PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. (WMBB) — Panama City Beach Police are charging two Alabama men for inciting a riot on the beach a couple of weeks ago.
They said 20-year-old Demarion Cooper and 25-year-old Rashad Glasper were arrested in their hometown in Alabama on Thursday.
“These are not the type of people we want visiting Panama City Beach, PCBPD Police Chief J.R. Talamantez said. “I think everybody could agree. We want people to play with sandcastles and sand buckets, not semi-automatic weapons.”
Talamantez said the two posted videos, inciting a riot on social media.
“Their post on social media incited a lot of the activity that we saw during this weekend,” Talamantez said. “For instance Mr. Cooper, at the height of all the criminal activity, that we saw posted something to the effect of ‘mask up, glove up, and let’s burn this place down.'”
Talamantez said the two are in a gang in Alabama.
“These individuals came down for one purpose,” Talamantez said. “It wasn’t to have fun, it was to commit crimes. Period. They wanted to take over Panama City Beach.”
Glasper is in jail in Alabama, while Cooper was transported to the Bay County jail. The two are being charged with inciting or encouraging a riot.
