FHP: Cantonment Woman Claims Meth In Her Purse Was Witchcraft Healing Crystals
June 25, 2026
A Cantonment woman claiming to possess healing “crystal rocks” used in “witch craft” was arrested on felony drug charges following a June traffic stop in Cottage Hill.
According to a Florida Highway Patrol arrest report, a trooper initiated a traffic stop on a white Nissan four-door near McKenzie Road and Highway 95A. The vehicle’s license plate was found to belong to a 2000 black Ford pickup truck.
While conducting a vehicle inventory, the trooper discovered a methamphetamine bong in plain view on the front passenger floorboard, an item the passenger, Haley Victoria McLemore, 32, would have had to step over to exit the vehicle, the report states. A subsequent search of the back seat revealed a purse containing a glass methamphetamine pipe with residue and a small baggie of a crystal substance that field-tested positive for methamphetamine.
When questioned about the illegal contraband, McLemore denied knowledge of the drugs and insinuated they belonged to the driver. However, when asked about separate rocks found within two suede bags inside her purse, McLemore offered an unusual defense, explaining to the trooper that they were “crystal rocks” which held healing powers and that she used them in her “witch craft” practices, according to the report.
McLemore was booked into the Escambia County Jail and charged with possession of a controlled substance without a prescription and possession of drug paraphernalia. She was released from the Escambia County Jail on a $3,000 bond
The driver of the vehicle, 46-year-old Anthony Roberts, faces misdemeanor traffic charges including driving with a suspended license, failure to register a motor vehicle, and operating a vehicle without liability insurance. He was released on a $1,500 bond.
Showers And Storms Likely For Thursday
June 25, 2026
There is the potential for a few severe storms with localized strong wind gusts and locally heavy rainfall through Thursday, especially in the afternoon and evening. Summer heat returns over the weekend and into early next week, and heat advisories may be issued.
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Thursday: Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly before 4pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 85. Calm wind becoming west around 5 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New rainfall amounts between a half and three quarters of an inch possible.
Thursday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 10pm. Partly cloudy, with a low around 73. Calm wind.
Friday: A slight chance of showers, with thunderstorms also possible after 10am. Mostly sunny, with a high near 89. Calm wind becoming southwest around 5 mph in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
Friday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 74. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 90. Calm wind becoming southwest around 5 mph in the afternoon.
Saturday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 74. Southwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 93. Calm wind.
Sunday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 74. Southwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Monday: Sunny, with a high near 93.
Monday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly clear, with a low around 74.
Tuesday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Sunny, with a high near 91.
Tuesday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 74.
Wednesday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Sunny, with a high near 92.
River Levels Dropping: Escambia River Crests, Perdido Falling
June 25, 2026
The Escambia River has crested, and the Perdido River is falling without significant additional rainfall.
Escambia River
A flood warning continues through Sunday morning for the Escambia River at Century as minor flooding is still occurring.
Wednesday night, the stage was 18.1 feet, and the river is forecast to fall below flood stage of 17 feet early Sunday morning and continue falling to 15.7 feet Monday evening.
Perdido River
All warnings have expired for the Perdido River at Barrineau Park.
Wednesday night, the stage was 5.08, below flood stage of 9 feet, and continuing to fal
Donut Strike: Local First Responders Collect Donations For Manna
June 25, 2026
Local law enforcement officers and firefighters are on a Donut Strike for Manna to help the food bank fight hunger in our local communities.
Each day of the Donut Strike, first responders are stationed at grocery stores across Escambia and Santa Rosa counties to collect food and monetary donations.
Thursday, June 25 (3-6 p.m.)
- Publix – 2180 West Nine Mile Road
- Sam’s Club – 1250 Airport Boulevard
- Walmart – 4600 Mobile Highway
- Publix – 1100 East Cervantes Street
- Publix – 8244 Navarre Parkway
- Publix – 13390 Perdido Key Drive
- Publix – 5998 Mobile Highway
- Publix – 1430 Tiger Park Lane
- Walmart – 3767 Gulf Breeze Parkway
- Winn-Dixie – 13019 Sorrento Road
- Winn-Dixie – 4224 Highway 90
- Piggly Wiggly – 3367 Wallace Lake Road
Friday, June 26 (3-6 p.m.)
- Publix – 2180 West Nine Mile Road
- Publix – 8684 Beulah Road
- Sam’s Club – 1250 Airport Boulevard
- Walmart – 2650 Creighton Road
- Walmart – 4600 Mobile Highway
- Walmart – 334 Gulf Breeze Parkway
- Winn-Dixie – 13019 Sorrento Road
Pictured: Escambia County Fire Rescue participates in the Donut Strike for Manna at the Publix on Nine Mile Road and Pine Forest Road on Wednesday. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Ibarra’s Big Night Lifts Lookouts Over Wahoos
June 25, 2026
Despite homers from Cam Cannarella, Dillon Lewis and Aiva Arquette, the Pensacola Blue Wahoos were outslugged by Ruben Ibarra and the Chattanooga Lookouts in a 13-5 loss on Wednesday night.
Ibarra hit a pair of three-run homers, a game-tying blast in the third inning and a go-ahead shot in the fifth, to help the Lookouts overcome an early deficit and even up the weeklong series at one game apiece.
The Blue Wahoos jumped ahead 1-0 in the first without the benefit of a hit. Cannarella drew a leadoff walk, took second on a wild pitch from Lookouts starter Johnathan Harmon (W, 8-2), and scored on a Juan Matheus sacrifice fly. In the third, Emaarion Boyd hit an RBI single and Cannarella blasted a solo homer for a 3-0 Blue Wahoos lead.
Ibarra tied the game with one swing in the third against Blue Wahoos starter Alex Williams (L, 4-6), launching a tape-measure homer to even the score 3-3. Lewis countered in the fourth with a solo homer, his league-leading 17th of the season, to briefly put the Blue Wahoos back in front 4-3.
Williams almost got through the bottom of the fifth inning with the lead intact, but issued a two-out walk to Cam Collier to bring up Ibarra once more. Reliever Luis Palacios then served up Ibarra’s second three-run homer in three innings, putting the Lookouts ahead 6-4.
Things got out of hand in the sixth, as the Lookouts scored five more against Palacios and Christian MacLeod. They tacked on two additional runs in the seventh against Josh Hejka with a Carlos Jorge two-run triple.
Arquette went deep in the top of the ninth for the Blue Wahoos, but it was not nearly enough as Brody Jessee finished off a 13-5 Lookouts victory.
The Blue Wahoos continue their series against the Lookouts on Thursday night.
FHP Traffic Stop Leads To Drug, Evidence Tampering Charges For Cantonment Man
June 24, 2026
A Cantonment man is facing multiple charges after a traffic stop by the Florida Highway Patrol.
According to an arrest report, a state trooper pulled over a silver Nissan near Highway 95A and Neal Road after noticing the driver was not wearing his seatbelt properly. Instead of stopping immediately, the driver continued traveling at a slow rate of speed while moving around inside the vehicle. Before coming to a complete stop, the driver threw a baseball-sized plastic baggie containing 16 grams of marijuana out of the front passenger window, the report states.
The driver, identified as 37-year-old Jeremy Tramine Moore, was detained at the scene. A subsequent vehicle search revealed a digital scale and a small bowl containing marijuana residue inside a backpack, FHP said. Authorities also discovered that Moore had a driver’s license with an extensive history of suspensions. Moore admitted to troopers that he was selling marijuana from his residence, the report states.
Moore was booked into the Escambia County Jail on charges of possession of marijuana with intent to sell, possession of drug paraphernalia, destruction of evidence, and driving with a suspended license. He remained in jail Wednesday morning with bond set at $13,500.
Nine Mile Road Costco Opens In Less Than 24 Hours
June 24, 2026
The grand opening for the highly anticipated Costco on Nine Mile Road in just hours away.
The new warehouse store at 225 East Nine Mile Road, at the corner of Chemstrand Road, will open at 8 a.m. on Thursday. 172,580 square foot Costco retail store with a gas station and 830 parking spaces was approved by Escambia County and construction started at the beginning of the year.
How much is a Costco membership?
Membership is required for in-store shoppers at Costco. Members must be 16 or older to apply. The pharmacy is open to anyone, regardless of membership.
Costco is expected to start selling memberships location outside the store before grand opening day.
Costco offers two levels of membership for individuals or businesses:
Executive: $130 annually
- Annual 2% Reward
- Costco Services Discounts
- Shop Online and in Warehouses
- Includes 2 Membership Cards
- 100% Satisfaction Guarantee
Gold Star: $65 annually
- Shop Online and in Warehouses
- Includes 2 Membership Cards
- 100% Satisfaction Guarantee
New members that have not been a Costco member in the past 18 months can receive a $20 digital Costco shop card with a gold star membership of a $40 digital Costco shop card. with an executive membership.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Former Congressman Matt Gaetz Appointed to Triumph Gulf Coast Board of Directors
June 24, 2026
Former Northwest Florida congressman Matt Gaetz is returning to public service.
He has been appointed to the board of directors for Triumph Gulf Coast, Inc. Triumph is a non-profit corporation that oversees about $1.5 billion Florida received from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, which has about $690 million remaining to allocate.
Gaetz was appointed on Tuesday by Daniel Perez, speaker of the Florida House of Representatives. The appointment is effective July 1 and expires on June 30, 2030.
Gaetz resigned from Congress in November 2024 after President Donald Trump announced he would nominate him as attorney general. He later withdrew from consideration.
Rain Chances Jump For Wednesday, Thursday
June 24, 2026
Scattering storms will be likely on Wednesday before tapering off late Wednesday Night. Skies will clear significantly heading into Thursday and Friday, paving the way for a mostly sunny and hot weekend. Temperatures will consistently hover around the low 90s, with only isolated afternoon storm possibilities returning by early next week.
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Wednesday: Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly after 4pm. Increasing clouds, with a high near 89. Calm wind becoming northeast around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Wednesday Night: Showers and thunderstorms likely before 4am, then a slight chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 72. Calm wind. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Thursday: A chance of showers, with thunderstorms also possible after 10am. Mostly sunny, with a high near 89. Calm wind becoming west around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%.
Thursday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 73. Calm wind.
Friday: A 30% chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 90. Calm wind becoming southwest around 5 mph in the afternoon.
Friday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 74. Southwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 91. Calm wind becoming southwest around 5 mph in the morning.
Saturday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 74. Southwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 92.
Sunday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 74.
Monday: A 20% chance of showers and thunderstorms. Sunny, with a high near 92.
Monday Night: A 20% chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 74.
Tuesday: A 40% chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 92.
Multiple Escambia River Recreation Sites Closed Due to Flooding
June 24, 2026
Multiple Northwest Water Management District recreation sites are temporarily closed until further notice due to flooding.
Escambia River
- Bluff Springs – entire site closed
- Williams Lake – entire site closed
- Keyser Landing – entire site closed
- Webb Landing – entire site closed
- Cotton Lake – entire site closed
- Mystic Springs — reopened
Perdido River
- Otto Hill -reopened