News & Updates

The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office is working to locate missing Destin teenager Sommer Spinello. Family members say they last had contact with the 15-year old by phone while the teen was at school on November 19th. A bus driver says Spinello got off a bus around...

A Destin man wasn’t going to just stand by and watch three people steal his neighbor’s $15,000 boat propeller. When he spotted the trio go onto property at 107 Durango Road Tuesday and load the prop into a car with an Oklahoma tag, he followed them while calling his...

A crash that broke a power pole and busted a water main along Highway 98 in Destin early Saturday morning landed two people in jail on charges of DUI. Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to the wreck in front of Boshamps Restaurant at 414 Harbor...

An effort to shoplift items ranging from cupcakes and a comforter to a Hello Kitty scooter and a security safe failed when the driver of the get-away car crashed at the WalMart entrance last night in Fort Walton Beach. The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office says Freddie...

The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office has recently received information on a number of scams. With the Holidays fast approaching scammers will be working hard to take your money and identity. There are a number of things you can do to protect yourself. The Okaloosa...

The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a report of an armed home invasion at a house in Laurel Hill Wednesday morning. The homeowner fired his gun at the intruder but deputies say there is no indication inside or outside that anyone was struck. The...

If the following text looks familiar to you, someone is trying to scam you out of your cash. If it doesn’t look familiar but someone sends it your way – ignore it! This is the type of scam email that’s recirculating in Okaloosa County: “Hope you get this on time, We...

The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office today charged a Shalimar man with lewd or lascivious battery on a person 12 to 16 years of age. 53-year old Larry Michael Thorne, a Chaplain at Abundant Life Church, is accused of committing the sexual acts on numerous occasions...

OCSO Patrol Sergeant David Allen has been named to the five-member Board of Directors of the Florida SWAT Association, a non-profit organization that provides training opportunities and consultation to SWAT Team members across the state. Allen will be serving as the...

The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office has charged four juveniles ranging in age from thirteen to sixteen with a rash of car break-ins that took place Sunday in the Fort Walton Beach area. Deputies were called to 721 James Lee Road after a man said he had chased four...

Someone kicked in a preschool room door at a Destin church and ransacked the office but found no valuables to steal. Church members and their children had turned up at First Presbyterian Church, 154 Calhoun Avenue, on November 8th to help clean when they noticed the...

William Eddins, State Attorney for the First Judicial Circuit, announced today that Lee Monroe Tower has been sentenced to a minimum mandatory 15 years prison on the charge of Trafficking in Methamphetamine (200 grams or more). The charges arose from an incident which...

William Eddins, State Attorney for the First Judicial Circuit, announced today that Michael Anthony Chessher has been sentenced to 7 years prison on the charge of Trafficking in Methamphetamine over 28 grams but less than 200 grams and 5 years prison on Driving While...

William Eddins, State Attorney for the First Judicial Circuit, announced today that Vaughn Nicholas Pottle has been sentenced to 2 years prison followed by 3 years probation on the charges of Domestic Violence Battery by Strangulation and Battery. Pottle was convicted...

Make sure all bushes are cut back less than 3 feet & trees canopies are trimmed above 6 feet. Add motion lights to the outside your home. Good lighting is an inexpensive way to deter crime. If you have a home alarm system, turn it on every time you leave. If you plan...

Make sure all bushes are cut back less than 3 feet & trees canopies are trimmed above 6 feet. Make sure there is good lighting at night by outside doors, windows and parking lot. Good lighting is an inexpensive way to deter a crime. If you have an alarm system,...

The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office has charged two teens in connection with a string of crimes Saturday evening in Destin. The first call involved a report around 6:30 p.m. of two young white males entering the Liquored Up store at 4618 Opa Locka Lane and taking...

Two Shalimar teenagers were arrested by members of the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office Multi-Agency Drug Task Force October 17th, following the execution of a narcotics search warrant at 145 4th Avenue. The Task Force was assisted by members of OCSO Fugitive Warrants...

The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office today arrested two Walton County residents in connection with an investigation into the abuse and neglect of a three year old developmentally disabled child who is unable to walk or verbally communicate. 31-year old Andrew Dwyer of...

A Crestview man faces multiple charges after neighbors say he smashed a window, threatened to kill them, and tried to stab his way through a door. The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office has charged 38-year old Landon Lamar Blair of 3650 Grady Johnson Road with assault...