Crime Archive

Crestview Police found a bloody scene when they responded to a call on Aug. 16 involving two men, a woman, and a mechanic’s tool.

According to the arrest report, Jonathan Wayne Brown, 36, of Crestview, went to the home of one of the victims looking for a tool. When Brown arrived at the residence, he was reportedly belligerent with the victim’s fiancée and demanded to speak with the victim.

Two teens and a 20 year old are behind bars following a burglary in the Auburn community near Crestview.

Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a call of shots fired in the Auburn community and made contact with three teens in the area, leading to burglary and grand theft charges against the trio.

An Okaloosa County Grand Jury has indicted three Crestview Police officers in the Oct. 14, 2021, death of Calvin Wilks, Jr. after law enforcement interaction. Brandon Hardaway, William Johns and Evan Reynolds have been indicted for manslaughter.

A statement issued by the Crestview Police Department says they are aware of the results of the Grand Jury review. “As a law enforcement agency, we must trust the justice system we are charged to enforce,” Police Chief McCosker said. “We will continue to cooperate with all parties involved as we await the outcome of the upcoming trial.”

Sunday night, June 5, Okaloosa Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested Baker fire chief Brian Keith Easterling at his home in Holt. Easterling is charged with premeditated homicide for the murder of Mike Evers, a 63-year-old Pensacola businessman, at Evers’s shop on Creighton Road on June 2.

Easterling’s arrest report sheds light on the details of the crime. The Pensacola Police Department was called for a welfare check on Evers who hadn’t been seen or heard from since Thursday, June 2. Police went to his La Jolla Drive property but didn’t find him there. One of the police officers, who is a friend of Evers, went to check the Creighton Road business with a family member of Evers.

The body of a man found tangled in trees along the Shoal River off Highway 393 near Dorcas has been identified as 27-year-old Colby Wilcher.

Wilcher was reported missing out of Holt by a family member in January. According to the Okaloosa Sheriff’s Office, the last known social media post on Wilcher’s Facebook page was Feb. 9.