WALTON COUNTY, Fla. (WKRG) — A man has been convicted of first-degree murder and armed robbery.

According to a release from the Office of the State Attorney, First Judicial Circuit of Florida, Shawn Richard Bennett was convicted of murder.

Court documents show the victim corresponded with another man, Thomas Pride, about buying pain pills on Aug. 11, 2021. Pride and Bennett planned to rob the victim during the exchange.

The victim drove from Fort Walton Beach to Mossy Head in order to buy the pills. Bennett met the victim outside a residence and told him he would get the pills and return. Instead, Bennett retrieved a gun and shot and killed the victim.

Bennett and Pride drove the victim's vehicle with his body in the backseat to Crestview to be buried in a shallow grave in a wooded lot

See Full Page