Panama City road rage shooting update
BAY COUNTY, Fla. (WMBB) – 48-year-old Georgeann Garner and her 19-year-old daughter Marleigh Lewis were together with others Saturday, celebrating Georgeann's birthday.
Around 4:00 the group left the St. Andrews Mardi Gras parade, heading to a local restaurant for dinner. Somewhere along the way, they crossed paths with 23-year-old Jubal Simmons and 21-year-old Ivybella Encino in some type of traffic incident. It came to a head at the intersection of Harrison Avenue and Highway 231.
UPDATE: PCPD releases more information on deadly road-rage shooting
'An occupant from Miss Garner's vehicle went back to this Encino vehicle and struck Miss Encino and that was the conclusion of it. It wasn't a big drawn-out brawl or anything like that,' Captain Chris Nichol said.
Video shot by a witness shows what happened. Encino pulls the gray Dodge pick-up around Garner's burgundy S-U-V. You can hear as many as 11 gunshots as the pick-up sped away. Both Garner and Lewis were shot in the chest. Garner was pronounced dead at a local hospital. Lewis is still in critical condition. Two others in Garner's SUV were not injured, police were nearby and immediately responded.
'We also had an officer in a nearby parking lot that heard the shots and saw a vehicle fleeing from the scene. The officer got behind that gray Dodge Ram and attempted a traffic stop, which then turned into a fleeing event. The officer pursued that vehicle north on Highway 231, eventually landing in the parking lot of the Holiday Inn near the intersection of Highway two. 31 and Highway 77. The vehicle continued to attempt to flee, officers eventually ramming one of our units,' Nichol said.
Two arrested following deadly shooting in Panama City
Following the collision, officers say Simmons tried to run away but was quickly arrested.
He's facing 9 charges, including first-degree murder, shooting into a vehicle, and destroying physical evidence. Encino is facing 4 charges, including accessory to murder, fleeing and eluding police, and aggravated battery on a first responder. Her bond is $800,500. Simmons is being held without bond.
Garner's close friend has created a GoFundMe account to help Garner's son, Davin, pay for his mother's funeral and his sister Maileigh's medical bills. You can find that link here.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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