TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - A tangled Florida Panhandle case involving a sheriff, accusations of misconduct and an argument over gun rights has taken a new twist that now involves homicide.
State authorities announced Monday that they had arrested Floyd Eugene Parrish of a second-degree murder charge. The Bristol resident is accused of shooting James Lester Nesmith just before midnight on Saturday. Parrish, 61, is in jail, and jail officials do not have any record of him having an attorney.
Three years ago, Parrish was arrested for carrying a concealed weapon. Liberty County Sheriff Nicholas Finch intervened in the case and released Parrish. That led, however, to prosecutors charging Finch with misconduct. Gov. Rick Scott suspended Finch but reinstated him after a jury acquitted him.
Finch at the time defended his actions by saying he did not believe state gun laws should trump the 2nd Amendment.
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