Employee COVID-19 Cases Keep Century Town Hall Closed Longer Than Expected
December 3, 2020
The Century Town Hall will remain closed a little longer than expected after employees tested positive for COVID-19.
“We do have two employees who have tested positive for Covid and waiting the results of two in the office,” Century Mayor Henry Hawkins said.
The town hall was closed Tuesday and Wednesday and professional cleaned. And now a reopening date in uncertain.
The town hall could reopen as early as Monday, but that’s dependent on pending COVID-19 test results, Hawkins said. If that employee test is positive, town hall may not be able to open until an employee returns on December 10.
Pictured: The customer service window inside the Century Town Hall. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
Here’s How To Check Your Sally FEMA Application (And Maybe A Way To Apply After The Deadline)
December 3, 2020
The deadline for individuals and households to apply for FEMA disaster assistance has passed, but work on Florida’s recovery from Hurricane Sally continues.
Escambia and Santa Rosa county residents who registered with FEMA can check the status of their applications, ask questions and get information in several ways:
- By visiting DisasterAssistance.gov
- Using the FEMA App for smartphones
- Calling 800-621-3362.
Survivors who were unable to register before the December 1 deadline and who can provide justification for late registration may contact FEMA and request consideration for disaster assistance.
Woman Charged With Battery On Deputy And Nurse After Wreck
December 3, 2020
A Walnut Hill woman was charged with battery of a deputy and a nurse following a wreck.
Holly Mae Kelson, 36, was charged with felony battery on a law enforcement officer and felony battery on a specified person.
Escambia County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to the area of 6400 Rockaway Creek Road where a truck was wrecked into a fence and tree the night of November 28. Area residents advised they saw a male and female move the truck to a nearby residence.
After deputies located the truck, they made contact with five people, including Kelson, that were described as being intoxicated and uncooperative.
An ECSO arrest report states Kelson “was constantly screaming profanity and sexual references”.
“Kelson then pushed me on my upper body and shoulder area with her open hands and attempted to strike me in the face, but she missed,” the deputy wrote in her report.
After Kelson was taken into custody, she was transported to Baptist Hospital to be medically cleared. While at the hospital, she jumped off her hospital bed. As the deputy and a nurse attempted to place her back on the bed, she kicked at both. She kicked the nurse in his face, causing a cut on his mouth, the report states.
While still at the hospital Kelson told the deputy, “[Expletive], I’ll shoot you in the [expletive] face,” according to the report.
Escambia District Extends School Choice Application Deadline
December 3, 2020
The Escambia County School District has extended the school choice enrollment window for the next school year.
“We will continue to accept applications through Dec. 11th. Families need to know that we will be unable to accept any application after the new deadline,” said Chris McFarland, ECSD’s coordinator of Student Assignment, Home Education and Student Records. “This application period is for middle and high schools only, the elementary application window will open Jan. 25th.”
For families who are still reaching a decision, a recording of this year’s virtual School Choice Expo is still available. The virtual live event can be found on the district’s website. Scroll down to find the logos for each ECSD middle and high school and open a list of all of the academies at each school.
For more information, contact the ECSD School Choice Office at schoolchoice@ecsdfl.us, call (850) 469-5580, or visit their office located in the J.E. Hall Center at 30 East Texar Drive in Pensacola. The office is open weekdays, 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Pictured: The recent Escambia County School District’s School Choice Expo.
No Serious Injuries In Molino Wreck; One Vehicle Grazed Building
December 2, 2020
There were no serious injuries in a two vehicle crash late Wednesday afternoon in Molino.
The collision occurred at Highway 29 and Molino Road about 4:30 p.m. One of the vehicles then grazed an unoccupied building near the southeast corner of the intersection.
The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating.
NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Barbour, click to enlarge.
Monday’s Century Triple Shooting Homicide Suspect Was Recently Released From Prison For 2015 Manslaughter
December 2, 2020
A Century triple shooting homicide suspect arrested Tuesday night was just released from prison after serving time for a 2015 shooting death.
Jaran Britt Myles, 26, is charged with first degree homicide, home invasion robbery, aggravated battery and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He is accused in the shooting of three people Monday night in Century, one of which died at the scene on Alger Road.
Myles was released from state prison in March after completing a sentence for a January 2015 shooting in Century. He was to remain on felony probation until 2026, according to the Florida Department of Corrections.
At age 21, Myles pleaded no contest and was sentenced to prison for manslaughter with a firearm for the January 31, 2015, shooting death of 20-year old Jonathan Ray Wilson on Backwoods Road in Century.
In 2015, a witness told deputies that “Run Run”, later identified as Myles, pulled out a gun and asked him if he was scared of it before taking the magazine out of the weapon and pointing it him. Myles then pulled the trigger of the gun, without the magazine, but it “dry fired”, he said.
The witness said Myles then pointed the gun to Wilson’s head after loading the magazine back into the gun. Wilson then adjusted the height of the gun to his head, “correcting the placement of the gun pointed at him”. The witness said when Wilson let go of the gun, Myles pulled the trigger and shot Wilson in the head.
As a high school sophomore, Myles was a member of the 2012 state champion Northview High School football team and was named “Mr. Versatile” during a team awards banquet.
Pictured: The scene of a January 31, 2015, fatal shooting on Backwoods Road in Century. NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.
Five Arrested In CARES Act Fraud Case, Including Man That Bought A Corvette
December 2, 2020
Five people have been arrested for their alleged involved in CARES Act fraud, including on the purchase a Corvette.
Antonio Slocum Jr., Megan Slocum, Ari’obasi Jenkins, Alyssa Cole, and Elijah Simmons were all charged with grand theft and scheme to defraud. Daniel Cole was also arrested for unrelated drug charges.
On Tuesday, the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office served seven search warrants throughout Escambia County involving CARES Act fraud. Five suspects were arrested for stealing victims’ identities and information to obtain CARES Act loans and defrauding financial institutions if amounts from $4,000 to $70,000.
“This is just the tip of the iceberg. We anticipate many more days of investigation and many more arrests. It is infuriating that the money intended to help those in need was used and fraudulently obtained in this manner,” said Chief Deputy Chip Simmons.
According to investigators, the suspects would apply and receives CARES Act loans and open accounts at financial institutions including Navy Federal with the intent to scheme and defraud. Jenkins allegedly used stolen funds to purchase a 2017 Corvette.
While serving the search warrants, the ECSO seized 50 fraudulent bank cards, nine firearms, and over 600 other pieces of evidence.
The investigation was conducted by the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office, FBI, ATF, U.S. Department of the Treasury, Department of Homeland Security, Pensacola Police Department, Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office, Escambia County Corrections, and US Postal Inspector . The Navy Federal Credit Union security team also assisted.
Rachel Venable Named Molino Park Elementary Teacher Of The Year
December 2, 2020
Rachel Venable has been named the Teacher of the Year at Molino Park Elementary School. She currently teaches language arts and social studies to students in the fourth grade. Venable has been at Molino Park since 2007. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
FDLE Confirms Escambia County Administrator’s Office Was Bugged Illegally
December 2, 2020
Authorities have confirmed that an illegal listening device – commonly called a bug — was found in the office of Escambia County Administrator Janice Gilley.
Gilley said she requested that her office be swept for a bugs after details of a private conversation were leaked to the public. The device, which had both audio and video capabilities, was discovered during the summer. The entire fourth floor of the Ernie Lee Magaha Government Building was swept, but no other devices were located. The offices of the county attorney and the five county commissioners are located on the floor.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement confirmed that the bug was found, and that they launched an investigation on August 1. That investigation was closed September 30 due to a lack of further information.
Former Escambia Virtual Academy Administrator Charged With Sexual Assault Of Teen
December 1, 2020
A former Escambia Virtual Academy administrator has been charged with sexual battery of an underage girl over a period of several years.
Jeremy Shane Lowery, 46, was charged with one first degree felony count of sexually battery against a victim between 12 and 16 years of age by an adult in a familial or custodial authority. He was released from the Escambia County Jail Monday afternoon on a $10,000 bond.
None of the abuse was reported to be directly related to his employment at the school program.
Lowery allegedly molested the girl beginning when she was 13-years old, between January 2013 and January 2017. The victim told investigators that the molestation started with inappropriate touching and progressed over time to sexual intercourse, according to an Escambia County Sheriff’s Office report.
He would buy the girl items she needed or wanted and tell her that she owed him, the report continues, and he would also pay her for inappropriate pictures.
In June 2020, he again told her that she owed him for something and she was supposed to “pay him back” by engaging with him sexually, the ECSO said. She told deputies she decided to report the incident because Lowery was attempting to move away to avoid an investigation.
When she was 13 or 14 years old, the girl was sending nude photographs to someone that she had engaged in an online relationship, but she found those photographs on Lowery’s phone while helping him officiate a sporting event, the report indicates. Lower yadmitted to her that he had been looking at the nude photographs she had been sending someone else, the ECSO said.
The victim told investigators that the situation continued after she turned 18 and moved to college. She said Lowery would send her a list of things to due in lewd photos, send her money for sex or nude photos, and go to her house for sex.
Lowery met an investigator at the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office. According to the report, he stated that he did not have his phone with him, but deputies found it in the trunk of his vehicle. Exterior cameras at the Sheriff’s Office showed Lowery walk toward the front door, check his pockets, return to his vehicle and place something in the trunk.
“It is reasonable to believe Lowery lied about forgetting his cellphone at a friend’s house to conceal the phone from law enforcement,” the investigator wrote.
The ECSO obtained a search warrant for the phone, finding searches for “delete Instagram account”, deleted snapchat, and “how to cancel facebook” that were made the day after the victim contact law enforcement. The victim identified herself in a nude photograph found on the phone, but it was taken after she was legal age, the report states.
Search warrants were listed as pending on additional digital devices.
Lowery made numerous statements to law enforcement, but they were redacted from the arrest report.
Lowery worked for several as an administrator for the Escambia County School District at the Escambia Virtual Academy.
In 2019, Lowery’s Florida educator certification was suspended by the state for three years as part of a settlement agreement. He was accused of making approximately 1,380 entries to 121 student records in the Escambia Virtual School summer program, modifying or entering 995 specific grades during July 2017, according to Florida Department of Education documents.