Cantonment Man Charged With Burglary With Assault, Resisting Officer
November 19, 2019
A Cantonment man that said he thought he was entering a friend’s house has been charged with burglary.
Mertz Billy Goodwin, 54, was charged with first degree felony burglary with battery, possession of drug paraphernalia and resisting an officer without violence. He remained in the Escambia County Jail Tuesday morning with bond set at $102,000.
The victim told deputies that he answered his front door after hearing a knock. When he opened the door, Goodwin pushed the victim back and began to step inside the residence on Pine Forest Road, according to an arrest report. The victim was able to push him back outside and lock the door. He told deputies he had never seen Goodwin before.
When deputies arrived, Goodwin was still at the residence. When a deputy told him to stand up and place his hands behind his back, Goodwin attempted to pull away. “Goodwin was then put on the ground where was taken into custody without incident,” the arrest report states.
Deputies also reported finding a glass smoking pipe in his pants pocket.
Goodwin told deputies that he thought he was at a friend’s house.
Sunshine, Warming Temperatures
November 19, 2019
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 68. Calm wind becoming west around 5 mph.
Tuesday Night: Clear, with a low around 45. Calm wind.
Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 72. Calm wind.
Wednesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 48. Calm wind becoming east around 5 mph.
Thursday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 73. East wind around 5 mph becoming south in the morning.
Thursday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 55. Southeast wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
Friday: A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 76. Calm wind becoming south around 5 mph in the morning.
Friday Night: A 40 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 56. South wind around 5 mph becoming northwest after midnight.
Saturday: A 50 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 66.
Saturday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers. Partly cloudy, with a low around 43.
Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 61.
Sunday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 40.
Monday: Sunny, with a high near 64.
Six Area Teams In Football Playoff Action Friday
November 19, 2019
Here are the football playoff games Friday night in the North Escambia area:
FLORIDA
7A Regional Final
Niceville (12-0) at Edgewater (11-1) 7:30 p.m.
6A Regional Final
Lee (9-3) at Escambia (12-0)
3A Regional Final
Florida High (10-1) at Pensacola Catholic (11-0)
ALABAMA
Class 3A Quarterfinals
T.R. Miller (8-4) at Flomaton (11-1)
The game is rematch of a regular season meeting that Flomaton won 20-12.
AISA State Championship Class AA
Autauga vs. Escambia Academy
The Escambia Academy Cougars will take on Autauga for the AISA Class AA State Championship at Troy University at 3:30 p.m.
NorthEscambia.com photos
UWF Football Receives First Round Playoff Bid
November 19, 2019
The UWF football team has received a bid to the 2019 NCAA Division II Football Playoffs as announced by the NCAA. The Argonauts will travel to Wingate for a Super Region 2 First Round game Saturday. Kickoff is at 1 p.m. Eastern at Irwin Belk Stadium.
Both general admission and reserved tickets are available for purchase from the Wingate Ticket Office at here. Seats are $12 for adults and $8 for children in the visiting team section behind the UWF bench.
UWF finished the regular season at 8-2 overall and was second in the Gulf South Conference at 7-1. This marks the program’s second postseason appearance in the last three years and second in the four year history of the program. The Argos won four postseason games – all on the road – on their way to the 2017 national championship game in their previous appearance.
UWF is ranked 22nd in the country and averages 400 yards of total offense and 35.3 points per game. The Argo defense has been one of the stronger units in the country, yielding just 15.1 points per game. They are among the top five in the region in scoring defense, passing yards allowed, red zone defense, punt return defense and turnover margin.
No. 4 seed Wingate is 10-1 on the year and finished second in the South Atlantic Conference at 7-1, with their only loss coming to No. 2 seeded Lenoir-Rhyne three weeks ago. The 17th-ranked Bulldogs are 5-0 at home in 2019.
The UWF-Wingate winner will face No. 1 seed Valdosta State in Valdosta, Ga. on November 30. The other two first round games feature Carson-Newman at Bowie State and Miles at Lenoir-Rhyne.
Robert “Bobby” McGhee
November 19, 2019
Robert “Bobby” McGhee, 72 of Atmore, AL. passed away November 14, 2019, in Atmore. He was born to the late Roy and Opal Reeves McGhee on May 13, 1947, in Providence, Rhode Island. He was a member of the Poarch Band of Creek Indians and previously served as a Tribal Council member. He was a member of St. Anna’s Episcopal Church in Poarch, Alabama. After twenty years of service he retired as a First Sergeant from the United States Marine Corps. During his military service he completed two terms during the Vietnam War and received a Purple Heart. He was also a retired Postal Carrier from the United States Post Office in Atmore.
He is preceded in death by his grandparents Chief Calvin and Joyce McGhee, his parents Roy Lee and Opal Faye McGhee, his brother Kenny McGhee and his first wife Doris McGhee.
He is survived by his current wife Sharon McGhee of Atmore, AL. Two sons Robbie McGhee of Atmore, AL, Daniel McGhee of Bay Minette, AL and a daughter Shawn Wells of Indiana and one foster daughter Denise Curly and daughter-in-law Jaime McGhee. Four sisters Kay (Ray) Archer, Linda McGhee, Barbara (Dave) Stephens all of Atmore, AL. and Rose (Dave) Conlon of Okeechobee, FL. Four grandsons Brice, Xan, Daughtry, Jamison and one great grandson Kai. Many nieces, nephews, god children and family and friends.
He was referred to as Uncle Bobby by many loved ones (and self-proclaimed as the inspiration to Janis Joplin’s rendition of “Me and Bobby McGee!”) Funeral services will be held Thursday, November 21, 2019 at 12 Noon from the Atmore Memorial Chapel Funeral Home with Rev. Michael Hill officiating.
Burial will follow in Judson Creek Indian Cemetery with full military honors.
Active pallbearers will be Jason Stephens, Chris Stephens, John Stephens, John O’Barr, Charles “Bubba” O’Barr, Ronnie Huskey, and Luke Vega.Honorary pallbearers will be Charles Daughtry, Ronnie Lehman, Bo Slate, Jason Griffey, Dave Stephens and Andrew Daughtry.
Visitation will be held Thursday, November 21, 2019 from 10:30 AM until 12 Noon from the Atmore Memorial Chapel Funeral Home.
Woman That Threw Drink At Congressman Matt Gaetz Gets 15 Days
November 18, 2019
The woman accused of throwing a drink at Congressman Matt Gaetz during a June town hall meeting in Pensacola will serve 15 days in federal custody.
Amanda L. Kondrat’yev was charged with assaulting a U.S. Congressman for throwing the drink at Gaetz as he was leaving his “We Won’t Back Down” town hall event at a Pensacola restaurant. The drink hit Gaetz in the back as he was making his way to his waiting car outside the main entrance of the Brew Ha Ha Restaurant.
“”I am pleased with the court’s decision today to sentence Amanda Kondrat’yev to 15 days in jail and one year of probation,” Gaetz said. “Physical assault has no place in our political discourse, and if individuals choose to engage in such activities at our events they will be prosecuted. I am grateful law enforcement and our judicial system recognized this principle today, and I remain committed to maintaining a safe environment for my constituents at future events.”
Kondrat’yev was sentenced Monday in federal court in Pensacola. She will report to U.S. Marshals on December 2, the Monday after Thanksgiving, and begin to serve her sentence.
Kondrat’yev ran against Gaetz for his Congressional seat in 2016, along with Cris Dosev and Mark Wichern. She is also the lead plaintiff in the Bayview Cross case against the City of Pensacola.
Alabama Man Arrested For Twice The Ice Machine Burglary
November 18, 2019
Deputies say an Alabama man was caught red-handed breaking into a Twice The Ice vending machine Sunday night.
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office said 43-year old Paul Wayne Hurst of Foley was arrested after the burglary of a Twice The Ice machine in the 4000 block of Barrancas Avenue about 10:40 p.m. He has been charged with burglary, possession of burglary tools, criminal mischief with property damage and possession of a controlled substance without a prescription. He was released on an $8,000 bond.
It was at least the fifth Twice The Ice machine burglary in Escambia County this month. Amber Southard, spokesperson for the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office, said investigators are still working to determine if Hurst is connected the other four burglaries.
The Twice The Ice location in the 5500 block of Saufley Field Road was reported burglarized on November 2, followed by a location in the 13000 block of Johnson Beach Road on Perdido Key on November 9. Locations in the 12200 block of Lillian Highway and the 200 block of South Highway 29, across the from paper mill, were discovered burglarized on Thursday, November 14.
Anyone with information on the burglaries is asked to call the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office at (850) 436-9620 or Gulf Coast Crime Stoppers at (850) 433-STOP.
Pictured: The ECSO investigates the burglary of the Twice The Ice on Highway 29 in Cantonment on November 14. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Inmate On Death Row Gets Another Death Sentence For Killing Cellmate
November 18, 2019
An inmate already on Florida’s death row has received another death sentence for the first degree premeditated murder of a Santa Rosa Correctional Institute inmate.
Rocky Ali Beamon previously pled guilty to the January 2017 murder of inmate Nicholas Anderson.
Beamon and Anderson were cellmates at the Santa Rosa Correctional Institution. Beamon punched the victim in the face, tied his hands and feet together, and strangled him with bed sheets. Beamon also stabbed the Anderson in the neck with a homemade weapon, but the cause of death was strangulation.
At the time of the murder, Beamon was already serving a life sentence for a 2005 murder case from Hillsborough County. Earlier this year, Beamon was sentenced to death for the July 5, 2012, murder of an inmate at the Apalachee Correctional Institution in Jackson County.
The investigation was conducted by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
Century Grapples With Unpermitted Sewage Sludge Deliberately Dumped In Pond
November 18, 2019
Century is grappling with with unpermitted sewage sludge deliberately dumped in a pond at the town’s wastewater treatment facility (WWTF).
The WWTF reject pond is designed to receive up to 675,000 gallons of effluent that does not meet permit requirements in order to protect surface waters.
As the town was removing floating grasses and weeds from the pond in order to resolve a deficiency listed in a September warning letter from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, it was discovered that biosolids were improperly dumped in the pond. According to the EPA, biosolids are treated sewer sludge.
“The diversion of biosolids to the reject pond is the result of deliberate action of prior staff,” according to Interim City Manager Buz Eddy. It is believed the action may have occurred several years ago, resulting in a pond filled with sludge about six feet deep.
Eddy estimated it will take 112 truck loads to remove the sludge at a cost of $106,400 with a possible discount due to volume.
The town will receive proposals to clean the pond for approval at a later date.
Pictured: The reject pond at the Century Wastewater Treatment Facility. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Book Fair This Week At Kingsfield Elementary
November 18, 2019
The Fall Book Fair is this week at Kingsfield Elementary School.
There are two chances for the public to shop — during Goodies with Grands Tuesday from 1-3 p.m. or Family Night on Thursday from 4-6.
For more information and to shop online, click here.
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