Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office responded to an incident at the Holt post office July 25.

HOLT, Fla., July 27, 2017–The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office responded to an incident at the Holt post office midday Tuesday.

Holt resident Ronnie Hooper, who lives southwest across U.S. 90 from the post office called the OSCO after finding a man hiding on his front porch.

Hooper was alerted to a commotion outside his home when he heard his dog barking.

“The dog was making a ruckus,” he said. Upon opening his door, Hooper found the man hiding.

“He was literally scared,” Hooper said.

According to Hooper, the man identified himself and said there were guys in a car behind the diner north of the highway, adjacent to the post office building, planning to rob the post office.

After being close enough to hear one man tell another to “load his gun,” the man crossed the highway and hid, said Hooper.

Upon hearing the man’s story, Hooper called the sheriff’s office.

Stephen Lee Chambers

When the deputies arrived, they conducted an on-scene investigation of the surrounding area and detained Stephen Lee Chambers, 42, of Crestview, in handcuffs.

It’s unknown at this time how many other people were involved in the incident.

While Chambers was handcuffed and on the ground, a deputy saw him toss a pill bottle away. Field testing tested positive for methamphetamine, according to the arrest report.

At that point, Chambers was arrested for third-degree felony drug possession.

Chambers is a registered sex offender with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for offenses in 2001 and 2005. He has previous  OSCO arrests in 2001, 2002, 2005 and 2006 for lewd or lascivious behavior in addition to battery charges and violation of probation in 2006.

According to Hooper, the man he found hiding on his porch left voluntarily with the deputies. No other arrests were made at that time.

A canvass of the area did not turn up any weapons, said Michele Nicholson, OSCO public information officer.

The incident is under investigation because the deputies found a number of suspicious items possibly relating to an active fraud investigation, she said.

Stephanie Holcombe