Ransom Middle, Kingsfield Elementary Placed On Precautionary Lockdown
March 1, 2019
Kingsfield Elementary and Ransom Middle schools were placed on a precautionary lockdown Friday afternoon.
A person off campus called in an unspecified threat against personnel at Kingsfield Elementary School, said Amber Southard, chief public information officer for the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.
The alleged perpetrator was taken into custody under the Baker Act. Florida’s Baker Act allows officers to take an individual into custody for an involuntary mental examination when it is believed they are a danger to themselves or others.
The lockdown was lifted by 2:40 p.m.
File photo.
Jim Allen Elementary School Teacher, Three Others Arrested In Friday Drug Raid
March 1, 2019
Four people, including a local elementary school teacher, were arrested during a narcotics raid at a home Friday morning in Escambia County.
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office charged Susan Christina Maines 51, John L. Desposito, 57, Thomas Clyde Meadows, 51, and Brandon Blake Satterfield, 24, with possession of narcotics and other drug related charges. Desposito, was also charged with trafficking. All four were booked into the Escambia County Jail.
Maines was released Saturday morning on an $8,000 bond, and Desposito was released on an $18,000 bond. Satterfield remained jailed Saturday morning with bond set at $3,500, and Meadows was jailed with a $3,000 bond.
Maines a second grade teacher at Jim Allen Elementary School, according to their Escambia County School District. Associate Superintendent Norm Ross said the district will review the arrest and Maines’ status once complete information is received from the Sheriff’s Office.
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The narcotics warrant was served about 5 a.m. in the 7300 block of Mimosa Drive. The ECSO Narcotics Unit discovered methamphetamine, cocaine, marijuana, an assortment of pills, firearms, a pill press, more than $12,000 in cash and other drug paraphernalia. Deputies also seized a sign that states “Drugs Destroy Dreams” and depicts a person thinking about a graduation cap and diploma.
“The sign in the photo came from inside the home, and it’s right drugs do destroy dreams, said Amber Southard, chief public information officer for the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.
Pictured top: Items sized by the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office during drug arrests Friday. Pictured middle: A Friday morning narcotics raid on Mimosa Drive in Escambia County. NorthEscambia.com exclusive photo.
FDLE Report: Double Fatal DUI Crash Suspect Tests Negative For Alcohol, Positive For Drugs
March 1, 2019
A Florida Department of Law Enforcement lab report showed there was no alcohol found in the system of the man accused in a Kingsfield Road crash that claimed the life of two siblings in January.
But Hunter Black’s blood test did have a positive report for narcotics. Alprazolam, commonly known as Xanax, and Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol and 11-Nor-9-carboxy-delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, both which can be linked to THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, were present, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
Antoinette Marie McCoy, 22, and her brother, 15-year old Tate High School student Sean Banks, died at local hospitals shortly after the crash.
A Florida Highway Patrol report details the accounts of two crash witnesses. One reported a driver he was able to identify as Black was driving all over the roadway and was having trouble maintaining his lane in a curve. After the crash, he said he helped Black out of his vehicle. The second witness told the FHP he witnessed Black’s vehicle cross the center line as the collision occurred.
A Florida Highway Patrol sergeant that responded to Sacred Heart reported that Black was showing signs of impairment with slurred speech and trouble staying awake, according to an arrest report. A FHP trooper said Black had slurred speech, was unable to provide proper information and had “a white crusty substance on his lips.” Court records indicate a “green leafy substance” was found in the vehicle driven by Black.
“While attempting to talk to Black he seemed as if he was having issues understanding what was being said to him. When he attempted to speak he had very slurred speech to where it was sometimes difficult to understand him,” a Florida Highway Patrol trooper wrote in an arrest report. “Black was also unable to sign his paperwork to the point where a nurse advised him to just sign an X on his paperwork.”
Black was arrested after marking the discharge paper work.
In the days following the wreck, a judge signed a search warrant for Black’s Apple iPhone and “to use reasonable force if necessary” to require Black to unlock the phone with his thumb print to obtain information regarding the offense and Black’s whereabouts leading up to the traffic crash. A search warrant was also issued for information regarding Black’s phone use and location from his cellular provider.
After executing a search warrant for the vehicle Black was driving, troopers reported they took two unspecified paper receipts, data from the event data recorder, multiple swabs from the interior of the vehicle, two hairs and four airbags.
The FHP said Black had been involved in another crash before the fatal wreck when he ran off East Kingsfield Road and struck a tree near Berrydale Road. He then made a U-turn and traveled back west on Kingsfield Road a short distance before the fatal crash occurred.
Black remains in the Escambia County Jail with bond set at $1 million. If convicted, he faces up to 30 years in prison.
NorthEscambia.com photos.
Third Century Council Member Fined In Sunshine Law Violation Case
March 1, 2019
A third Century Town Council member charged with a civil violation of the Sunshine Law entered a plea before a judge Thursday.
Council member Luis Gomez, Jr., entered a plea of no contest and was fined $250.
Last month, council member Sandra McMurray Jackson and entered a plea of no contest and was fined $200. Council president Ann Brooks also pleaded no contest and was fined $100. Adjudication was withheld in all three cases.
Brooks received a lower fine because “she was left culpable because she was at the meeting legally before Mr. Gomez and Mrs. Jackson arrived,” Assistant State Attorney Greg Marcille previously said. “While she should have left immediately, she did not participate in the meeting to the extent that Mr. Gomez and Mrs. Jackson did.”
The three council members “did unlawfully engage in a discussion or exchange of information with other members of the Century Town Council regarding a matter which foreseeably could come before said board or commission for action, outside of a public meeting, in violation of … Florida statues,” according to the charging documents.
Last summer, three council members attended at least some portion of a closed-door meeting with CPA Robert Hudson, Town Clerk Kim Godwin and the town’s auditors. The meeting was not advertised as a public meeting, which would forbid more than one council member from taking part under Florida’s Sunshine Laws.
The maximum allowable fine was $500 for each council member.
Earlier this month, a grand jury investigated “a number of issues” related to the operation of the town. The results of that investigation have not yet been released.
Pictured top: Century Council members (L-R) Luis Gomez, Jr., Ann Cofield Brooks and Sandra McMurray Jackson at a December 17, 2018, meeting. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Escambia Jail Reaccredited, Recognized As ‘Excelsior Agency’
March 1, 2019
The Escambia County Jail for has been reaccredited by the Florida Corrections Accreditation Commission.
The agency’s fifth reaccreditation earned them the distinction of being named an “Excelsior Agency”. Only 16 other jails in Florida have achieved the designation.
Accreditation is the certification by an independent reviewing authority that an entity has met specific requirements and prescribed standards. These standards are recognized as best practices in the corrections community. They exceed the standards established through the Florida Model Jail Standards. Reaccreditation requires maintaining these standards for three years.
Chief William Powell, Commander Scott Nash, Lt. Walter Jefferis and Sgt. Jonathan Stuckey went to St. Augustine to sit for the accreditation inquiry.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Cat Country Morning Show’s Brent And Candy Win Top ACM Award
March 1, 2019
Brent Lane and Candy Cullerton of Cat Country 98.7 have been named Personalities of the Year by the Academy of Country Music (ACM) for their Cat Pak Morning Show. Lane also won the ACM Personality of the Year in 2009.
“It is an incredible honor to even be considered for this recognition. Candy and I are so proud of our community. We are lucky to wake up every morning and dance around the studio, play songs, crack jokes, and celebrate what make Cat Country the greatest place to live,” Lane said.
The 54th Annual ACM Awards Show will be Sunday, April 7 at 7 p.m. in Las Vegas and will air live on CBS.
Ransom Middle School Names Students Of The Month
March 1, 2019
Ransom Middle School has named Students of the Month for February. They are Emma Nigam and Johnny Nguyen. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Go Fly A Kite Saturday At The Molino Library
March 1, 2019
Go fly a kite Saturday at the Molino Branch Library. The Emerald Coast Kite Flyer’s Club will share their love for the high flying adventure of kites at 10:30 a.m. in a free program.
Northview Baseball Falls To Milton; Weightlifting Defeats Jay
March 1, 2019
BASEBALL
Milton 4, Northview 0
The Milton Panthers defeated the Northview Chiefs 4-0 Thursday night in Milton. After a scoreless first inning, Milton added one run in the second and one run in the fourth for a 2-0 lead in the fifth. The Panthers sealed the win with two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning.
WEIGHTLIFTING
Northview’s boys weightlifting team defeated Jay this week. Individually, Matt Caine, Jojo Parker, Jacob Hawkins, Lance McLaughlin, Aunterio Minor, Logan Bryan and Trent Kite took home first place.
Driver Crashes Into Wooded Area On Quintette Road
March 1, 2019
First responders were not immediately able to locate the driver of a vehicle following a wreck early Friday morning in Cantonment.
The Chevrolet Camaro left the roadway and crashed into a wooded are on Quintette Road east of the Highway 95A railroad crossing about 12:35 a.m.
The crash is under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol. The Cantonment Station of Escambia Fire Rescue also responded.
NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Barbour, click to enlarge.
