4 Alabama teens arrested in Panama City Beach spring break shootings: Rival Dothan gangs linked to 1

Four Alabama teens have been charged in separate spring break shootings in Panama City Beach.

Three of the teens are charged in last weekend’s shooting at Pier Park, and one is charged in an overnight shooting outside a popular restaurant in which no one was injured.

Panama City Beach Police Chief J.R. Talamantez said Friday the Pier Park shooting, which left three young victims from Alabama with non-life-threatening gunshot injuries, was a “cowardly event” and the result of rival gangs in south Alabama.

“The shooting resulted from rival gangs from the Dothan area coming here and having some type of words which resulted in the exchange of gunfire,” the chief said.

“I’m not going to mention the gangs’ names because they don’t even deserve to have their stupid names mentioned in this forum,” Talamantez said.

Those charged in the Pier Park shooting are Kevin Tyrone Moore, 18, Jamarion Lamont “Lil Poop” Baker, 15, and Avaughn Brown, 17.

Moore and Baker are charged with three counts of attempted homicide.

“We believe Mr. Moore fired an AR-15-style rifle in a crowd, almost killing the individuals we identified as victims,‘’ Talamantez said.

Baker “goes by the name Lil Poop,” the chief said. “He’s as dumb as his name, 120 pounds of nothing.”

Moore and Baker were taken into custody in the Dothan area by U.S. Marshals and Dothan police.

The two were captured in separate arrests and are awaiting extradition to Florida.

“These three will probably not be the only arrests,‘’ Talamantez said.

“All of their associates...we know who you are. Believe it or not, these teenagers are talking and telling us everything we need to know. If you think they’re your friends, they’re not.”

“So, if you’re in the Dothan area and thinking about coming back to Panama City Beach this week, you might be doing us a favor because we have arrest warrants for you” he said.

“But we’ll be more than happy to go up there and pick you up.”

“The behavior that you conduct yourself at home is not how we operate in our home,” the chief said. “We’re going to make sure you understand that.”

The shooting happened shortly before 9:30 p.m. Saturday, March 29, in the area of Dave and Busters at Pier Park.

The chief said the gunfire erupted between two groups of people and said police officers were just 50 feet away when the shots rang out.

All three victims have since been released from the hospital.

As a result, authorities have established a couple of “special event zones,” where tougher restrictions will be enforced in the coming weekends. Those restrictions, which include prohibition of masks and backpacks, went into effect Friday morning.

Thursday night’s gunfire happened outside Hammerhead Fred’s on Thomas Drive.

Talamantez said there was an event taking place there when a rumor surfaced that someone had a gun inside the business.

“This resulted in a bunch of scared children fleeing from the location,” the chief said.

“There is no evidence right now showing there was a gun inside the business, but it did result in a mass exodus.”

As everybody was fleeing, the chief said, 18-year-old Isaiah McKenzie “decided to add to the environment by taking his weapon, placing it outside the car, and firing four shots in the air.”

McKenzie, also of Dothan, was quickly taken into custody.

“He did this within feet of some police officers,” Talamantez said.

“The only explanation he provided was, ‘I don’t know why I did it. Maybe I wanted to scare the crowd.’ That’s the mentality we’ve been dealing with these past couple of weeks.”

McKenzie is charged with discharging a weapon from a vehicle, display of a firearm, carrying a concealed weapon, destroying evidence and a minor in possession of alcohol.

“There’s a lot of good people that live up there (in Dothan,” the chief said, “but this trash that keeps coming down from that area has a hard time learning that we’re not going to put up with it.”

Panama City Beach Mayor Stuart Tettemer delivered a warning to youth.

“This kind of violence doesn’t give you credibility. Everyone is going to forget you when you’re in jail,” Tettemer said.

“Your girlfriend is going to leave you, your kids if you have them won’t know you, your buddies aren’t going to come see you.”

“If you stay on this path, you’re going to end up on the side of the road bleeding out, crying, dead and forgotten,” he said. “People remember heroes. They don’t remember losers. You need to find God and repent.”