WALTON COUNTY, Fla. – A sheriff’s office in Florida is searching for the young adults who broke into an $8 million Seaside home, threw a party — vandalizing the property in the process — and posted video evidence on social media.
The Walton County Sheriff’s Office posted videos from the open house party to its Facebook page on Monday in hopes the people involved, around 200 young adults, would “come clean” and turn themselves in.
“An open house party is against the law,” the sheriff’s office wrote. “An open house party in a home you break into is a burglary.”
The post said they discovered the illegal party after the sheriff’s office received a noise complaint from security in the area of South Walton, which is about 30 miles from Panama City Beach. They were called to Blackwater Street in Watercolor, a beachside community that features “luxurious resorts,” according to its website.
The owners of the home didn’t know anything was happening because they were out of town, WJHG reports.
When law enforcement arrived, partygoers left the scene, deputies said. They said evidence from the party was easy to find — since those that broke in posted their own evidence on social media.
“...Videos are circulating on Snapchat, Instagram, and other social media platforms with some of the highlights. Including where some of the people attending turn the foyer of the $8 million home into a boxing ring.”
Videos and photos showed young adults smoking in what appeared to be a theatre room, drinking, boxing and play fighting. One photo showed a male wearing a handful of gold rings he found in the home.
The sheriff’s office is now asking those who ransacked the home to come forward themselves before the evidence does it for them.
“Here’s another sliver of information; Snapchat isn’t private,” the post said. “You may think it is if you are a teenager or someone in their early 20s and you are not yet worldly. Your friends will snitch. Word gets out. You’ll be tagged in pics on the Gram. Also, we can subpoena Snapchat.”
The owners of the house told WJHG that the home is currently up for sale — and that they plan on “pressing every civil and criminal charge possible against everyone involved in the burglary of their home.”
Walton County Sheriff’s Office PIO Corey Dobridnia told WJHG that apart from the damage caused and the items stolen, it’s a complete violation of someone’s home that you can’t put a price on.
“It’s not even so much about the items at this point, about what was stolen, or what was destroyed, it’s about people going into your closet and trying on your clothes, and people being in your bathroom, in your bed, all of that,” Dobridnia told the Florida station.
The sheriff’s office said they know someone made a flyer for the party and passed it around. Now they want to find the person who made that flyer.
If you have information regarding this incident, please contact the Walton County Sheriff’s Office at (850) 892-8111 or you can remain anonymous by calling Emerald Coast Crime Stoppers at (850) 863-TIPS.