January 10, 2024
The Bay County Sheriff's Office received a call on January 3, 2024, from a motel on Panama City Beach regarding occupants of a room that had stayed past their check out time. Deputies responded and found a teenage juvenile and Lavar Demetris Randall, age 46, in the room together. Further investigation led to an interview with the juvenile, who told deputies that she and Randall had engaged in sexual acts that morning. Randall was questioned and then charged with Unlawful Sexual Activity with a Minor. He was booked that night into the Bay County Jail.
Further investigation into the incident revealed information indicating the juvenile was a victim of human trafficking by a man the victim met through social media. This man was identified as Terrance V. Lowder III, age 28. It was learned that Lowder had been communicating with the victim through multiple social media platforms and he convinced her to engage in commercial sexual activity for financial gain (prostitution). Lowder first contacted Jerry Thomas McCarigie, age 48, an associate of his, and discussed the idea with him. After talking about it, the two men agreed to put the plan in motion.
Lowder contacted the victim and arranged for McCarigie to pick her up from her residence in Springfield on the night of January 2, 2024. Cody Allen Taylor, age 28, is believed to be the person who drove the vehicle with McCarigie to pick up the victim in Springfield. They then went to the Panama City Beach motel and obtained a room for the night. Lowder met the group at the motel room shortly after they arrived. During the time in the room, McCarigie supplied an assortment of illegal drugs to be consumed by the group, including the juvenile victim.
While at the room throughout the night of January 2 into the morning of January 3, Lowder approached various individuals he knew near the area and offered the juvenile for sexual acts in exchange for payment. Investigators made contact with Taylor, the driver of the vehicle carrying McCarigie and the victim. After speaking with him, he was charged with Interference with Child Custody based on his involvement picking the victim up. McCarigie was charged with Trafficking in Methamphetamine, Principal to Human Trafficking, Delivering a Controlled Substance to a Minor, Possession of Controlled Substance, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, and Conditional Release Violation.
Lowder was located and admitted to coming up with the idea of using the juvenile victim for prostitution and to discussing the idea with McCarigie prior to doing so. He also admitted to engaging in sexual activity with the victim in the motel room and on one other prior occasion at another motel in Bay County one to two months before. Lowder was charged with Human Trafficking and two counts of Unlawful Sexual Activity with a Minor. A One Million dollar bond was placed on Lowder at his First Appearance.
