Police use helicopter to find gun-wielding Navarre man
The Santa Rosa County Sheriff's Office employed a helicopter Sunday in a search for a man who'd pulled a gun on a convenience store clerk.
The 51-year-old suspect, Dennis Evans, was apprehended early Monday walking by the side of the road, after the helicopter unit "exhausted all efforts" to find him, a Sheriff's Office report said.
A search for Evans began just after 11 p.m. Sunday when a convenience store clerk approached a vehicle Evans and a female companion had parked at the store.
The couple were "engaged in a domestic confrontation outside in the parking lot" the report said, and the clerk stepped toward the vehicle to take a photo of the license plate.
A witness said Evans, of Navarre, warned the clerk not to take photos, then pulled a gun from an ankle holster and pointed it in the clerk's direction. He also pointed it at another person, the report said.
Evans, who was reported to have "taken numerous medications" before the convenience store confrontation, fled the scene after pulling the revolver.
The search to find him included numerous deputies, a canine unit and the Escambia County Sheriff's Office helicopter.
Evans was finally found about 2:30 a.m. Monday walk-ing along Navarre Parkway, near where the chase had begun. He denied having pointed his weapon at anyone, the Sheriff's Office report said.
Based on witness testimony, he was charged with aggravated assault and displaying a firearm during the commission of a felony.