From Tribune staff reports
PANAMA CITY, FLA. — Two men from Birmingham and a man from Fultondale have been charged with armed robbery in a drug deal that took a violent turn, according to the Bay County Sheriff’s Office.
According to jail records, Patrick Underwood, 21, of Birmingham and Kendrique Wesley, 19, of Birmingham were arrested on Thursday and Friday respectively in Panama City.
Underwood is charged with robbery, residential home invasion with a firearm and is being held on a $1.5 million bond. Wesley was charged with robbery with a firearm and is being held on a $250,000 bond.
A warrant for armed robbery was also issued for the arrest of Christopher Hardeyn Baitey, 19, of Fultondale, Alabama, according to BCSO. Baitey turned himself in to authorities just before 9 p.m. on Saturday.
According to authorities, the Sheriff’s office received a call at about 3 a.m. on Thursday regarding a shooting in the 8400 block of Thomas Drive at Panama City Beach.
The resident told deputies that he had been contacted earlier in the day to sell marijuana to several visitors from the Birmingham area.
He met them at his home and conducted the sale with two men, one wearing a ski mask and the second not wearing a mask. The men purchased the marijuana and left only to return a short time later, authorities said.
According to a statement from BCSO, the two were agitated and accused the resident of the home of giving them not enough marijuana in exchange for the money they paid. One of the two men went out to their vehicle and brought a third man into the home who also wore a ski mask.
The victim, concerned about the anger of the three men, agreed to return the money for the marijuana.
One of the men wearing a mask had a handgun and other carried a rifle, according to the statement.
As the men wearing ski masks left, they grabbed the marijuana on their way out the door. The victim shut and locked the door, with the third man still inside the residence.
The victim ran upstairs to get his own firearm and warn the other individuals that lived in the home, according to BCSO.
Once he got his gun, he came and stopped at the top of the stairs, realizing the two armed men in masks had been allowed back into the home by the third one.
It is unclear at the time who began shooting first, authorities said, but the resident of the home stated that the two men wearing masks began shooting at him and he returned fire. The resident shot one of the men wearing masks in the abdomen.
Deputies said he was the only person injured in the shooting. The three men fled the scene and the resident called 911.
Using the county’s real-time crime center, investigators were able to identify and locate the vehicle used by the three men the vehicle with the assistance of the Panama City Beach Police Department.
Authorities said they were located in a condo on Front Beach Road. A tactical entry by the BCSO and the PCBPD was made into the condo.
Once inside, deputies said they found two of men involved in the armed robbery, and several others staying with them in the condo.
One of the men, Wesley, involved had a gunshot wound and he was taken to a local hospital and charged the following day.
Law enforcement believes this was a shooting related only to the drug deal, and not random.