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Police Briefs 6/15/23

Clay County Sheriff's Office
Posted 6/15/23

Man charged with murder after argument ends with shooting ORANGE PARK – An argument on June 10 between two men ended with one dead and the other in the Clay County Jail facing second-degree …

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Police Briefs 6/15/23


Posted

Man charged with murder after argument ends with shooting
ORANGE PARK – An argument on June 10 between two men ended with one dead and the other in the Clay County Jail facing second-degree murder charges.
John Robert Thigpen, 34, of Jacksonville, was arrested after the Clay County Sheriff’s Office was called to a home on Constitution Drive about a shooting. According to the arrest report, Thigpen told deputies he shot his friend, Napoleon Brown, during an “altercation.” Clay County Fire Rescue declared Brown dead at the scene after suffering multiple gunshot wounds to his head and body.
Investigators determined Thigpen shot Brown several hours before he called 911. He also said the two argued before the shooting.
Deputies found two spent round next to the body, suggesting at least two of the shot came after he was face down on the floor.
Through their investigation, detectives learned that Thigpen shot the victim hours before he reported the incident to authorities. Thigpen and the victim are known to each other, and there was a dispute between them prior to the shooting.
Thigpen will remain in the Clay County Jail without bond until his next court appearance on July 18.
Sheriff Michelle Cook expressed gratitude to the patrol officers for their prompt response and commended the detectives and CSTs for their dedicated work in thoroughly investigating the case. Cook also expressed her condolences.
“It’s unfortunate that an incident like this between two friends has cost a person their life,” she said.

CCSO: High-speed chase ends with traffic, drug charges
OAKLEAF – After leading the Clay County Sheriff’s Office on a high-speed chase on June 7, a Jacksonville man was caught and will face additional drug charges.
Clay Matthew Greer, 29, ran from the sheriff’s office on Blanding after they responded to a man they suspected violated his injunction for domestic violence.
Greer was charged with racing down Blanding Boulevard and onto the First Coast Expressway, Challenger Drive, Oakleaf Plantation Parkway and Orbit Court at speeds reaching 120 mph in a 45-mph zone. According to the arrest report, he eventually crashed into a ditch after striking another car, but he escaped into some nearby woods.
Deputies found methamphetamine and fentanyl in his abandoned truck.
Greer was discovered walking along Havenwood Road, where he was arrested.
When questioned, CCSO said he claimed he didn’t remember leading them on a high-speed chase.
Greer, who was charged with leaving the scene of an accident with property damage, failure to stop to render aid following an accident, resisting arrest, aggravated fleeing with property damage and possession of methamphetamine and fentanyl, is in the Clay County Jail with a $600,016 bond.

Man charged with taking rod, reel from Lake Asbury garage
LAKE ASBURY – A suspicious Clay County Sheriff’s Office deputy arrested a man for stealing a rod and reel after he was swerving lane-to-lane on a bicycle along Russell Road on June 7.
Michael Louis Norris, 53, of Jacksonville, was charged with burglary and grand theft after the deputy noticed the saltwater rod and reel strapped to his bicycle. Norris said he took it from a man who owed him money in the Rolling Hills neighborhood. The victim said the rod and reel, valued at $2,200, were leaning against a wall inside his garage.
Bond was set at $35,006. His next court appearance will be on July 11.

Couple busted for trafficking methamphetamine during
traffic stop
KEYSTONE HEIGHTS – A traffic stop for running a stop sign and a passenger not wearing a seatbelt resulted in a significant drug bust on June 8 for the Clay County Sheriff’s Office.
According to the arrest report, the car was stopped at the corner of Swarthmore Drive and Dennison Avenue after the deputy saw Danny Ray Boree, 37, of Keystone Heights, sitting in the passenger seat without a seatbelt.
During the stop, the deputy noticed a hatchet on the dashboard. According to the arrest report, when Boree was asked if there were any other weapons in the car, he said, “There might be.”
When Boree exited the car, the deputy said they saw him “manipulate and object in his waistband” that contained methamphetamine. CCSO also found three smaller baggies containing fentanyl and cocaine in his front pocket.
Boree was sitting on a bag when the car was stopped, and CCSO found a handgun inside it.
The driver, Angela Denee Lynch, 47, was charged with trafficking 28.4 grams of methamphetamine after deputies found methamphetamine stuffed in her bra. Her bond was set at $250,003.
Boree was charged with trafficking 26.3 grams of methamphetamine and one gram of cocaine, possession of a concealed weapon by a convicted felon, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of cocaine. His bond is $425,012.
According to Florida Statute, possession of 14 or more grams of methamphetamine constitutes trafficking.

Wrong way ticket turns into trafficking methamphetamine charge
ORANGE PARK – A Jacksonville man was arrested and charged with trafficking methamphetamine after he was stopped by a Clay County Sheriff’s Office deputy for driving the wrong way on June 10 at the Parkland Apartments.
Noah Isaiah Thompson, 20, was charged with committing a first-degree felony with a weapon, trafficking methamphetamine, possession of marijuana and a firearm and ammo by a convicted felon after the deputy became suspicious when he saw Thompson reach under the passenger seat.
According to the arrest report, the deputy stopped the car after it also ran a stop sign to pull onto Wells Road. When the deputy turned on his emergency lights, he saw Thompson throw a plastic bag out of the passenger window.
As he approached the car, he saw Thompson reach under the seat. After additional deputies arrived, Thompson was “messing with his pants” while he was being handcuffed.
The driver, Harry Richard Smith, had a black bag strapped to his chest. K-9 Odin then alerted deputies to the likely presence of illegal narcotics in the car.
Deputies found marijuana in the plastic bag thrown from the car. They also found a handgun under Thompson’s seat, methamphetamine and a scale. They also found methamphetamine inside the bag strapped to Smith’s chest.
Thompson’s bond was set at $103,511, while Smith was jailed with a $10,003 bond.

Enraged man charged with
hitting deputy with motorcycle

MIDDLEBURG – According to the arrest report, a Fleming Island man was arrested on June 8 after he ran his motorcycle into a Clay County Sheriff’s Office deputy while trying to flee.
Jared David Tyler, 29, was charged with resisting law enforcement with violence, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, two counts of driving with a suspended license and riding with an improperly displayed license tag after CCSO was called to issue a no trespassing order for a towing company on Joe Johns Road.
A deputy researched Tyler and learned he had two driving with a suspended license warrants. According to the arrest report, when he arrived, Tyler tried to escape on his motorcycle, including riding under a dump trailer. When the deputy tried to block his path with his weapon drawn, Tyler hit him with his motorcycle.
Tyler then fought with two CCSO deputies before he was finally restrained.
One of the deputy’s gun was destroyed after it was struck by the motorcycle.
The event caused Joe Johns Road to be shut down during the investigation.
Tyler’s bond was set at $329,010.

OPAA softball coach pleads guilty to child pornography
JACKSONVILLE – U.S. Attorney Roger B. Handberg announced Andrew Lynn Overheul, 43, Orange Park, pleaded guilty to two counts of production and attempted production of child sexual abuse material. Overheul faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years, up to 60 years, in federal prison. A sentencing date has not been scheduled.
According to the plea agreement, on Sept. 17, 2022, the parent of a 12-year-old child contacted the Clay County Sheriff’s Office to report finding a cellular phone recording her changing clothes and using the shower in the bathroom at her softball coach’s house. CCSO responded that same night and interviewed the parent and victim.
The parent and the girl said they were at Overheul’s home in Orange Park on Sept. 17 for a softball team family party. At the time, Overheul was the child’s softball coach at the Orange Park Athletic Association.
The children decided to have an impromptu group sleepover at Overheul’s home. Overheul told the girl she could take a shower in the master bathroom since another girl was showering in the other bathroom then. The victim spotted a phone on the bathroom countertop propped between two boxes, with the camera facing the shower. Upon closer inspection, the girl discovered the phone was actively recording and immediately grabbed the phone and stopped the recording. The girl reviewed the video and discovered that it depicted her, so she deleted the video, placed the phone back on the counter, and called her parents to pick her up from Overheul’s residence.
The victim’s parent sent a text message to Overheul at 8:17 p.m. indicating they were on their way to pick the girl up and would tell Overheul about it when they got there. At 8:44 p.m., Overheul responded by text message, “Hey we talked with the girls. No one is addmitting [sic] to playing a joke. The others that were in that bathroom said they saw my phone charging but no other phones.” 
After interviewing the parents and the girl, CCSO detectives responded to Overheul’s residence in the early morning hours of Sept. 18, 2022, and interviewed Overheul, during which he acknowledged he was the only person that used or had access and control of his cellphone. He further acknowledged his cellphone was in the bathroom and claimed he had placed it there to charge.
Agents obtained a federal search warrant for Overheul’s cellphone and a forensic review of the device found two photos of several minor females on the softball team wearing swimsuits and sitting on the floor in Overheul’s living room, dated Sept. 17, 2022, with a time stamp of 5:36 p.m. Forensics also showed that, at 7:38 p.m., a search for “canon remote app” was conducted on the cellphone, and then the Canon Camera Connect app was installed a few seconds later. This app allows a camera to record remotely with live view imaging of the camera from a smartphone. Forensics also revealed a search in the evening of Sept. 17, in the Google Play Store on Overheul’s cellphone for two applications, which were downloaded, and can be used to delete information from a person’s phone.
On Nov. 18, 2022, Homeland Security Investigations executed a federal search warrant at Overheul’s residence and seized numerous electronic devices. Agents discovered hundreds of photos and videos of minors that appeared to have been taken surreptitiously without their consent.
The Clay County Sheriff’s Office and Homeland Security Investigations investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ashley Washington is prosecuting it.
The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.