NEWS
Former Walton planning chief Pat Blackshear arrested
By TOM McLAUGHLIN
315-4435 | @TomMnwfdn
tmclaughlin@nwfdailynews.com
Posted Sep 4, 2015 at 4:39 PM
Updated at 4:42 PM
Pat Blackshear, the former head of the Walton County Planning Department, has been indicted on two counts of perjury.
One of the perjury charges is a felony and the second a misdemeanor, said Greg Anchors, the chief assistant state attorney in the Walton County Office of the State Attorney.
State Attorney Bill Eddins said Blackshear is accused of lying to the State Attorney's Office during its probe of inconsistencies within the Planning Department and of lying to the grand jury to which the State Attorneys Office presented its findings.
“The charges stem from one time where she appeared before us and one time where she appeared before the grand jury,” Eddins said.
She has been arrested and was being processed at the Walton County Jail at 4 p.m. Friday afternoon. The grand jury returned a sealed presentment on Friday, which will remain sealed for 15 days.
Blackshear, who spent many years in the Okaloosa County Growth Management Department before moving to Walton County, was the head of the Walton Department when the department failed to collect $600,000 a developer owed the county.