The chief of a volunteer fire department in the Florida Panhandle has been arrested for allegedly gunning down a business owner because the victim owed him money, authorities said.
Brian Keith Easterling, 52, was apprehended and booked into jail earlier Monday at his home in Okaloosa County, from where he was awaiting extradition, the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office said. He is facing a premeditated murder charge, the sheriff’s office said in a news release.
Easterling is chief of the Baker Fire District, a volunteer fire department in the Florida Panhandle. The Baker Fire District said it would release a statement later.
The 63-year-old shop owner, who has not yet been identified by authorities, was found shot to death inside his business in Pensacola, Fox13 reported.
Surveillance video from the shop captured the killing, the sheriff’s office said.
