Calhoun man killed in double homicide
♦ Two teens have been arrested and charged in the Panama City case.
A Gordon County business owner has been identified as one of two men killed in a double homicide in Panama City Beach, Florida, according to police. A pair of suspects in the case have been arrested.
On Thursday afternoon, the Bay County Sheriff’s Office released the identities of two men who had been found shot to death at a residence on Delmar Drive in Panama City Beach. One was Robert Shawn Fowler, 48, of Calhoun. The other man was Robert Keith Gilmore, 51, also a Georgia resident.
According to his obituary, Fowler was one of the owners of Bargain Depot, 1201 Curtis Parkway in Calhoun.
According to Bay County Sheriff’s Office reports:
The BCSO responded to a medical emergency call at the home at approximately 11:06 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 26.
A couple passing by the residence during a walk called 911 when they noticed a man lying on the front porch of the home. They checked on him and he was unresponsive.
Deputies arrived to find a man dead on the front porch and another man also dead inside the home, both having been shot.
According to officers, Gilmore was found on the porch with a gunshot wound and the pocket on his pants ripped, while Fowler was located in a rear bedroom of the home, also with a gunshot wound.
The home was owned by Fowler, who rented it out. Gilmore was related to Fowler and was helping with a remodel.
Bay County deputies, criminal investigators and the BCSO Crime Scene Unit responded to the scene to begin the investigation.
Construction workers that had been working at the home on Delmar were located, but they had all left the property prior to the homicides.
Friday, the BCSO announced an arrest had been made in the case and Ruez P. Hicks, 19, of Albany, was captured at a residence on Verona Street in Panama City Beach Friday evening.
On the day of the homicide, it was determined that the ripped back pocket on Gilmore’s pants was also the pocket in which he was known to carry a wallet. Video obtained of the victims at a local discount store showed the pants pocket was intact just prior to the homicides. Gilmore’s wallet had not been found.
Information that a card of Gilmore’s had been used at a business on Panama City Beach was obtained and investigators were able to get the video of the person using the card. The man’s image was released to law enforcement, and a BCSO deputy recognized him as having been present at a call for service the deputy
responded to recently.
Investigators went to that location, found Hicks and identified him as the man on the video using the victim’s card. Hicks, a transient resident, was placed into custody and interviewed.
Hicks told investigators he had gone to the home at 19520 Delmar Drive to burglarize it and took a firearm with him. While at the home, the two victims returned and confronted him. Hicks told police he exited the home and turned and fired at both Gilmore and Fowler.
Evidence at the scene caused investigators to believe Fowler retreated to the back bedroom after being shot and succumbed to his injuries there. When Gilmore went down on the front porch, Hicks stated he rolled him over and ripped his back pocket while stealing Gilmore’s wallet.
The firearm was located, along with spent casings and the victim’s wallet was found in Hicks’ possession. At the location that Hicks was apprehended, a BCSO K9 did an article search and found the contents of Gilmore’s wallet nearby as well as evidence connecting Hicks to several other car burglaries.
Hicks is charged with two counts of premeditated murder, robbery with a firearm and armed burglary.
Monday, the BCSO announced the arrest of a second teen in the case. Quantavious Dion Burns, 18, of Verona St. in Panama City Beach was arrested on Jan. 29 and charged with accessory after the fact as well as premeditated murder.
Burns, a close associate of Hicks, is believed by police to have been told by Hicks that he had shot someone, and then was given the firearm used in the murders. According to police, Burns hid the firearm and lied to BCSO investigators during interviews.
Fowler’s funeral will be held in a private graveside service Wednesday at Fain Cemetery. Max Brannon & Sons Funeral Home has charge of arrangements.