Commissioner facing additional felony charge in Walton County

Suspended Holmes County Commissioner Brandon Newsom is now facing an additional felony charge related to alleged violation of Florida Statutes regarding bail bond agents, this time in the First Judicial Circuit of Florida.

Newsom was booked into the Walton County Jail around 1:14 a.m. Thursday after turning himself in to law enforcement officials and was released at 9:34 a.m. after posting a $2,500 bond.

This is the latest action taken after an investigation by the Criminal Investigations Division of Florida Department of Financial Services (FDFS).

FDFS also suspended Newsom’s bail bond agent license within the last week, and Governor Ron DeSantis suspended his status as Holmes County Commissioner last month following similar felony charges being filed in Holmes County through the state’s Fourteenth Judicial Circuit in June.

According to the FDFS, Newsom simultaneously held credentials as a sworn law enforcement officer and a bail bond agent.

According to probable cause affidavits filed in the cases, investigators say Newsom executed 153 bail bonds in Walton County between November 3, 2019 and October 3, 2022 and collected approximately $58,550 in premiums. In Holmes County, investigators say Newsom executed 232 bail bonds between October 5, 2019, and January 2, 2023, collecting approximately $101,830 in premiums.

Newsom is currently only charged in Holmes and Walton counties; however, he could potentially face charges for other counties in which he carried out bail bond agent duties while also being a sworn law enforcement officer. 

Newsom, who has pled not guilty to the charges in Holmes County, is set to appear again in Walton County felony court on September 19 and in Holmes County Court on October 1.

He is charged in Walton County with one count of Unauthorized Person Act as Bail Bond Agent and in Holmes with one count of Unauthorized Person Act as Bail Bond Agent and one count of Aid/Abet Unlicensed Activity.