Crime Archive

A Milton man will spend the next 15 years of his life behind bars.

Aaron Eichman was sentenced by Circuit Judge Edward Nickinson III, to 15 years in state prison for Aggravated Battery. The news was announced May 21 by Ginger Madden, State Attorney for the First Judicial Circuit of Florida.

Martin Luther King Middle School teacher Johnathan Burchett was arrested May 15 and charged with 24 counts of possession of child sexual abuse material. A press conference was held the following day at Milton City Hall.

Six years after being sentenced to life for second-degree murder, a Milton woman is now seeking to overturn the life sentence.

Melissa Blair Pocopanni was convicted of second-degree murder, two counts of attempted second-degree murder, and principal armed robbery in November 2018 and sentenced in January 2019.

Pace Pharmacy pharmacists Stephen Allen Burklow and David Barron Winkles, and the pharmacy office manager Monique Burklow, were arrested on May 14. The three were charged with conspiring to traffic prescription drugs.

PENSACOLA, Fla. – The Florida Department of Law Enforcement announces the arrest of Christopher Alonse Cobb, Jr., 20, of Pensacola, on five counts of trafficking fentanyl.

On Thursday, March 13, Toby James White, who was apprehended by law enforcement Jan. 25 for second degree murder, was found dead in his cell at Santa Rosa County Jail.

After a two monthlong investigation, Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office has arrested two county residents for child abuse and neglect. Jesse Allen Smith, 29, of Jay, is charged with cruelty toward a child, which is described as aggravated child abuse. Jordan Chase Moore, 28, of Pace, is charged with child neglect with great bodily harm. At the time of the arrests, the two were involved in a relationship.

After resigning from Santa Rosa District Schools last October, Kelly Short, 57, has been arrested on larceny charges related to her time as director of the district’s Office of Professional Learning. Short is accused of engaging in financial improprieties, which amounted to her allegedly stealing from the district over a two-year period. The arrest comes after a monthslong investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE).

A Navarre woman’s 2022 death has reentered the spotlight as her ex-boyfriend and the father of her child was set to go on trial April 28 for allegedly kidnapping her, which resulted in her death. The federal trial of Marcus Spanevelo, who is alleged to have transported Navarre resident Cassie Carli’s body to Alabama and buried it in a shallow grave in Springville, a 40-minute drive from Birmingham, is being examined by a capital review committee to see if he could possibly face the death penalty.

Toby James White, 31, was apprehended Saturday, Jan. 25. White was wanted for second-degree murder. The murder took place on Jan. 20 on Old Oak Road in Milton.

The Santa Rosa Sheriff’s Office on Jan. 22 issued a plea asking for the public’s help in locating White.