Suspect Shot During Apparent Home Invasion Near Nine Mile Road
February 24, 2020
Gunfire was exchanged and a suspect was shot during an apparent attempted home invasion just north of Nine Mile Road Monday afternoon.
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office responded to a shots fired call on Sunnehanna Boulevard shortly after 2 p.m.
It appeared one of the suspects was shot during the gunfire, according Major Andrew Hobbs of the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office. That suspect was driven by someone to a local hospital and dropped off.
“Not everyone at the residence is being completely forthcoming at this time,” Hobb said as the ECSO continued their investigation into exactly what happened. A second suspect was believed to have fled, but no description was provided by the resident.
The condition of the person who was shot was not available. Additional details will be posted as they are released.
Photos courtesy Renee Beninate/WEAR 3 for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Cheat On Your Homestead Exemption In Escambia County? Here’s How The Property Appraiser Is Looking For You.
February 24, 2020
Cheating on your homestead exemption in Escambia County? Forgot to remove a homestead exemption that’s no longer valid? Escambia County Property Appraiser Chris Jones is looking to track you down and collect taxes reaching back up to a decade.
Jones has hired Louisiana-based Assessure Systems to comb through the tax rolls in Escambia County, using high-tech tools to track down invalid exemptions and collect what is rightfully due…plus penalties and interest. The program will begin with an audit of properties worth $100,000 or more.
“I have alway aggressively gone after homestead fraud,” he said. “It’s stealing from taxpayers, taking money out of our schools, projects and local coffers.”
Using two investigators and a floater, Escambia County’s local efforts currently uncover up to about a half million dollars per year revenue from fraudulent homestead exemptions, Jones said. With Assessure Systems, he expects that amount to easily double. Currently, about 40 percent of taxpayers identified with an invalid exemption come in and pay, while 60 percent move on to the lien process.
Once it is determined a homestead exemption is not valid, the tax appraiser can collect unpaid taxes from up to 10 years ago, plus a penalty of 50% of the unpaid taxes for each year, plus 15% annual interest. Assessure Systems will receive 28% of the collected tax amount. They receive the 28% at the time of the lien satisfaction and will have mp claim on future revenues. The taxing authority will receive the remaining taxes, along with the penalties and interest.
Once a homestead exemption is identified by Assessure as a potential violation, the process moves to the Property Appraiser’s Office. The owner will receive a 30 days notice by certified mail to explain why exemption is valid. If not, the clock starts ticking on 30 days to pay before a lien is filed. All correspondence will be signed and mailed locally by Jones’ office. The property appraiser has 100% control of the final determination of an invalid exemption.
“It’s not just Assessure making determinations,” Jones said. “Think of it as leads that we are still going to go through and vet.”
There are 163,696 real estate parcels in Escambia County. Of those, there are 70,708 homesteaded properties and 1,559 homesteaded condo units.
The property appraiser believes a higher rate of homestead exemption fraud may exist with condominiums on Escambia County’s beaches where individuals from out of town establish a Florida residence to avoid income taxes in other states.
“I’m going to go after the taxes locally on that doctor or lawyer or whoever is intentionally defrauding, and I’m going to turn them in to Ohio or wherever they are from,” Jones said. “I might deny it for a year, but I’m probably not to prosecute in a case where grandma died and it’s still in her name. I might just deny it for a year while they get everything right.”
Assessure Systems has already completed a sample audit as a test on 1,000 account submitted by the Escambia County Tax Collector. There were 44, or 4.4%, returned as suspect and 12, or 1.2%, were found to be in violation.
Escambia County, the Escambia County School Board and the Town of Century have signed memorandums of understanding with the Property Appraiser’s Office agreeing to give up the 28% fee. The City of Pensacola will likely consider their MOU this week, and the Northwest Florida Water Management District will soon vote. The program will begin when all of the taxing authorities have signed on.
In the state of Florida, a $25,000 exemption is applied to the first $50,000 of your property’s assessed value if your property is your permanent residence and you owned the property on January 1 of the tax year. This exemption applies to all taxes, including school district taxes. An additional exemption of up to $25,000 will be applied if your property’s assessed value is between at least $50,000 and $75,000. This exemption is not applied to school district taxes.
Assessure was founded 10 years ago, has a documented successful track record and is being used by nine other Florida counties. The company has several ad valorem tax related patents pending for scoring algorithms, artificial intelligence and machine learning to audit and entire tax roll in the fraction of time compared to local staff, with a substantial increase in accuracy and returns.
Escambia County Repaves Portion Of Greenland Road
February 24, 2020
A portion of Greenland Road in Davisville was repaved last week as part of Escambia County ongoing resurfacing projects.
The roadway was resurfaced from Highway 97 east about three-quarters of a mile to the pavement change where the dirt portion of Greenland Road was paved in 2016.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Tate Chaparrals Take Third In Gulf Coast Color Guard Percussion Circuit
February 24, 2020
The Tate High School Chaparrals finished in third place last Saturday inthe Gulf Coast Color Guard Percussion Circuit hosted by Pace High School. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Northview Criminal Justice Program Tours Escambia County Sheriff’s Office
February 24, 2020
Students from the Northview High School Criminal Justice Program recently visited the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.
After an introduction from Sheriff David Morgan and Chief Deputy Chip Simmons, the students visited the crime scene division, dispatch and ended their tour with a demonstration from the Escambia County Mounted Posse.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Florida Gas Prices Drift Lower After Midweek Hike
February 24, 2020
Florida gas prices jumped an average of 10 cents per gallon last week before drifting downward by a penny.
The average price per gallon across the state was $2.41 Sunday night, but Escambia County drivers were paying an average of $2.32. In North Escambia Sunday night, two Cantonment stations were lower at $2.25.
“Although gas prices are declining again, drivers should expect continued volatility at the pump in the coming months,” said Mark Jenkins, spokesman, AAA – The Auto Club Group. “Refineries are entering spring maintenance season, where they conduct seasonal maintenance and switch to a more expensive summer gasoline – as required by the EPA. This work can lead to reduced refinery output at a time when driving demand increases for spring break. In recent years, the imbalance of springtime supply and demand led to price hikes of 20-60 cents, which was spread out over the course of a few months.”
Escambia County Public Meetings This Week
February 24, 2020
Here is a schedule of this week’s Escambia County public meetings:
Monday, February 24
Library Board of Governance – 4 p.m., 1301 W. Gregory St.
Pensacola Bay Living Shoreline Public Workshop – 6 p.m., 333 Commerce St.
Wednesday, February 26
Coffee with the Commissioner Jeff Bergosh, District 1 – 6:30 a.m., McDonald’s Restaurant, 5 S. Blue Angel Parkway
Public Safety Coordinating Council – 12 p.m., Court Administration, 5th Floor Conference Room, 190 Governmental Center
Development Review Committee – 1 p.m., Escambia County Central Office Complex, 3363 West Park Place
Visit Pensacola Board of Directors Meeting – 3 p.m., 120 Church St.
Santa Rose Island Authority Committee Meeting – 5 p.m., 1 Via de Luna
Thursday, February 27
Extension Council Meeting – 5 p.m., 3740 Stefani Road, Cantonment
Friday, February 28
Black History Month Program – 6 p.m., Brownsville Community Center, 3200 W. DeSoto St.
One Injured In East Roberts Road Wreck
February 23, 2020
At least one person was injured in a crash Sunday afternoon on Highway 95A at East Roberts Road. The injured person was transported to an area hospital by Escambia County EMS. Two other people involved in the wreck were not reported to be injured. The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating. NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Barbour, click to enlarge.
Burglars Strike At Local Funeral Home, Reward Offered For Their Arrest
February 23, 2020
A local funeral home is offering a $1,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest of the people responsible for burglarizing the business.
Mike Atwood, owner of Faith Chapel North at 1000 South Highway 29 said someone broke into a storage building last Thursday after the close of business. The burglary is under investigation by the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.
“There were two people. The lone person in the pictures came at around 2:30 – 3 p.m. while we were open for business and cased the place,” Atwood said. “He and a second person came back around 6:30 p.m. and broke in.”
Atwood said the vehicle caught on camera appears to a Lincoln pickup.
Anyone with information on the burglary is asked to call the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office at (850) 436-9620.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Man Shot And Killed Saturday In Escambia County
February 23, 2020
A man was shot to death Saturday afternoon in Escambia County.
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office responded to the 800 block of Limoges Way in Montclair where they found 33-year old LaMarcus Fails deceased with multiple gunshot wounds.
The ECSO said the shooting was believed to be drug related, and their investigation is continuing. Investigators are looking for a dark gray Ford Festiva (pictured) in connection with the murder.
Anyone with information on the vehicle or the shooting is asked to call the ECSO or at (850) 436-9620 or Crime Stoppers at (850) 433-STOP.