Freeport Man Sentenced To Prison For Murder

November 4, 2017

DeFuniak Springs, FL – A Walton County man has been sentenced to prison following his plea to second degree murder.

On Thursday, November 2, 2017, Judge Kelvin Wells sentenced Jefferson Charles Michael Helton, Jr. to 40 years in state prison following his plea of no contest to Second Degree Murder. Helton was also ordered to pay fines, court costs as well as restitution.

The charges arose from an incident that occurred on September 22, 2016 in the Freeport area of Walton County, Florida. The victim, Sandy Berlin and the defendant Jefferson Charles Helton, Jr., were part of a construction team.

While riding home together the defendant and the victim began to argue about comments the victim had made about the underage daughter of the defendant’s girlfriend. The victim stopped the vehicle and engaged in a fight with the defendant. The victim struck the defendant in the head with a glass bottle before leaving the defendant on the roadside.

Once the defendant returned to the house it appeared the victim and the defendant had resolved their differences. However sometime later the defendant attacked the victim while he was sleeping and stabbed him in the abdomen several times. The defendant fled the scene and hid from law enforcement for over 12 hours.  The victim was transported to a Bay County hospital where he ultimately succumbed to his injuries.

Victim of Early Morning Stabbing in Freeport has Died

Helton Charged with 2nd Degree Murder in Stabbing Death of Sandy James Berlin