Walton Henry Butler was convicted in Port St. Joe

Nov. 21, 2013   According to the State Attorney’s Office:
Walton Henry Butler was convicted Thursday in Port St. Joe of second degree murder with a firearm and faces a life sentence for shooting to death Everett Andreas Gant.
Assistant State Attorney Bob Sombathy told jurors in his opening statement in the four day trial that Gant, 32, was alive and sitting in a chair outside Butler’s home when police
arrived. He was bleeding from a bullet wound to his head, but was able to walk with assistance to an ambulance. He died later, however, from brain swelling caused by the .22 caliber bullet fired by Butler.
While police and paramedics were assisting Gant, Butler, 61, was inside his house finishing his dinner. He claimed at trial that he shot Gant in selfdefense.
Sombathy, however, produced witnesses who said Butler shot Gant the moment the door was opened and no words, threats or warnings were exchanged between the two men.
Gant, who was black, had gone to Butler’s house to confront him about racial epithets he had used around a black child earlier in the day. Sombathy argued that Butler, who is white, had his gun ready when Gant arrived and shot him on the doorstep “like a dog. ”Sentencing was scheduled for Dec. 12.