Semi Bottoms Out, Blocks Jacks Branch Road For Hours
October 17, 2019
A bottomed out semi blocked Jacks Branch Road in Cantonment for about four hours Wednesday afternoon.
The driver of the truck became stuck pulling from River Annex Road into Jacks Branch Road. Traffic was diverted around the truck through a muddy ditch.
Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Escambia Man Gets Two Life Sentences For Shooting Girlfriend, Attacking Her Sister
October 17, 2019
An Escambia County man is headed to prison for life for shooting his girlfriend and attacking her sister with a hatchet.
Jeremy Alexander Bedgood was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences for attempted first degree premeditated murder with a firearm and attempted first degree murder with a weapon, aggravated stalking, false imprisonment, two counts of violating a domestic violence restraining order, battery and resisting an officer without violence.
On February 24, 2019, Bedgood shot his girlfriend with a .380 pistol and attacked both his girlfriend and her sister with a small hatchet, causing serious bodily injury to both women. Bedgood had followed them home from a downtown night club and confronted the women while they were still seated in their vehicle in front of their grandmother’s residence.
This incident followed a series of incidents for which Bedgood was in violation of an injunction for protection against domestic violence, issued for the victim following a separate domestic incident on February 18, 2019. On that date, Bedgood attacked the victim, pulling her by her hair off the sidewalk and into a car in an apparent abduction witnessed by several bystanders.
On February 19, 2019 Bedgood was arrested for that incident and subsequently served with the injunction. Following his release from the Escambia County Jail two days later, he immediately began contacting, calling, and following the victim to various places around Pensacola and ultimately to her grandmother’s house where the shooting occurred.
After the shooting, the Bedgood fled the state and was arrested in Dallas, Texas, in late February.
Former Teacher Facing Up To 20 Years On Child Sex Charges
October 16, 2019
A former Washington High School teacher is facing up to 20 years in prison on child sex charges.
Wednesday, Mark Ryan Lua, 31, entered a plea of no contest to one count of promoting the sexual performance of a child and three counts of unlawful sexual activity with certain minors.
The charges stem from an investigation that began in January 2019 when it was discovered that Lua used a fake social media account in which he posed as an adult female and encouraged a female student to send him a sexual video. Lua was interviewed by Pensacola Police Department detectives and eventually admitted to using the fake account to obtain the video from the student.
After Lua was initially arrested, additional female students came forward and testified that Lua had sex with them at his home while his wife was away. Lua was not interviewed regarding the additional allegations, but text messages provided by one of the students corroborated her account.
Lua will be sentenced by Escambia County Circuit Court Judge Jeffrey Burns in December. He faces a maximum of 20 years in state prison. He will also be designated a sexual offender and will have to comply with all reporting requirements for the remainder of his life.
Man Shot Two Weeks Ago Fatally Shot Wednesday Morning In Escambia County
October 16, 2019
A man shot just two weeks ago in Escambia County was shot again, this time fatally, early Wednesday morning.
About 1:30 a.m. Wednesday, the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office responded to a shots fired call at Massachusetts Avenue and Stara Circle. They found 29-year old Rashud J. Dexter deceased on the ground with multiple gunshot wounds. The incident has been described as a “gunfight” with multiple shots exchanged between Dexter and the suspect or suspects.
“There were witnesses to this shooting, but they are not being forthcoming with information at this time,” the ECSO said in a statement..
Dexter was also the victim of a shooting on September 26 in the 900 block of Lucerne Avenue. The ECSO said he was there to buy narcotics when he was robbed and shot.
Last month when deputies asked Dexter to provide a name or description of the person that shot him, he refused.
Anyone with information about either shooting is asked to call the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office at (850) 436-9620 or Crime Stoppers at (850) 433-STOP.
Jay Man Charged With Shining Laser Into Deputy’s Cruiser, Temporarily Blinding Him
October 16, 2019
A Jay man has been charged with shining a laser light into a deputy’s vehicle as he traveled along Highway 4 in the heart of the town.
Glenn Austin Bingham, 43, was charged with felony pointing a laser light at driver and resisting an officer.
The deputy was westbound on Highway 4 near Booker Lane when he observed a green beam on the rear of his patrol vehicle. He turned around at the town hall and headed west on Highway 4 toward the light. As he approached Highway 4 and Commerce Street, the beam was pointed at his vehicle again.
“The green beam them pointed toward the cab of my patrol vehicle which concentrated on the cab of my vehicle causing me to be unable to see the roadway,” the deputy wrote in his report. “I swerved to avoid the green beam.”
The laser light, according to an arrest report, was emanating from the residence of Bingham. Deputies had received complaints from citizens over a two month span of Bingham pointing the laser into passing traffic.
When the deputy pulled up at the residence, he could hear someone running toward a pickup truck. Bingham was found under the pickup and the laser device was found in his front pocket, the report states.
“I was just being dumb,” Bingham told the deputy, according to the arrest report. H stated he had consumed approximately six alcoholic beverages.
Here’s How You Can Buy The Old Pensacola Beach Sign, Some Assembly Required
October 16, 2019
The old Pensacola Beach sailfish sign is for sale, and you have a chance to buy it, some assembly required.
Escambia County will sell the iconic sign during a live public auction Tuesday, October 22. The auction includes two sailfish signs, starburst sign and the arrow sign.
Live bidding will commence Tuesday, Oct. 22 at 11 a.m. in the Pensacola Beach Sheriff’s substation parking lot, located at 43 Fort Pickens Road.
The purchaser will be responsible for the winning bid, plus 7.5% sales tax, and the total must be paid by close of business Wednesday, October 23. Payment will only be accepted in the following forms: cash, certified check, company check, cashier’s check and money order.
The winning bidder must remove the signs within 10 days of the auction and must provide their own transportation and loading assistance. The removal of all signs will require the use of a crane. A Florida Department of Transportation permit will be required if the starburst sign is taken off the beach.
Finally! Low In The Low 50s Tonight
October 16, 2019
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast
Tonight: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 50. North wind 5 to 10 mph.
Thursday: Partly sunny, with a high near 73. North wind around 5 mph.
Thursday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 53. Calm wind.
Friday: A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 73. East wind around 5 mph.
Friday Night: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 60. East wind 5 to 10 mph.
Saturday: Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 78. East wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
Saturday Night: A 50 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 64. Southeast wind 5 to 15 mph becoming northwest after midnight.
Sunday: A 30 percent chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 83. Northwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the afternoon.
Sunday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers. Partly cloudy, with a low around 66. Calm wind.
Monday: Showers and thunderstorms likely. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 84. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
Monday Night: Showers and thunderstorms likely. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 61. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
Tuesday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 77.
Tuesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 53.
Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 78.
Moorhead Name Byrneville Elementary Teacher Of The Year
October 16, 2019
Susan Moorhead as been named the Byrneville Elementary School Teacher of the Year. She is a second grade teacher with 43 years of teaching experience in Alabama and Florida. Courtesy photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Nine Mile Bank Robbery Suspects Captured In Under 10 Minutes
October 16, 2019
Two suspects were taken into custody just after the robbery of a Nine Mile Road bank Tuesday.
Christopher Gene Summers, 47, and Angela Christine McKinney, 47, were taken into custody after a short vehicle and foot pursuit that ended on Olive Road. It took the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office just eight minutes from the time of the robbery to make the arrests.
Summers and McKinney were both charged with robbery and booked into the Escambia County Jail on $100,000 bond each for the robbery at the Wells Fargo Bank in the 200 block of Nine Mile Road at Chemstrand Road.
The money from the robbery was recovered, according to Major Andrew Hobbs. There were no injuries reported.
Authorities said Summers is currently on federal probation for a prior bank robbery.
Pictured below: The Wells Fargo on Nine Mile Road shortly after a robbery Tuesday morning. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Driver Hits School Bus In Highway 29 Construction Zone
October 16, 2019
A Pensacola man was cited for hitting school bus in a Highway 29 construction zone Tuesday.
William Joseph Brewer, 71, was traveling north on Highway 29 in a 2004 Ford Crown Victoria in the left lane while a 2019 school bus driven by Cathleen Schlobohm of Molino was in the right lane. Both stopped at a red light at the intersection of 9 1/2 Mile Road. Due to the road construct, a lane shift occurred. The bus properly negotiated the lane shift, but Brewer did not, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
The right side of the Crown Victoria collided with the left side of the school bus.
Brewer, Schlobohm, and an adult passenger on the bus, Betty Cloy of Cantonment, were not injured. There were no children on the bus at the time.
Brewer was ticketed for failure to use the designated lane by FHP.