Salt Life apparel co-founder arrested in Florida in connection to fatal shooting of woman
RIVIERA BEACH, Fla. – One of the co-founders of the Salt Life apparel brand was arrested Friday afternoon in Jacksonville in connection to the fatal shooting of an 18-year-old woman whose body was found at the Hilton Oceanfront resort on Singer Island in Florida.
Michael Troy Hutto, 54, is being held in the Duval County Jail on an out-of-county warrant for charges of manslaughter and possession of a firearm, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office website.
Hutto was arrested at Baptist Medical Center South in Jacksonville after he was treated for an unknown medical emergency, Riviera Beach police said.
Sgt. Dylan Bryan, of FHP's Jacksonville branch, said Saturday that his agency responded to the hospital after Riviera police tipped them off about Hutto's possible location.
"Once he was released (from the hospital), we put him into custody. ... He was not combative. No other issue there," Bryan said.
Hutto, along with several friends in the Jacksonville area, started the Salt Life clothing line, whose main consumers are out on boats fishing, surfing and doing other water-related activities.
The company published a statement Saturday morning on its Facebook page that Hutto had no affiliation with Salt Life since selling the business in 2013. The brand was founded in 2003.
"Salt Life sends their utmost sympathies to the family and friends of the deceased," the company wrote in its statement.
It was Hutto who coined "Salt Life," a phrase he had used for years, according to a 2008 Florida Times-Union story. He was also the company's president, the Times-Union reported. Hutto's family could not be reached Saturday for comment.
Riviera Beach police Maj. Joshua Lewis said police got a call Thursday morning, asking them to do a welfare check on 18-year-old Lora Grace Duncan at the hotel.
When they arrived at about 11:30 a.m. local time, the teen was found dead from what appeared to be a single gunshot wound.
Lewis did not say how police linked Hutto to the teen.
The Columbia County Sheriff’s Office said it was contacted Monday by the teen's parents to check on her well-being. The office said it learned she "voluntarily left the county with a known individual."
It's unclear how Hutto and Duncan knew each other.
Follow reporters Hannah Winston and Sam Howard on Twitter: @hannahwinston, @SamuelHHoward
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