Mount Sterling man facing attempted murder charges in Florida after allegedly nearly drowning man in pool

FORT WALTON BEACH, Fla. — A Mount Sterling, Ill., man has been charged with attempted murder after authorities in Florida claim he almost drowned a security guard in a swimming pool at a condominium. 

Seth Beavers, 33, of Mount Sterling is charged with attempted murder. Deputies with the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Department in Crestview, Fla., reported the incident happened at 10:15 p.m. Friday at a condo property at 1110 Santa Rosa Boulevard on Okaloosa Island, between Fort Walton Beach and Destin in northern Florida.

He is being held on a $200,000 bond at the Okaloosa County Jail. The jail’s website does not indicate if Beavers has an attorney.

Investigators with the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Department said the security guard told Beavers, a former Naval rescue swimmer, that the pool at the Panhandle condo was closed and he would have to leave. 

“He asked Beavers to leave but says Beavers instead started a physical altercation, telling the security guard he would drown him,” deputies said in a press release given to WEAR-TV, an ABC affiliate in Pensacola, Fla. “The victim says Beavers rolled him into the pool while holding him against his will, hit him in the head, then pushed him under water, depriving him of oxygen.”

Deputies said the security guard, who can’t swim, got away briefly.

“He told OCSO deputies although he tried to get out of the pool, Beavers struck him again, wrapped his arm around his neck and pulled him back into the water again, fully submerging his head as if trying to purposefully drown him,” the release said. “The victim says he feared he was going to die during the encounter.”

The name of the security guard was not released. 

Investigators said that as a Navy swimmer, Beavers received extensive training in how to disable others in the water.

The Associated Press reported investigators said Beavers told them the security guard swung at him. He allegedly admitted he pulled the guard into the pool, held him underwater, struck him four times and told him he was going to drown him. Investigators said Beavers’ actions could have killed the guard, which is why he is charged with attempted murder. 

The AP reported Beavers’ LinkedIn page says he works as a salesman for a company that provides payroll and personnel services. 

Beavers has no criminal history in Brown County. Court records show he was found guilty of speeding in 2021. A charge of operating an uninsured motor vehicle in 2022 was dismissed.