Molino Man Charged With Arson, Burglary Of Occupied Home
April 12, 2018
Wednesday , a Molino man was arrested for arson and burglary after allegedly building a fire inside an enclosed porch.
A resident of Fairgrounds Road near the Molino Boat Ramp told deputies that on Tuesday night her family had a recreational fire in a fire pit by the river. Later that night, she said she saw Ivy Dwayne Little, 55, by the fire pit and called the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies arrived, but were unable to locate Little.
Wednesday morning, the resident smelled smoke in her home and found a small fire smoldering on a concrete floor inside her enclosed porch. The fire was still smoldering when deputies arrived on scene.
The fire caused burn marks on the floor and possible smoke damage. The resident reported a a pair of shoes, a tent and two umbrellas missing.
Deputies located Little walking on Highway 29 near their Molino Precinct and placed him under arrest on a first degree felony charge of arson of an occupied dwelling, along with burglary of an occupied dwelling, criminal mischief and petit theft. He remains in the Escambia County Jail with bond set at $53,500.
The incident was investigated by the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office and the Florida State Fire Marshal’s Office.
Century Woman Passes Away Days After Hitting, Killing Highway 29 Worker
April 12, 2018
The Century woman that struck and killed a highway worker last Friday has passed away.
Sharon Odom, 60, was pronounced deceased Tuesday evening while at her residence with family present.
The Florida Highway Patrol said Odom was southbound on Highway 29 when her 2006 Ford Mustang traveled off the roadway onto the west shoulder, colliding with worker Maceo A. Perkins, 41, of Pensacola and an unoccupied Dodge Ram truck that was off the roadway.
Odom was trapped in her vehicle and was extricated by firefighters before being airlifted by LifeFlight helicopter to Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola with serious injuries. Perkins was pronounced deceased at the scene.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Convicted Sex Offender Accused Of Sexually Abusing Teen In Century
April 12, 2018
A local wrestler previously convicted of child sex abuse has been charged with sexually abusing a teen girl in Century. The arrest followed a tip from the girl’s father.
Peter Mika Lotoa, 32, was charged with six felony counts of sexual battery on a victim 16 or 17 years old. He remained in the Escambia County Jail with bond set at $600,000.
The father told investigators that he was friends with Lotoa, and he learned that Lotoa was having a sexual relationship with his 16-year old daughter. The father stated that he had received information from Lotoa’s girlfriend saying that she suspected sexual interaction between the minor and Lotoa.
The dad provided law enforcement with a screen shot of an apology he said he received in a Facebook message from Lotoa in which he stated that he and the teen started out as just friends and he did not mean for it to happen. The Facebook message also says that he cares for the teen and would die for her, and he “knows what the future holds for him,” the arrest report states.
The teen stated that she had unprotected sexual intercourse with Lotoa on six occasion and those dates, from January 8, 2018, to March 14, 2018, were noted in her phone, according to the arrest report. Lotoa was 31 years old during that time period.
Lotoa was arrested Tuesday at an address in the 1100 block of Williams Ditch Road.
He was previously convicted of lewd and lascivious battery with a victim age 12-15 in March 2005 and sentenced to three years in state prison.
Bratt Woman, 80, Falls Victim To Burglars’ Scam As Husband Showers
April 12, 2018
An 80-year old Bratt woman fell victim to the scam of burglars that stole her wedding rings while her husband, also 80, was in the shower.
The woman told deputies that an unknown Hispanic male dressed as a construction worker knocked at her front door. He stated that he was with a tree trimming company and they were doing work in the woods behind her home on North Highway 99 and needed her to show him where the property line was so they would not damage trees on her property.
She walked toward the back of the property with the man, but got an uneasy feeling as he tried to get her further away from the home. She told him to leave the property. She began to walk back to the house where she found a second Hispanic male standing in the driveway near her husband’s truck, also dressed in work attire type clothing. She told both of them to leave her property.
The two men were returning to their truck when a third Hispanic male ran out of the house and jumped in the truck. He was also dressed in work clothing.
She went inside to check on her husband , who was in the shower, and discovered jewelry missing — including her custom made wedding rings and an anniversary ring and other items worth several thousand dollars. Nothing else was reported missing.
The husband told deputies he was in the shower and heard someone in the house but thought it was his wife until he walked out of the bathroom and discovered a Hispanic male standing directly across from him in the bedroom doorway.
The suspect then immediately asked the location of all faucets in the house, saying there was “poison” in the water from a busted water line. The suspect turned on all the faucets in the bathroom. The husband, thinking something was actually wrong, followed the Hispanic male toward the kitchen. But he decided something did not feel right and headed back to his bedroom to retrieve his gun, He saw a second male standing next to a dresser near his wife’s purse. He yelled at them to leave and grabbed his gun as they ran out of the house.
One of the suspects was described as being heavier set with a mustache.
The truck was described as being a newer model that was silver in color. There was nothing identifiable on the truck such as a company name, logo or decals.
The Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office is also looking for the same, or a similar, truck involved a burglary involving two Hispanic male male suspects. The truck, pictured above, was seen in Pace in Milton.
Anyone with information should contact the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office at (850) 436-620, Gulf Coast Crime Stoppers at (850) 433-STOP, the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office at (850) 983-1190, or the Santa Rosa County Crime Stoppers Program at (850) 437-STOP.
Florida Judge Gives Green Light For Man To Grow His Own Marijuana
April 12, 2018
A Tallahassee judge Wednesday gave the OK to Tampa entrepreneur Joe Redner to grow his own pot to treat cancer, prompting state health officials to immediately appeal a decision that could open the door to more legal skirmishes over Florida’s medical-marijuana regulations.
Leon County Circuit Judge Karen Gievers ruled that the 77-year-old Redner — who made his fortune as a strip-club owner — can grow his own marijuana because state rules prohibit Florida medical-marijuana operators from selling whole plants or flowers.
Redner’s doctor ordered a juicing treatment that uses live marijuana plants to prevent a relapse of stage 4 lung cancer, according to court documents. Emulsification, or juicing, of the “biomass of the marijuana plant” was determined to be “the most effective way” for Redner, a longtime vegan, “to get the benefit of medical marijuana,” according to Gievers’ order.
“The Constitution says what it says, and the judge recognized what I’ve been saying all along: The Department of Health and the Legislature can’t take away the rights that the Constitution gives you,” Redner said in a statement Wednesday.
Redner’s lawyer, Luke Lirot, argued that a voter-approved constitutional amendment broadly authorizing medical marijuana “unambiguously allows” the Tampa man to follow his doctor’s recommended method of taking the pot treatment.
Redner is forced to grow his own plants to make the liquid treatment because the Department of Health hasn’t allowed any marijuana operators to sell whole plants to patients, Lirot argued.
Siding with Redner, Gievers found the prohibition defies the 2016 constitutional amendment.
“Nothing in the amendment authorizes the Department of Health (or any other part of Florida’s government) to ignore the rights of qualifying patients to access the medical marijuana treatment to which they are entitled under the Florida Constitution, or to exclude any method by which qualifying patients may take their medicine,” Gievers wrote in Wednesday’s 22-page order.
The judge also scolded state officials, writing that the health department “has been, and continues to be, non-compliant” with Florida constitutional requirements.
“Until and unless the department stops violating its constitutional duty and adopts the mandated presumptive regulation, the evidence clearly demonstrates that Mr. Redner is entitled to follow the recommendations of his certified physician under Florida law, and to possess, grow, and use his own medical marijuana plants in a secure manner so he will have access to the medical marijuana to which he is entitled under the amendment,” Gievers wrote.
The Department of Health’s notice of appeal in the case “automatically operates as a stay of the final judgment pending appellate review,” lawyers for the state agency wrote.
Lirot said he will file a motion as soon as Thursday asking Gievers to lift the stay.
The state’s request to block Gievers’ decision — which the judge wrote applies only to Redner — comes as no surprise, according to Adam Eland, Redner’s partner in a business called Florigrown. Florigrown filed a separate marijuana-related lawsuit in Tallahassee last year.
“Instead of wasting the taxpayers’ money with an appeal that is a sure loser, the department would be better served to rethink their unconstitutional approach to regulating this program,” Eland said. “Judge Gievers made absolutely clear that the department has no authority to limit any route of administration. That’s what the amendment says, and we expect our state government to defend the Constitution, not try to judge shop their way out of it.”
Wednesday’s decision telegraphs what Gievers may do in a separate lawsuit initiated by John Morgan, the Orlando trial lawyer who largely bankrolled what was known as Amendment 2, the constitutional amendment approved by more than 72 percent of Florida voters in 2016.
In that case, Cathy Jordan and other patients are challenging a state law, passed during a special session last year, that carries out the amendment and, among other things, bans patients from smoking marijuana.
Jon Mills, a former University of Florida law-school dean who represents the patients and who authored the amendment, argued that the ban violates the Constitution, which he maintains allows qualified patients to use smokable marijuana as a treatment if their doctors order it. Gievers is scheduled to hold a hearing in the case next month.
Gievers’ ruling in the Redner lawsuit “makes the Mills case a fait accompli, or, as my friend says, a done deal,” Lirot told The News Service of Florida in a telephone interview Wednesday.
“They’ll get the benefit of that,” he said.
Meanwhile, medical marijuana operator Trulieve is asking state health officials to allow the Gadsden County-based company to sell whole flower to patients like Redner.
“Trulieve is committed to expanding patient access across Florida. In anticipation of this court decision, we sought state approval to provide this patient — and others like him — with the medical marijuana his doctor prescribed and stand ready to dispense it once authorized,” Trulieve CEO Kim Rivers said in a statement.
Trulieve got in trouble with state health officials last year, after the vendor started selling whole-flower cannabis. The health department sent the grower a cease-and-desist order after the News Service reported that the company had started selling a whole flower product for use in vaporizers but which could easily be smoked.
In a separate lawsuit filed last week, Trulieve asked a judge to strike down a state law that limits the number of dispensaries marijuana companies can operate, saying the restriction “arbitrarily impairs product availability and safety” and “unfairly penalizes” pot providers.
by Dara Kam, The News Service of Florida
Northview Football Releases Schedule, Names 2018 Football Coaching Staff
April 12, 2018
Head Coach Derek Marshman has named his 2018-2019 football coaching staff, and the school has released their football schedules for the upcoming season.
Coaches are: Eric Jefferson, Kevin Bryan, Greg Gibson, John Madison, Jared Aliff, Tyler Reaves, Doug Godwin and Glenn Weber.
“I am really excited about the upcoming season. We have a lot of key returners at key positions. The kids are excited and have worked hard and have high aspirations. I am really excited to see the offseason development in the weight room translate to the field and see some kids that have matured excel,” said Marshman.
The Chiefs will start spring practice on April 23. The Chiefs will host Escambia County High School of Atmore in spring game on May 18. There also a Garnet and Gold spring scrimmage in the works, but a date has not been finalized.
Schedules are below.
NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
ECUA: Test Showing Salmonella In Compost Was Incorrect
April 12, 2018
Days after compost from the Emerald Coast Utilities Authority tested positive for Salmonella, follow up testing indicated the positive test result was incorrect.
On Friday, ECUA notified the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) that a monthly test on the compost had tested positive for Salmonella in excess of the allowable limits.
“Upon notification, the department advised ECUA to immediately contact customers who received the material to inform them of potential exposure, to resample the material to confirm the results, and to retrieve delivered compost where feasible,” Brandy Smith, a spokesperson for FDEP, said.
Nathalie Bowers, ECUA public information officer, said Wednesday that a retest did not show any indication of Salmonella.
“This would indicate that the sample result received last Thursday, which caused concern and only affected customers who had received compost on or after March 20, was a false positive or possibly a lab error,” she said.
Bowers said she expected ECUA to resume normal compost operations on Thursday.
“A review of ECUA’s compliance history since 2016 revealed that ECUA has been in compliance with sampling requirements for the biosolids compost and results for all required parameters have been within regulatory limits,” Smith said.
ECUA’s Emerald Coast Bloom compost is created using a combination of yard waste — such as leaves, grass and pine straw — and biosolids –treated sewage sludge that meets high standards.
File photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Wahoos Win Home Opener
April 12, 2018
In a showdown of the defending Southern League champions, Pensacola used stellar pitching and timely hitting to squeak past the Lookouts in the Blue Wahoos home opener.
The celebrations started early throughout the stadium. Fans came early to watch the presentation of the championship rings to returning members of last year’s winning team. Once the hardware was passed out, the Blue Wahoos raised their first ever championship banner beyond the center-field wall.
Once the players took the field, Daniel Wright (W, 1-1) made sure the applause didn’t end there. The Memphis native bounced back from his Opening Day struggles and neutralized Chattanooga’s bats through six innings. He held the defending North Division champs to just one run on three hits while striking out three. After running into a slight hiccup in the first inning, Wright was in total control retiring the next 11 Lookouts in-a-row.
Pensacola’s offense turned in a total team effort, with four different Wahoos producing RBIs and six different fish scoring runs. Chadwick Tromp turned in a 2-for-4 performance for his first multi-RBI effort of the season and Gavin LaValley added his team-leading sixth RBI of the season.
The Wahoos used small ball to open the scoring in the third. Shed Long led off the inning with a single and then stole second base off Lookouts starter Zack Littell (L, 0-1). LaValley followed by poking a single into right to score Long.
Pensacola added two more in the fourth thanks to clutch hitting by Taylor Sparks and Tromp. After an O’Grady double, followed by a stolen base. On a 3-2 pitch, Sparks lined a single to left to double the Blue Wahoos advantage. That’s when Tromp doubled down the left-field line to score Sparks for his first of two RBIs.
It appeared Pensacola put the game out of reach when Guerrero crushed his first home run of the season off Zack Jones in the seventh to make it a 6-1 lead. Last season, Guerrero didn’t record his first homerun at Blue Wahoos Stadium until July 25.
The Lookouts saved their best for last with a furious ninth inning rally that nearly ruined the Blue Wahoos party. Carlos Navas struggled out of the bullpen and issued walks to Chris Paul and Zander Wiel before surrendering a three-run home run to T.J. White to make it a 6-4 game.
Jody Davis opted for a change and called upon Robinson Leyer to record the final two outs of the game. Leyer’s command was never in tune and he hit Wynston Sawyer with a pitch before walking Ryan Walker. Again, Davis went to the bullpen and this time brought in left hander Brennan Bernardino to pitch to the left-handed hitting Nick Gordon.
Gordon singled into right field to bring home Sawyer, but as Walker tried to go first-to-third, right-fielder Aristides Aquino unleashed a spectacular throw to third base to throw out Walker. Bernardino then froze Tanner English to pick up an unexpected first save of the season.
Pensacola Sears Store Closing
April 12, 2018
The Sears store in Pensacola will close this summer.
The Davis Highway store location, which opened 44 years ago, will close by mid-July. Liquidation sales will begin April 27.
The store was among over 250 Sears and Kmarts sold to Seritage Growth Properties and then leased back to Sears Holdings.
Century Apartment Complex Parking Lot Death Not Believed To Be Foul Play
April 11, 2018
Foul play does not appear to be involved in a death Wednesday morning in the parking lot of a Century apartment complex.
Maj. Andrew Hobbs, spokesman for the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office, said a preliminary investigation does not show any signs of foul play in death of a man found dead inside a vehicle.
The Nissan Altima was in the parking lot of the new Century Park Apartments on Second Street, just east of the Billy G. Ward Courthouse and the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office Century Precinct. The vehicle came to rest against a curb and was not in a marked parking space.
There’s no word on how long the man may have been in the vehicle or the cause of his death.
Escambia County EMS and Escambia Fire Rescue responded to the scene about 6:40 a.m., and the individual was pronounced deceased at the scene.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
