Arrest Made at Merritt Brown Middle School

PANAMA CITY, FL - Bay County Sheriff Tommy Ford announced today an arrest in the burglary at Merritt Brown Middle School on May 4, 2024.

During a review of school surveillance video on May 10, 2024, images were seen of an unidentified young man on campus of Merritt Brown Middle School. The video was taken on May 4, 2024, at about 11:00PM.

The school resource deputy reviewed additional video and observed the unknown man walking around the property of Merritt Brown Middle School then entering the library on May 4, 2024, at 11:20 PM. At the time, the school was closed and locked. It is believed the man jumped a fence to enter the campus. The individual was also captured on surveillance video walking away from the school carrying a black bag just before 1AM on May 5, 2024.

A photo of the individual was distributed on May 14, 2024, on the Facebook page of the neighborhood around the school. The BCSO was contacted the same day by the parents of Carl Turpin, age 17, stating they believed it was their son in the photo.

Investigators met with Turpin and his parents on May 14, 2024. Turpin admitted that he had entered Merritt Brown Middle School through an unlocked door at the back of the library on May 4, 2024, at around 11:20 PM. Turpin stated he initially took an HP desktop computer from the library and walked home with it. Turpin also stated after walking home and placing the computer in his room he returned to the school and stole a Dell desktop monitor from the library. The computer and the desktop monitor were recovered in Turpin’s room.

Turpin was transported to the Juvenile Assessment Center and charged with Burglary of an Unoccupied Structure and Petit Theft.