UPDATE (3:36 p.m.): The Baker Fire Department has suspended Brian Easterling or his duties as Chief of Department. The Assistant Chief, Mark McKenzie, has been appointed acting Fire Chief.
ESCAMBIA COUNTY, Fla. (WKRG) — A fire department chief from Okaloosa County was arrested and charged with the murder of a Pensacola business owner, according to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.
Brian Keith Easterling, chief at the Baker Fire District in Okaloosa County, is accused of killing 63-year-old business owner. ECSO deputies found the business owner shot to death in his Creighton Road shop on June 5.
Surveillance footage from the business shows the killing, according to the ECSO. ECSO said in a Facebook post that Easterling “entered the business and shot the business owner over a dispute about prior business dealings.” The ECSO said the victim might have owed Easterling money.
The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office helped ECSO find Easterling at his home in Holt, Fla. Easterling was arrested “without incident.” Easterling is charged with premeditated murder. He will be extradited to Escambia County.
