man with sexually assaulting a 12-year old girl in Destin. 58-year old Jack Colton of Beal Parkway is charged with sexual assault with a victim between the ages of twelve and eighteen. OCSO deputies...
Woman Charged with Deliberately Causing Near Head on Crash on Highway 98
A Baker woman who intentionally drove westbound in the eastbound lanes on Highway 98 near Hurlburt Field is charged with aggravated battery. Multiple witnesses told the Okaloosa County Sherifif's Office 20-year old Anessia Jines was traveling at a high rate of speed...
Destin Man Charged After Deputies Respond to Call of Armed Disturbance
Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office deputies responded to a call overnight of a man pointing a gun at another man's head at Brown's Grocery Store near Holt. Deputies say 39-year old David Rodriguez of Destin was standing next to a white car when they arrived and got into...
Four of Five Teen Suspects Captured After Fleeing
Four teens ranging in age from 13 to 16 were arrested by Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office deputies in Crestview this morning after deputies responded to reports of suspicious activity around 5 a.m. A homeowner on Richburg Lane says he noticed a flashlight outside his...