Man Charged With DUI, Hit And Run After Crashing Into Escambia Deputy’s Vehicle
June 30, 2025
An Arizona man was charged with DUI in a hit-and-run crash involving a marked Escambia County Sheriff’s Office SUV on Saturday night.
Jason Kenneth Crupe, 28, of Chandler, AZ, was booked into the Escambia County Jail.
The crash happened around 7 p.m. Saturday at Navy Boulevard and Sunset Avenue. The ECSO later located Crupe and his vehicle at Elizabeth Street and Hawthorne Drive.
He was charged with DUI and hit and run and later released on a $10,000 bond.
There were no injuries in the crash, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
White Dominates, Wahoos Hit Team-Record Six Homers To Split Wild Chattanooga Doubleheader
June 30, 2025
written by Willie Phaler
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos split a Sunday twin bill against the Chattanooga Lookouts to finish what is possibly their last trip to AT&T Field, falling 4-1 in game one before finishing things out with a team-record six home runs and a thrilling 10-5, eight-inning win in game two.
After a rare blown save opportunity from the Pensacola bullpen, the Blue Wahoos and Lookouts headed to extra innings in game two tied 3-3.
An eighth inning was all that was needed, as the Blue Wahoos clubbed four home runs in the inning. Cody Morrissette, Michael Snyder, Josh Zamora and Tony Bullard all went yard in the frame, combining for seven runs in the frame to make it 10-3. The damage was done against Simon Miller (L, 1-3) who was charged for six earned runs (seven total).
The four home runs in a single inning tied a mark that was previously set by the Blue Wahoos in April, and the six total homers in the game established a new team record dating back to 2012.
The Blue Wahoos offense got off to a hot start in the first inning of game two. Morrissette hit his first homer of the game while Kemp Alderman followed up with a solo home run of his own off TJ Sikkema to give Pensacola an early 2-0 lead.
The Blue Wahoos added a run in the fifth, as Morrissette picked up his second of four RBI of the day with a sacrifice fly to left to score Johnny Olmstead.
On 84 pitches, Thomas White strung together five innings of two-hit, shutout baseball with five strikeouts and one walk on Sunday. He left with a 3-0 lead and in line for his first Double-A win, but will have to wait another turn around the rotation before a winning decision as a member of the Blue Wahoos.
White handed it off to the Pensacola bullpen that was up-and-down Sunday afternoon. Nigel Belgrave threw a clean sixth inning, but Josh Ekness struggled in the save opportunity and left with two runners on base in a 3-2 game. Jesse Bergin (W, 2-1) got the Wahoos out of the seventh, but not before giving up a two-out, game-tying RBI single to Reds rehabber Noelvi Marte. After the seven-run explosion in the top of the eighth, Bergin came back out to finish off the win despite allowing a Stewart two-run homer.
Game one was not as offensive focused for the Blue Wahoos, as they were held to one run in a 4-1 loss.
With a seven inning affair lasting only one hour and 27 minutes tying for the quickest game in franchise history, Dax Fulton (L, 3-6) provided six innings of four-run ball on the way to the first complete game by a Blue Wahoos pitcher since Jeff Lindgren in 2022.
After a quick and quiet three innings to begin game one in Chattanooga, the Lookouts bats found the first jolt of offense on the day as they put up two in the fourth. Edwin Arroyo picked up an RBI single and Ethan O’Donnell drove one in after grounding into a double play with the bases loaded.
The Lookouts added some insurance against Fulton in the fifth, courtesy of a Marte RBI triple and a sacrifice fly from Hector Rodriguez that sent Marte home.
The Blue Wahoos offense got on the board in the fifth as catcher Ryan Ignoffo sent a single up the middle that allowed Olmstead to score from second. Ignoffo’s run-scoring single was the extent of the damage Chattanooga’s Kevin Abel (W, 2-5) allowed across six innings, as the Blue Wahoos mustered only three hits and two walks against the right-hander. Right-hander Trevor Kuncl (S, 9) tossed a 1-2-3 seventh inning to finish off game one and hand the Blue Wahoos their only loss of the trip to Chattanooga.
The Blue Wahoos say goodbye to AT&T Field in Chattanooga, which will be replaced by Erlanger Park as the new home of the Lookouts in 2026. Barring a postseason matchup between the two clubs, this will mark Pensacola’s final trip to the oldest active ballpark in the Southern League.
The Blue Wahoos will return to Pensacola to begin next week, as they take on the Biloxi Shuckers for a three-game homestand from July 1-3.
Escambia Hams Push Through Storms To Practice Emergency Communications
June 29, 2025
Local ham radio operators in Escambia County are taking part in the 2025 American Radio Relay League (ARRL) Field Day this weekend, taking a break only for a thunderstorm.
ARRL Field Day is an opportunity for about 40,000 amateur radio enthusiasts throughout the U.S. and Canada to set up temporary communications stations and make contact with like-minded people. Licensed radio operators, often called “hams,” spent the weekend practicing community outreach, emergency preparedness and technical skills.
The Five Flags Amateur Radio Association is operating until 4 p.m. Sunday at Ashton Brosnaham Park off East 10 Mile Road. They went on the air about 6 a.m. on Saturday.
Five Flags mateur radio operator Gene Bannon, call sign KB4HAH, said amateur radio operators were the only ones communicating for 36 hours after Hurricane Ivan. He said sheriff’s deputies could not talk to each other and the fire departments couldn’t talk to each other. He added that amateurs were the communications source for the first 36 hours before the arrival of satellite trucks and other equipment.
Bannon said that’s the reason amateur radio exists.
For more photos from Saturday, click here.
Club members set up their amateur radio equipment — ranging from old 1980s radios to modern digital gear and satellite communications. With a generator and portable antennas, including a wire antenna spanning half a soccer field, they were soon communicating with ham operators across the United States and Canada.
But Saturday afternoon, they were forced to take a break due to rain and lightning from a thunderstorm. Radios were disconnected from antennas, and equipment was tarped.
“Lightning can quickly send your radio to the trash heap,” Bannon said as the lightning storm began to move away. “And it’s dangerous.”
The amateur radio operators have their own equipment inside the Escambia County Operations Center, ready to provide needed communications during local emergencies. That room was named for Rudy Hubbard, WA4PUP, a ham operator who passed away in May 2021.
I-110 Resurfacing Project Set To Begin
June 29, 2025
The Florida Department of Transportation will begin a $7.2 million resurfacing project on I-110 from I-10 to Highway 98 in Pensacola.
This project also includes:
Resurfacing the I-110 ramps between the I-110/I-10 interchange and Cervantes Street (Exit 2).
Guardrail and lighting upgrades.
Stormwater management enhancements.
New and updated signing and pavement markings.
During construction, drivers may encounter periodic lane closures Sunday through Thursday evenings, between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. Additionally, there will be periodic I-110 on and off-ramp detours for the milling and paving work.
This project is scheduled for completion in early 2026.
Patronis Applauds House Passage Of Bill Benefiting Military, Veterans
June 29, 2025
Northwest Florida Congressman Jimmy Patronis is applauding passing of a House bill which allocated more than $152 billion towards critical investments in military infrastructure that support readiness.
H.R. 3944 – The Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2026, fully funds veterans’ health care programs, veterans’ benefits, and VA programs, providing more than $452 billion for the Department of Veterans Affairs. That’s more than $82 billion above the enacted level for Fiscal Year 2025. Patronis voted in support of the legislation.
Patronis said, “I’m grateful for President Trumps and Speaker Mike Johnson’s leadership in the passage of this pro-military, pro-veteran legislation. This bill puts America’s veterans, active-duty military, and their families first by providing historic funding that increases the readiness of our troops and ensures that our veterans and military families receive the care and support they need back home. It also bolsters our national security, enhances border protections, and prevents any efforts to undermine veterans’ Second Amendment rights. This bill will go a long way toward assisting the many veterans and military families in Florida’s First Congressional District and ensure our heroes in uniform are well-prepared to defend the homeland.
“This Military Construction and Veteran Affairs bill allocates $75 million for the design and planning of future barracks, $2 billion for military family housing, and fully funds veterans’ medical care at more than $131 billion, which will go towards veterans’ benefits and toxic exposure-related needs. I’m also pleased to report that this funding measure includes more than $970 million for the Bridging Rental Assistance for Veteran Empowerment program, which is an initiative dedicated to ending veteran homelessness. Our heroes in uniform put their lives on the line 24/7/365, and this bill honors both their sacrifices and those of our nation’s veterans.”
‘It’s Gonna Be Really Embarrassing’ – ECSO Says Cantonment Man’s Texts Link Him To Trailer Theft
June 29, 2025
A Cantonment man was arrested on a felony charge after allegedly stealing a trailer from a business on West Nine Mile Road, and the deputies say he was linked to the crime by his texts.
Joseph Shane Wilson, 45, was charged with grand theft and later released from the Escambia County Jail on a $5,000 bond.
The owner of Sheds Plus reported a blackout edition 7×16 enclosed Rocksold trailer valued at $10,000 was stolen from the property. The trailer theft was captured on surveillance video as it was pulled away by an older model silver and gold half cab Chevrolet Silverado, later traced by the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office to Wilson.
Wilson’s cell phone had been seized during a separate ECSO narcotics search warrant.
On the day of the trailer theft, Wilson sent a text stating “I got this thing and I’m taking it to weezys shop”, according to an ECSO search of the phone. Deputies also reported finding a picture on Wilson’s phone of the trailer that was taken on the day of the theft.
Investigators also reported finding a text on Wilson’s phone that stated:
“”it’s gonna be really embarrassing if I go to jail because I went and stole a $10,000 trailer because I was worried about lot rent and your car payment and power bill because you got paid and didn’t pay a dime on any bills and you are broke and then I go and blow $500 at casino this morning and then you want to try and act like your little motel job is more important than anything I might need to do or want to do .. it takes you several months to make what I have in the last 2 weeks.”
Century Town Council Cancels July 1 Meeting, Reschedules Another
June 29, 2025
The Town of Century has canceled its regularly scheduled July 1 town council meeting.
The council normally meets on the first and third Tuesdays, but the council had previously rescheduled their July 15 meeting to July 22, meaning the council’s only July meeting will be on the 22nd.
The July 1 meeting was canceled with little to no business set for the agenda, and the July 15 meeting was delayed a week by the council because Town Clerk Carrie Moore will be at a conference.
NorhtEscambia.com file photo.
Blue Wahoos, Lookouts Postponed Again In Chattanooga
June 29, 2025
Saturday’s doubleheader between the Pensacola Blue Wahoos and Chattanooga Lookouts at AT&T Field was postponed due to wet grounds.
The twin bill was intended to make up Friday’s game, which was postponed due to rain.
One of the games will be made up as part of a doubleheader on Sunday, with first pitch of game one scheduled for 12:15 p.m. EDT/11:15 a.m. CDT. The doubleheader will consist of two seven-inning games, with game two starting approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of game one. The final game of the series will be made up at a later date.
Walnut Hill Sex Offender Charged With Sexually Cyber-Harassing Woman, Failing To Register
June 28, 2025
A registered sex offender from Walnut Hill has been charged with sexually cyber-harassing a woman.
Walter Eugene Sunday, 54, sent numerous sexually explicit photos and videos of male genitalia to a woman over a six-hour period from Sunday night through 1:50 a.m. Monday, June 23, according to an arrest report.
Monday morning, an Escambia County Sheriff’s Office deputy found Sunday sitting on a bench in his front yard on Nokomis Road, and he “immediately started making statements his phone had been stolen a couple days ago by someone named Jamel,” the report states. Additional statements were redacted from his arrest report.
The victim told deputies that she had never been in a romantic relationship with Sunday, and that the messages were unsolicited.
The victim told deputies that Sunday had sent her a photo in the past with no message, and she immediately deleted it. She also alleged Sunday had sent the same type of unwanted and unsolicited photos to another female, but deputies were unable to make contact with the female.
Sunday’s phone was seized by the ECSO.
Sunday was convicted of lewd and lascivious conduct on a victim under 16 in June 2013, and is required to register as a sex offender. According to the ECSO, he failed to return to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office to reregister as required with the Florida Sex Offender/Predator database during May 2025. Deputies noted he was previously convicted of failing to register in July 2024.
Sunday was charged with sexually cyber-harassing another person and felony failure to reregister. He remains in the Escambia County Jail without bond.
FHP Seeks Jeep, And Driver With Only Two Front Teeth, For Cantonment Hit And Run
June 28, 2025
The Florida Highway Patrol is asking for the public’s help in locating a Jeep involved in a hit and run crash on Highway 29 earlier this month.
About 2 p.m. on Monday, June 2, a gray Jeep Gladiator was observed traveling north on Highway 29 near Highway 95A in Cantonment. FHP says the Jeep failed to stop for traffic ahead, which resulted in the Jeep rear-ending a white Lincoln Navigator. The Jeep driver stopped briefly before fleeing north on Highway 29 toward Molino.
The driver of the Navigator described the driver of the Jeep as a white male in his 50s with only two front teeth and a blister on his left foot, according to troopers.
The Jeep Gladiator was described as having orange accent accessories with a small unknown number Alabama tag. It was last seen northbound on Highway 29 passing Well Line Road.
“It is unknown at the time of investigation if there is damage to the Jeep,” FHP said Friday.
Sample image provided by FHP.