TWO ARRESTED AFTER VIOLENT ATTACK OUTSIDE LOCAL CONVENIENT STORE
A routine shift turned violent for one store employee in Miramar Beach Wednesday night, ending with two suspects in custody.
Just after 10:00 p.m. on Wednesday, May 21, 2025, Walton County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to the Circle K on Scenic Gulf Drive after a caller reported her coworker had been attacked in the parking lot. Deputies arrived to find the victim, a store employee, with visible injuries, including a deep laceration above his eye and abrasions on his arms and hands.
The victim told deputies he was leaving work for the night when he noticed two young men standing near the back of his truck. As he approached, one of the suspects asked for a ride. When the clerk declined, the two men began to violently attack him. One suspect struck the clerk in the face with a crushed aluminum can while the second suspect attacked him from behind, hitting him in the head several times. As the victim attempted to escape, the suspects began throwing items from the bed of the victim’s truck, including a vehicle engine starter estimated to weigh over ten pounds.
Deputies quickly began canvassing the area, collecting witness statements and securing surveillance footage from nearby properties. They worked through the night and were later able to identify the suspects as Adrian Robert Gonzales, 20, of North Carolina and Daniel Guy Miller, 20 of North Carolina.
Shortly after 1:00 p.m. on May 22, 2025, Gonzales and Miller were located and taken into custody without incident.
Gonzales and Miller were charged with aggravated battery and were transported to the Walton County Jail.