08/19/2026
219 Scooter Dr. Panama City Beach Florida, 32408
SHOCKING: More than $38K in cash was found in the Parker Police Department, off the books.
Soon afterward, Police Chief Paul Baxley tendered his resignation. Evidently, over the past year, a handful of police officers have resigned or been terminated.
At last week's City Council meeting, Mayor Andrew Kelly jokingly announced that the money was discovered in a cigar box during a recent audit.
The loot was seized after people were arrested, and Parker Police have just been stuffing it in a box.
The Mayor said they have a place to keep the drugs but they don't have a place to keep the cash.
So Mayor Kelly got a 4-0 vote to open a bank account "to store the money that belongs to the police."
City Attorney Tim Sloan and City Councilwoman Katy Bodiford did not attend the meeting.
Mayor Kelly said he directed the City Attorney to go get a ruling from a judge about what to do with the $38K since they don't know who they took it from.
The City contracts Carr, Riggs & Ingram as its accounting and advisory firm. Several local governments hire them, and you can guess why.
This story raises dozens of serious questions. The first is how much of the money was seized as evidence and how much has been forfeited by defendants.
Once commingled from multiple arrests over "a long, long time," they can't forensically trace which dollars came from which arrest.
More to follow ...
