April 25, 2009
By Mike Simmons
Kinda like brothers. Both Burt Lopez and Skip York joined the U.S. Air Force, both were assigned to Eglin Air Force Base, Florida for their final duty stations, both retired at Eglin, stayed in Okaloosa County, and joined the Okaloosa Sheriff’s Office.
Two guys with similar backgrounds, training, and careers, were now working together. Did they hit it off? You bet they did! Both had been used to dealing with people from all walks of life when they were in the Air Force. And, because of their age, they had that fatherly type of approach to dealing with people.
Michelle, Burt’s widow, said “Burt had a presence about him. People thought he was tall, but he was a bit shy of 5’ 9“, 208 pounds, very muscular. His approach towards people was never aggressive. He was able to communicate calmly & he was able to give a very intimidating look when he had to. One of the cases he responded to was to help the SRT with some Samoans who were not interested in listening to them when they were told to leave after a fight. Burt came & went & talked to them, and they left calmly. The SRT guys said that they were very happy when Burt pulled up to help.”
Joshua Cartwright was born on January 31, 1981. He grew up in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, and graduated from Fort Walton Beach High School. From a nice, middle-class family, Josh lived in a beautiful home at 2015 Bob White Court in nearby Mary Esther, about a block north of US Hwy. 98[1].
As an adult, Cartwright seemed always to be interested in the militia, and he often spent time in militia training. He was familiar with firearms and firearm tactics. He spent many hours at the Shoal River Gun Club, located about 6 ½ miles east of downtown Crestview on US Hwy. 90.
An article in the October 9, 2009[2], edition of the Pensacola News Journal said that, after high school, Joshua joined the Army National Guard shortly after the September 11, 2001, attacks on America. He wanted to be a model soldier and began Counterintelligence training in Arizona, but failed, so he trained as a light mechanic in South Carolina.
Cartwright joined the National Guard unit in Crestview, Florida, 30 minutes north of where he grew up. In 2008, he would have been deployed but was instead arrested for Domestic Violence against his wife. The case was resolved, but he was declared ineligible for deployment.
Gun control is one thing, but controlling your temper is more important. Cartwright had a problem with that. On the morning of April 25, 2009, unable to control his emotions, he struck his wife several times, sending her to the hospital. As she was being treated, Deputies York and Lopez arrived and spoke with her. They explained that Florida law required his arrest. She said that he would be at the Shoal River Gun Club.
They quickly found him and walked up to speak to him, but Cartwright was in no mood to talk or to be arrested. He felt the deputies should mind their own business, even though he had just beaten his wife. Of course, Burt and Skip knew something had to be done and it looked like it would have to include more than just talk. As Cartwright’s temper escalated, Burt used his taser to subdue him. Cartwright fell but came back up at once and, producing a gun he had on him, began firing. He then grabbed Skip’s gun and shot Burt in the head and followed with a shot to Skip’s head. As Cartwright fled, multiple 911 calls were made to the Okaloosa Sheriff’s Office. Police top bars lit up and sirens came to life from across Okaloosa and neighboring Walton Counties. It was only a few minutes before Cartwright was spotted and the chase began.
Cartwright sped east on US Highway 90 into Walton County, topping 80 mph. On several occasions, officers deployed spike strips across the road trying to pierce his tires. After crossing into Walton County, Cartwright flipped his truck. Cartwright began firing on the officers.
Officers fired sixteen bullets into the suspect, but none were the cause of death. The coward took his own life with his pistol.
Meanwhile, Skip and Burt were tended to by arriving paramedics. Within a few minutes, they were being LifeFlighted to Pensacola’s Sacred Heart Hospital, about 50 miles away, where they were met by an expert trauma team. They went to work at once but stopped when they realized that both men were dead.
It was over. The adrenaline, the emotion, the adventure…was all over. The bad guy was dead. The deputies had done their job. But…they didn’t win. They lost two of their own. Two men that their Captain Greg Gaddis, described like this, “They were both always cheerful, the kind of men who could make a bad morning into a good morning.” Tragic.
The families decided on separate funerals. However, one viewing would take place on Wednesday, April 29, for both men. The feeling that the Crestview Community Center would suffice was a good move. Fire trucks suspended a giant American flag in memory. Law officers from miles around came, and one even gave Skip’s son a ride on the back of his police motorcycle as it followed his father’s hearse to the center. But hundreds of mourners came by all afternoon.
On Thursday, Burt Lopez was eulogized at Central Baptist Church in Crestview. He was laid to rest at Heritage Gardens in Niceville. Skip’s service took place on Friday at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Fort Walton Beach. Graveside services were then held at Barrancas National Cemetery in Pensacola.
Burt Lopez is survived by his wife, Michelle and children Madilyn, Erik and Jesse.
Skip York is survived by his wife, Janel and son Michael.
They were born 500 miles apart and laid to rest 50 miles apart. But in life they were much closer.
Rest in peace, heroes.
[1] Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/263106819:62209?tid=&pid=&queryId=92e6364ba92ac3278182cb314950e046&_phsrc=zYw174&_phstart=successSource
[2] Pensacola News Journal, https://www.newspapers.com/image/271607755/?terms=%22Joshua%20Cartwright%22&match=1