No Serious Injuries In Dump Truck, Multiple Vehicle Crash On Hwy 29
June 28, 2012
One person was transported to an area hospital following a multiple vehicle accident on Highway 29 near West Roberts Road this afternoon.
The accident happened about 2:40 p.m., according to the Florida Highway Patrol. A dump truck, a van and pickup were involved in crash, while a fourth vehicle was struck by debris from the crash.
The injury in the accident was not considered life threatening.
Further details have not been released by the FHP.
Picture above and below: A dump truck and two other vehicles were involved in this crash Thursday afternoon on Highway 29 near West Roberts Road. NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Smith, click to enlarge.
Two Arrested In Atmore Businessman Murder Case
June 28, 2012
Two Atmore residents have been arrested in connection with the murder of a local businessman Tuesday morning.
De’Anthony Dailey, 16, and Damien Jones, 21, were arrested by Atmore Police Department investigators without incident in connection with the murder of 38-year old Kendrick Lamon Dortch.
Daily was charged with capital murder, robbery first degree and two counts of burglary, and Jones was charged with robbery first degree. Both were also charged with two counts of burglary of a vehicle in cases that were unrelated to Dortch’s murder.
Investigators said Dortch was a victim of a random robbery and did not know his assailants.
Atmore Police said more arrests are possibly forthcoming in the case.
Dortch, 38, was discovered dead in the parking lot of his business, KLD Enterprises, at the intersection of Ridgeley Street and 2nd Avenue just before 5 a.m. Tuesday by a passerby. He had been shot once in the back and was pronounced dead on the scene.
The business, which is small auto detailing shop, was locked and secure, according to Atmore Public Safety Director Glenn Carlee. Carlee said it appeared that Kendrick had been living in the business or his car. Carlee said Dortch had hoped to open a game room in the building but had not yet acquired the license. He worked full time for Johnson Ford in Atmore.
Pictured: The scene were an Atmore businessman was found shot to death early Tuesday morning. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Supreme Court Upholds Federal Health Care Law (With Reaction)
June 28, 2012
Congress was within its power in passing Affordable Health Care Act, including the “individual mandate,” requiring nearly all Americans to purchase health insurance, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday.
The ruling is a rebuke to Florida, which had challenged the law beginning with a case in federal court in Pensacola.
The ruling coming on the final day of the court’s term, is a win for the Obama administration, with the law being its signature initiative, though many Republicans said it would motivate that party’s base in the November election.
To read the complete 193 page ruling, click here.
Reaction statements received by NorthEscambia.com today include:
President Barack Obama
“These provisions provide common sense protections for middle class families…Whatever the politics, today’s decision was a victory for people all over this country.”
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL)
“What’s important to remember is that what the Court rules on is whether something is constitutional or not, not whether it’s a good idea. And while the Court has said that the law is constitutional, it remains a bad idea for our economy, and I hope that in the fall we will have a majority here that will not just repeal this law, but replace it with real solutions that will insure more people and cost a lot less money.”
Congressman Jeff Miller (R-Chumuckla)
“The Supreme Court’s ruling to uphold the individual mandate in Obamacare is a monumental obstruction of personal freedom and liberty. It is a tragedy for patients and health professionals across the nation and a major setback for our free-market system.
“The Court reaffirmed in its decision what the Administration vehemently denied during the debate of the bill – that Obamacare is a massive tax increase on the American people, parading as reform. The President’s health care law does nothing to reduce the cost of care for working American families and only puts our nation further in debt.
“Now that the Supreme Court has rendered its decision, we will explore every legislative option to repeal and replace this flawed law, putting families and their doctors in charge of medical decisions instead of Washington bureaucrats.
“We need to focus on reducing the cost of the delivery of care, not simply masking it. Reducing the cost of care will help those who are involuntarily uninsured because they cannot afford health insurance.
“The American people deserve better than this, and I will continue work to replace this tax increase with real reform.”
Florida Sen. Don Gaetz (R-Niceville)
“The decision to uphold the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is disappointing. I respect the decision of the Supreme Court, but I agree with Justice Kennedy and others who found the law unconstitutional in its entirety. More importantly, I am convinced the law is detrimental to our common goal of affordable quality health care.
“The court’s 110 page opinion is in some ways as complicated as the law itself. Like others we will be tweezering through the ruling to fully understand all of the implications for Florida taxpayers, patients, providers and businesses.
“While this law remains on the books, states will confront many difficult decisions and in an effort to fully understand all of the implications and costly burdens. Foremost among these difficult decisions will be the choice the Court appears to have given States regarding participating in the mammoth Medicaid expansion authorized by the federal law. We have reason to be concerned about the impact of this expansion. Medicaid enrollment will double in the next few years; the state’s discretion in program design will be further curtailed; and even with a temporary enhancement of federal funds, the state’s financial burden for Medicaid will increase significantly.
“Other provisions of PPACA raise additional serious questions. The law undermines the state’s traditional role in regulating insurance. Unless this law is changed by Congress, the federal government will decide what insurance products may be sold, at what prices, and under what conditions. Additional requirements of PPACA will affect the state’s purchase of health coverage for its employees—raising costs and limiting choices.”
Florida Sen. Greg Evers (R-Baker)
“I am stunned and angry that politics prevailed over our Constitution in today’s shocking Supreme Court decision upholding the federal health care law. In affirming the individual mandate, the Supreme Court has allowed the federal government to intrude upon what is perhaps our most fundamental freedom - our right to make personal choices on health care for our own bodies and our right to spend our money as we choose. The Court agreeing to the nationalization of health care by the federal government violates the sovereignty of the State of Florida to establish health care policies tailored to the unique needs and population of Floridians.
“ObamaCare’s demand that Florida expand its Medicaid budget by billions of Florida tax dollars is a clear attempt to force Washington’s irresponsible economic policies onto our state. While I commend the Court’s removal of the extortion terms that would force a state out of Medicaid if the state refused to succumb to this Medicaid expansion, I am extremely disappointed that the Court was unwilling to expose and overturn the tax increase tied to the individual mandate.
“Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote in his dissenting opinion on behalf of the Justices in disagreement with today’s ruling: ’In our view, the entire Act before us is invalid in its entirety.’ Justice Kennedy’s words, in my mind, were also written on behalf of myself, my family and my constituents; on behalf of the sovereignty of the State of Florida; on behalf of our God-given inalienable rights; on behalf of the Constitution and on behalf of freedom itself.
“It is critical that we as citizens now speak for ourselves in voices clear, loud and strong in November and beyond. You have my commitment that I will work as hard as I can to right this terrible wrong and urge Congress to repeal ObamaCare and its threat on our fundamental freedom as individuals and economic freedom as a nation.”
Florida CFO Jeff Atwater
“As we sort through the complexity of the recent Supreme Court ruling on the Affordable Health Care Act, two issues of vital concern to all Floridians emerge.
“The Court made very clear that the overreaching extension of the commerce clause into free market behavior by this administration was unconstitutional. I applaud their decision in this regard.
“I remain deeply troubled, however, that Congress and the Obama administration would use an issue of such importance to the American people to disguise their intentions to add further tax burdens on our fellow citizens. Pushing a tax and spend agenda through dissembling and subterfuge is fundamentally dishonest and should not be tolerated in a free and open society.”
Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi
“All of us who are disappointed with the ultimate outcome today cannot lose sight of what we accomplished. We fought for the principle that the Constitution limits Congress’s power to direct the lives of our people, and on that point, we won.
“As Chief Justice Roberts wrote in his opinion for the majority: “The Federal Government does not have the power to order people to buy health insurance.”
Seven Justices agreed with our position that Congress could not force the States to make the unacceptable choice between losing all our Medicaid benefits or accepting a massive, unaffordable expansion of the Medicaid program.
“The most sobering lesson from this ruling is that our republican system of government only works when our leaders are honest with the American people. Before Congress passed his healthcare law, President Obama told us that the insurance requirement was not backed by a tax. And yet, here we are, reading an opinion that upholds the healthcare law on the basis of Congress’s taxing power. It amounts to a $4 billion tax on the American people.
“In this case, the Constitution’s limits on government power did not fail—political accountability failed, because the President and the supporters of this law apparently were not straight with the American people.
“The American people will have their say in November, and I am confident that they will join me in rejecting a law that is so harmful to individual liberty, to our economy, and to the welfare of our people.”
Santa Rosa Medical Center
“Santa Rosa Medical Center provides compassionate, high quality care for our patients, and nothing in today’s ruling affects that. Our outstanding quality results as measured by national standards combined with our high level of efficiency prepare us for tomorrow’s marketplace. Our focus will remain on our patients and our ability to provide for their needs. As for the ruling, it does remove some legal uncertainty that has been a headwind for the industry, but we also know this discussion will continue, politically, through the Fall. We stand ready to work with Congress on any meaningful changes they choose to consider.”
Pictured top: A crowd outside the U.S. Supreme Court Thursday morning awaits word of a decision on the Affordable Health Care Act. NorthEscambia.com photo by Luke Killam, click to enlarge.
Names Released In Deadly Atmore Wreck
June 28, 2012
A wreck north of Atmore claimed the life of an Escambia County, Ala., woman Wednesday afternoon and injured two others.
Dottie Salter Boutwell, age 73 of Atmore, was killed in the wreck on on Bell Creek Road about a mile north of Poarch Road. She was the passenger in a 2005 Chevrolet Colorado that was struck by a 1995 Chevrolet Silverado driven by James E. Popejoy of Atmore.
Alabama State Troopers said Boutwell was a passenger in the Chevrolet Colorado, which was driven by James Maron Harrelson. Harrelson was transported to Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola, while Popejoy was transported to Bapitist Hospital.
Boutwell was not wearing a seat belt, according to troopers, in the dirt road accident.
Molino Man Accidentally Shoots Himself While Trying To Kill Snake
June 28, 2012
A 55-year old Molino man accintally shot himself in the leg while attempting to a kill rattlesnake Wednesday afternoon.
The shooting happened at the man’s home in the 3000 block of Crabbtree Church Road, about a mile west of the Don Sutton Ballpark.
The victim told Escambia County Sheriff’s deputies that he was outside when he saw a rattlesnake in his yard. He retrieved a .357 loaded with bird shot in an attempt to kill the snake, but he was unable to locate the rattler.
The victim said he decided to continue to look around his yard for the snake. A short time later, he turned to walk inside….and he saw the snake slither behind his leg. The victim said he then somehow tripped and landed with the snake underneath his right leg, trapping it. He told deputies he used his hands with the gun and tried to push the snake away.
During the struggle with the snake, he accidentally discharged the firearm, hitting himself in the back of the leg near the ankle.
He was driven by family members to West Florida Hospital for treatment.
Deputies reported finding spent shell casings, live rounds of ammunition and blood on the man’s patio, all consistent with his story.
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office incident report does not detail what happened to the rattlesnake.
Charges Dropped Against Two Men Accused Of Century Food Giant Robbery
June 28, 2012
All charges have been dropped against two men arrested in connection with a December robbery at the Food Giant grocery store in Century.
Danielle Kapric Burt, age 26 of Century, and Derrick Antonio Cohen, age 23 of Pensacola, were both arrested in March on charges of felony robbery, felony larceny and battery.
“There was insufficient evidence to prosecute the case,” Assistant State Attorney Greg Marcille said. “There was no way (from the evidence) to identify the individuals who committed the crime.”
On the morning of December 23, the manager of the Food Giant was getting into a vehicle with the daily bank deposit when he was struck from behind. The deposit, containing checks and an undisclosed amount of cash was snatched by a then unknown assailant who then ran behind the store, according to an Escambia County Sheriff’s Office arrest report. The store manager was not injured.
A manhunt with a Century Correctional Institute K-9 team followed, but no suspects were located.
Multiple witnesses were able to pin the robbery on Burt and place Cohen as the driver of a getaway car, which was parked a short distance away on Henry Street, according to an Escambia County Sheriff’s Office arrest report.
But Marcille said witnesses “were unable to identify the suspects in any way, not even by gender or race,” leading the the state dropping all charges against the men. He said checks taken during the robbery were located along a path used the fleeing suspect, but fingerprints on the checks did not provide a suspect identification.
Pictured top: Deputies check a house on Henry Street in Century for a robbery suspect the morning of December 23, 2011. Pictured left insert: A Century Correctional Intitute K-9 team works to track the suspect on Henry Street. Pictured below: The manager of the Food Giant in Century was robbed outside the store in December. NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.
Two Injured In Gonzalez Wreck
June 28, 2012
Two North Escambia residents were injured in a Wednesday afternoon wreck in Gonzalez.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, 41-year old Tabitha Ann Poston of Molino was stopped at a red light at Highway 29 at Old Chemstrand Road in her 2004 Dodge Ram when she was rear-ended by 2010 Ford Fusion driven by 76-year old Juliaette Wearren Hanks of Century.
Both women were transported to Pensacola hospital with minor injuries.
Hanks was cited with careless driving, according to the FHP.
Women Facing Felony Charges For Fraudulent Returns At Walmart
June 28, 2012
An alleged attempt to return shoplifted merchandise to a Walmart store landed a young Atmore woman behind bars.
Kwantrica Lashaun Finklea, age 19 of Carver Street in Atmore, and India Helena Marcelle Thomas, age 24 of Pensacola, were both charged with felony grand theft in connection.
The women were accused of entering a Walmart store on Mobile Highway, placing a $498 vacuum cleaner in a shopping cart and proceeding to the customer service counter in an attempt to receive a refund. They were also accused of attempting to return a coffeemaker and a knife set shoplifted at an earlier time.
Thomas admitted her role in the theft to an Escambia County Sheriff’s deputy, according to an arrest report. She told deputies she attempted the fraudulent returns so that her “child would not do without”. Deputies said Thomas’ child is actually staying with her father in St. Louis.
FWC Gives Final Approval To Black Bear Plan
June 28, 2012
A plan for long-term conservation of the Florida black bear was approved Wednesday by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission,
“The Florida bear population is thriving. That is the success story, but we still have a lot of education to do,” FWC Commission Chairman Kathy Barco said. “Everyone loves bears, but not everyone wants them in their backyard. When people call to say, ‘Relocate this bear,’ we need to say to that neighborhood at some point you’ve got to live with it – take care of your garbage, dog food and bird feeders.”
The seven bear management units created in the Florida Black Bear Management Plan provide opportunities for public participation in decisions on managing local bear populations and reducing human-bear conflicts such as the one that occurred recently at a Cantonment apartment complex. That conflict ended with the FWC choosing to euthanize the bear.
“If we all work together to promote these protections, we can expand upon this great day today,” said FWC Commissioner Ron Bergeron.
Challenges addressed by the Black Bear Management Plan include:
- Maintaining wildlife habitats and corridors on public and private lands that accommodate bears’ large home ranges of up to 60,000 acres and allow bears to roam safely.
- Reducing human-bear conflicts, through use of bear-proof cans for garbage and proper storage of birdseed and pet food, which can be irresistibly mouthwatering treats for bears.
- Educating Floridians and visitors about black bear behavior and conservation, and how to remain safe if a bear comes into a yard or during a bear encounter.
The state’s largest land mammal is a subspecies of the American black bear and had been listed as a state-threatened species since 1974. Successful conservation of the Florida black bear was confirmed by the FWC’s 2011 Biological Status Review, which reported the bear to be no longer at high risk of extinction.
While Commissioners Wednesday passed a rule to remove the black bear from the list of state-threatened species, they also adopted a separate, new rule stating it is still illegal to injure or kill a bear in this state, or to possess or sell bear parts.
Pictured: A black bear wondered through a Cantonment apartment complex for days last month until it was captured and euthanized by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.
DEA Busts Escambia County ‘Pill Mill’
June 28, 2012
A Pensacola “pill mill” that used roadside signs to advertise across North Escambia was busted Wednesday by federal agents.
The JPB Medical Clinic in the 4200 block of Davis Highway, next door to a Bailey’s Farmer’s Market, was raided by the DEA along with about dozen other clinics across Florida.
Joseph Patrick Buffalino, 64, and Jeffrey Reiter were arrested at the Pensacola clinic Wednesday.
“These are drug dealers, traffickers, they are selling very, very lethal doses, very, very intense and addictive narcotics,” DEA agent Rusty Payne, told NorthEscambia.com’s news partners WEAR TV 3.
The DEA said the clinic was prescribing drugs like oxycodone to those that did not have a medical need.
“It’s going into the hands of both addicts and street level traffickers. They can easily get a prescription without having to illustrate a medical need,” said Payne.
Buffalino remains in the Escambia County Jail with bond set at $600,000, while Reiter is jailed with bond set at $560,000.
Numerous roadside signs advertising the clinic popped up across the North Escambia area earlier this year. They simply stated “Pain Management” and provided a photo number for the clinic.
The DEA is expected to release more details about the statewide operation sometime on Thursday.
Pictured top: The DEA raided this medical clinic on Davis Highway in Pensacola Wednesday morning (courtesy WEAR 3). Pictured below: Signs advertising the clinic were placed all around the North Escambia area, including the sign seen in this June 8 photo at Highway 97 and Nokomis Road in Davisville. The sign was gone by Wednesday. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
