Sheriff Says ‘Crazy And Deadly” Events Led Up To Monday Murder, Four Arrests

February 3, 2021

“We had a crazy and deadly series of events that unfolded in North Escambia.”

That is how Escambia County Sheriff Chip Simmons describes incidents over several days that ended with the shooting death of a Cantonment man on Monday.

Danny Blackmon, Jr., 35, was shot and killed on Lawson Lane Monday afternoon as his 19-year old girlfriend watched in horror.

The girlfriend’s mother is one of two people charged in his death, and her grandmother was also jailed. Dawn Sluder is charged with principal to first degree murder, and her boyfriend, Jonathon Taylor Hobbs of Cantonment, is charged with first degree premeditated murder.

On Saturday, Sluder reported her 19-year daughter as either a runaway or as being held against her will.

“We made contact with the daughter, and she told us, ‘I am happy where I am at and with my boyfriend’,” Simmons said.

The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office also responded to a call of an armed home invasion at Blackmon’s residence in the days before his death. The girlfriend’s grandmother, 57-year old Holly Marie Sluder, and the grandmother’s boyfriend, 63-year old Charles Burnell Parker, were both charged with first degree armed burglary (pictured left). Parker allegedly pointed a gun at Blackmon while Holly Marie Sluder kept her hand on a holstered weapon as they took two cellphones. Blackmon tracked the phones to an area near their residence, and he phones were located when a search warrant was executed Tuesday on Greymont Lane.

Hobbs allegedly shot Blackmon multiple times Monday afternoon. After Blackmon fell to the ground, Hobbs reportedly leaned over his body and fired at least two more rounds before running away. Blackmon’s girlfriend witnessed the entire incident and attempted to perform CPR until she beaten and pulled away by her hair by Dawn Sluder, an arrest report states.

Hobbs and Dawn Sluder remained are being held without bond. Holly Sluder and Parker were released from the Escambia County Jail Tuesday on $50,000 bond each.

“You read about this kind of craziness in other places or see it on television, but unfortunately this time it happened here,” Simmons said. “It’s just crazy. We have a lady whose boyfriend is dead, and her mother and grandmother are in jail. It was a wild weekend.”

RELATED STORY: Arrest Reports Detail Cantonment Shooting That Left One Dead, Two Jailed

Comments

23 Responses to “Sheriff Says ‘Crazy And Deadly” Events Led Up To Monday Murder, Four Arrests”

  1. Cyndi Schesny on September 28th, 2022 9:59 am

    My heart breaks I am jus learning Danny was killed… he was a great person no matter what his choice in life was… I jus can’t believe this…

  2. Maegan bates on February 12th, 2021 11:39 am

    This is just sick and heartbreaking! I grew up with the victim and he literally would have giving the shirt off his back to help someone that needed it. How someone could do this to him breaks my heart. I can only imagine the pain his family is feeling. He was definitely a family man and will be missed greatly! I pray that the judicial system work diligently to find every piece of evidence they can to prosicutrthese individuals to the fullest. FLY HIGH BUBBA with our parents!!

  3. Shirl on February 4th, 2021 12:07 pm

    What is happening n this crazy world! I was raised in Molino, and live in Cantonment now. Never did you hear of such happenings from years gone by. It isn’t the place I grew up in. Poor girl, apparently she had no one to look up to, and a man came along and took her out of the sinful crap. God Bless-her and hope she turns her life to Jesus.

  4. mnon on February 4th, 2021 8:46 am

    LOL “a young man lost his life” what! He’s middle aged dating a 19 year old!

    Regardless, this whole family appears to be a bunch of winners.

  5. AT on February 4th, 2021 6:29 am

    I hope people see how bad things can go when you try to tell a grown child what he or she can do when it comes to relationships they have to do these things on their own or this is what can happen so sad I pray for Chrystal and Danny’s family this was so unnecessary but like someone else said what was on those phones that the boyfriend of the grandmother and herself did an armed burglary must be something they didn’t want the law to get hold of looks several people may have played a part in this senseless loss of lif

  6. Js on February 3rd, 2021 11:55 pm

    The whole thing is just sad…no one has the right to take anothers life like these people did…and I feel so bad for Crystal the poor girl hasn’t been raised like she should have been thats a fact. Come on mom and grandma should of woke up long ago.crystal you are a beautiful girl and you were totally raised wrong as im sure u know but break that chain of mom and grandma and be the best woman u can be and show the world who u are.wish you were my daughter I would of truly showed u love like I have my own daughter who im very proud of. I will truly pray for you and try to go get yourself some counseling. In time it will get better.

  7. Christopher Osborne on February 3rd, 2021 11:54 pm

    CRAZY CAN HAPPEN ANYWHERE ANY TIME

  8. William Lingo on February 3rd, 2021 11:06 pm

    @Good Grief, Thank you for your words, that’s the best comment I have seen in a while. The world is so angry right now!!

  9. Good grief on February 3rd, 2021 5:42 pm

    God bless this young girl. Honey, please call on Jesus. I am so thankful I didn’t have a mother and grandmother like these two. I’m guessing this girl never had a positive role model growing up. Please add her to your prayer list if you have one.

  10. Just Me - Neighbor on February 3rd, 2021 4:02 pm

    FYI –
    Crystal bought those phones and was paying the monthly.

    If Dawn was so worried, why didn’t she get involved years ago – just saying… What the report states is exactly what happened – Jonathon was on a mission and Dawn was leading the way! Dawn could have stopped Jonathon from even bringing a gun in the first place…

  11. Don't be trashy on February 3rd, 2021 2:55 pm

    This is very irksome seeing this kinda thing happening in our hometown. And don’t give me the “he actually a good boy” sob story nonsense. “Good boys” don’t gun people down (unless they’re protecting their family from deadly force, which clearly wasn’t the case here). Yeah, there may be more to the story, but it looks more like a mother became unhinged that her adult daughter was with a guy the mother didn’t like.

  12. 429SCJ on February 3rd, 2021 1:21 pm

    I need a flow chart to figure this one out.

    A young man is dead and may justice be served.

  13. Duke of Wawbeek on February 3rd, 2021 1:19 pm

    Escambia County is coming unhinged, madness and murder everywhere.

    It’s the end of the world!

  14. I Care on February 3rd, 2021 12:55 pm

    My condolences to Danny’s family! It’s a tragedy that involved lives of many people. As a result of hatred and hasty decisions, life of a young man is lost and no one would be able to bring him back.
    He is gone!
    I might not know many things in life, but I do know a jealousy of a mother whose young daughter is dating a handsome man close to mother’s age. If it is not true, then why Dawn was pull her own daughter away from a dying man, and not let her perform a CPR.
    Instead of trying to save his life, she made sure this man doesn’t live to see another day.
    This is what we supposed to teach our kids? That it is okay to wish a death upon someone, and you can take their lives?

    She wasn’t trying to save her daughter!

    Her daughter expressed her wish to live with her boyfriend loud and clear to multiple people.
    Parents, don’t be jealous and act crazy toward your children!
    Your children do not belong to you! No matter how mad or sad it makes you feel, children have their own lives to live

  15. Fyi on February 3rd, 2021 11:41 am

    Grandma was probably paying for cell phones and wanted back and grand daughter said no and grandma was left paying for cell phones so she cowboy up and got them ! Crazy mixed up world we live in !

  16. WOW on February 3rd, 2021 11:38 am

    This is a terrible incident for all these people and their families. Just my thinking. I sure hope this mother and grandmother think what ever their intentions were or what they wanted is so much more important then a human loosing their life this way. They were not the judge or jury for this man. Neither was Hobbs or the grandmothers boyfriend. This daughter for what ever reason wanted to stay with this young man or she could have gotten away. With COPS around a few times. Now this young lady will not have her mother like young ladies need their mom’s. Hobbs for whatever his reason for doing this knows now his life is over. I don’t know any of these people but my thoughts and prayers are with each of them.

  17. Exactly on February 3rd, 2021 10:23 am

    @JnB My exact thoughts too when I read this. They definitely wanted the phones badly enough to break the law to get them. I’ve heard terrible things about this 19 year olds life, the way the mother has treated her for many years. I pray the things I’ve heard are not true but unfortunately comes from a pretty reliable source. Praying.

  18. Mike J. on February 3rd, 2021 10:07 am

    Every murderer should get the death penalty using a method equal to that which was used to kill their victims. They should get the same treatment involving the same pain that they caused their victims to suffer with. Make no difference between first degree or second degree murder, it’s still murder.

  19. David on February 3rd, 2021 9:43 am

    Need to charge Holly and Parker with aiding in this murder.
    They all knew what they wanted
    A concerted effort of all
    Pleading ignorant will not help when all 4 were involved in the end result

  20. Chrysti on February 3rd, 2021 9:35 am

    I love you Danny Ray Blackmon Jr

  21. chris on February 3rd, 2021 9:24 am

    It seems like Cantonment is just blowing up the news feed with criminal activity. But this one here, this is just pure evil. To fire two more rounds once the victim is down, that is hate right there.

  22. JnB on February 3rd, 2021 7:04 am

    My question is what was on the cellphones that they wanted so badly?

  23. Jason on February 3rd, 2021 4:16 am

    When I scrolled thru the online jail booking log and saw the arrest of Holly Sluder and the arrest of Charles Parker (both had the same address listed), and they had an higher than usual bond for “burglary”, I was wondering how they would be connected to this deadly incident.