Arrests Made In Conjunction With Crestview School Bus Stop Shooting

November 3, 2017

by Brian Hughes

Crestview, FL — Investigators with the Crestview Police Department have made two arrests in conjunction with a shooting that occurred at a school bus stop at the intersection of Williams Avenue and Rayburn Street on Tuesday morning, October 31, 2017.

A 13-year-old boy remains hospitalized in stable condition with gunshot wounds following the incident.

Thursday night, November 2, 2017, police investigators arrested Jerome Scott Couch, Jr., 15, and charged him with felony aggravated battery with a firearm. Also arrested was Couch’s girlfriend, Velta MaeLynn Chesser, 13, who faces felony charges of aggravated battery with a firearm (principle in the first) and accessory after the fact.

Couch had previously been arrested Oct. 31 on related misdemeanor charges of violation of probation, unlawful possession of a firearm by a minor and unlicensed carrying of a concealed weapon.

According to Couch’s arrest report, a witness identified Couch as a possible suspect, stating that while the victim waited at the school bus stop, “a newer, white car had swerved at him, then turned around and began shooting.”

The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office was simultaneously investigating the theft of a white 2015 Chevrolet Impala sedan which had been reported stolen from Chesser’s grandmother the day before the shooting and was believed to be the vehicle Couch was in.

The suspect car was found at Allen Park on McClelland Street shortly after the shooting, where police detained Couch and Chesser. Couch was observed dropping a 9mm Springfield XD handgun that was identified as having been stolen from an unlocked Ford F-150 pick-up truck the previous night.

The Crestview Police Department continues to investigate the incident.