Two Birmingham man were arrested, and third person sought, in a drug-fueled shooting at a Panama City Beach home.
Patrick Underwood, 21, and Kendrique Wesley, 19, are charged with armed robbery. One of them was shot during the holdup.
Authorities are still searching for 19-year-old Christopher Hardeyn Baitey of Fultondale.
Bay County Sheriff’s Office officials said more charges are pending.
Deputies were dispatched at 3 a.m. Thursday to a shooting at 8407 Thomas Drive.
The resident told deputies he had been contacted earlier in the day to sell marijuana to several visitors from the Birmingham area.
He met them at his home and conducted the sale with two men, one wearing a ski mask.
The men bought the marijuana and left, only to return a short time later.
The two were agitated and accused the resident of the home of not giving them enough marijuana in exchange for the money they paid, according to a news release.
One of the two men went out to their vehicle and brought a third man into the home who also wore a ski mask.
The victim, concerned about the anger of the three men, agreed to return the money for the marijuana.
One of the men wearing a mask had a handgun and another carried a rifle.
The three men got their money back. As the men wearing ski masks left, they grabbed the marijuana on their way out the door.
The victim shut and locked the door, with the third man still inside the residence.
The victim ran upstairs to get his own firearm and warn the others who lived in the home.
Once he got his gun, he stopped at the top of the stairs, realizing the two armed men in masks had been allowed back into the home by the third one.
It is unclear at the time who began shooting first, authorities said, but the resident of the home stated that the two men wearing masks began shooting at him and he returned fire.
The resident of the home shot one of the masked men in the abdomen. No one else was injured.
The three men fled the scene and the resident of the home called 911.
Using the technology of BayROC, the real-time crime center, investigators were able to identify and then locate the suspects’ vehicle.
The suspects were found at a condo on Front Beach Road.
Bay County deputies and Panama City Beach police made a tactical entry into the unit.
Both suspects – one of them with a gunshot wound – were found inside, as well as several other people staying there. Authorities did not say which suspect was shot but said he was taken to a hospital where he is in stable condition.
Bay County Jail records show Underwood as being an inmate at the jail.
Investigators detained five of the people inside the condo and got interviews and statements.
“Law enforcement believe this was a shooting related only to the drug deal,’’ according to the press release, “and not random.”
Anyone with information on Baitey’s whereabouts is asked to call the Bay County Sheriff’s Office at 850-747-4700 or Crime Stoppers at 850-785-TIPS.