U.S. Supreme Court Weighs Death Penalty Law In Nine Mile Road Killing
October 14, 2015
U.S. Supreme Court justices Tuesday spent an hour questioning attorneys in a case that could force key changes in the way Florida carries out the death penalty.
The appeal was brought on behalf of death row inmate Timothy Lee Hurst, who was convicted in the 1998 murder of a fast food worker in Escambia County and contends that Florida’s unique sentencing system is unconstitutional.
In part, Florida’s system does not require unanimous jury recommendations before judges can sentence defendants to death. Also, the case focuses on the interplay between juries and judges on “aggravating” circumstances, which must be found before death sentences can be imposed.
Seth Waxman, a former U.S. solicitor general representing Hurst, argued Tuesday that Florida’s sentencing system is unconstitutional under a 2002 U.S. Supreme Court ruling known as Ring v. Arizona, according to a transcript of the hearing. But state Solicitor General Allen Winsor disputed that argument, saying “Florida’s capital sentencing system was constitutional before Ring v. Arizona and it remains constitutional in light of Ring v. Arizona.”
It likely will take months for the U.S. Supreme Court to rule, but the case could have far-reaching effects if justices find the system unconstitutional.
Rep. Jose Javier Rodriguez, D-Miami, and Sen. Thad Altman, R-Rockledge, filed bills last month that would require unanimous jury recommendations before death sentences are imposed and would make changes in state law about the issue of aggravating circumstances. The bills (HB 157 and SB 330) will be considered during the 2016 legislative session, which starts in January. Rodriguez and Altman also filed bills for the 2015 session, but the measures did not make it to the House and Senate floors.
Hurst, now 36, was convicted of the murder of Cynthia Lee Harrison, who was an assistant manager at a Popeye’s Fried Chicken restaurant where Hurst worked. Harrison’s body was discovered bound in a freezer, and money was missing from a safe, according to a brief in the case.
Two Women Suspected In Theft From Nine Mile Business
October 14, 2015
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office is searching for the two women in this surveillance camera image.
Investigators said Tuesday that they are suspected of stealing an employee’s wallet at Uniquely Yours Boutique on East Nine Mile Road last month. A witness says while one woman distracted the employee, the other stole the wallet. The victim’s credit cards were then used multiple times.
Anyone with information on their identity is asked to call the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office at (850) 436-9620 or Crime Stoppers at (850) 433-STOP.
Image courtesy Escambia County Sheriff’s Office for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Gambling Talks Continue Between The Seminoles And Scott
October 14, 2015
Seminole casinos would get craps and roulette, a Palm Beach County dog track could have slot machines and the state could reap at least $3 billion over seven years, under a gambling deal being negotiated between state leaders and the tribe.
The agreement — still a long way from being finalized — would also allow a new gambling operation in Miami-Dade County to start up with slot machines and permit dog tracks to stop racing greyhounds while retaining lucrative card rooms.
Multiple sources close to the negotiations provided details to The News Service of Florida about the ongoing talks between the Seminoles and Gov. Rick Scott’s office, which is working in tandem with House and Senate leaders to rewrite a 20-year agreement, called a “compact,” that authorized the tribe’s slot-machine and table-game operations. A provision of the deal, inked in 2010, gave the Seminoles exclusive rights to operate banked card games, such as blackjack, for five years in exchange for a minimum payment of $1 billion. That portion of the compact expired this summer.
Under the talks, the Seminoles would guarantee a minimum $3 billion over seven years as part of compact that would last another 20 years.
“What I can confirm is that negotiations have made significant progress. We’re at a place where the taxpayers will be seeing a significantly higher share from the tribe than they currently receive. That would be hundreds of millions of dollars that we could use to invest in education, infrastructure or other core services. … I can also confirm that we could do all of this and also, for the first time, contract gaming in areas where it’s dying,” Senate Regulated Industries Chairman Rob Bradley, R-Fleming Island, told The News Service on Tuesday.
A portion of the revenues would go to supplement purses for thoroughbred horse races, now running at Gulfstream Racetrack and Tampa Bay Downs.
The latest proposal would also ban “player-banked” card games, now underway at a number of pari-mutuels, in Miami-Dade and Broward counties. Pari-mutuels in other counties could continue to run the games, in which the “bank” is another player instead of “the house,” but the state would impose clearer guidelines regarding the popular games.
The Seminoles contend that the games, first authorized by state gambling regulators in 2011, violate the tribe’s rights to exclusivity in operating banked card games, which typically involve players betting against the house instead of against each other.
Many of the components now under discussion don’t directly affect the Seminoles but instead deal with the pari-mutuel industry and would be considered as part of a bill authorizing the agreement, which lawmakers would most likely consider during the legislative session that begins in January.
For example, the Seminoles are purportedly “agnostic” about decoupling horse and dog racing from other gambling activities, including slots at the South Florida pari-mutuels and card rooms at facilities in other counties. Currently, pari-mutuels are required to have racing or jai alai games if they want to offer card rooms or slots.
While it is almost certain that any legislation would allow dog tracks to drop greyhound races, doing away with horse racing is more contentious. One possibility, according to sources involved in the talks, would require thoroughbred tracks to continue racing but allow tracks that use other types of horses, such as quarter horses, to do away with racing altogether if they choose.
The Seminoles are also seeking to tighten a “hope provision” included in the original agreement that allows the tribe to reduce its payments to the state if South Florida pari-mutuels are allowed to have banked card games, or if slots are authorized at any facilities that weren’t already operating in Broward or Miami-Dade, except for Hialeah Race Track, when the deal was signed in 2010.
That could dash South Florida operators’ hopes of adding blackjack. Instead, they would have to settle for decoupling and as much as a 10 percent reduction in the tax rate that they pay on slot machine revenues.
Getting the requisite support for such a deal from the Republican-dominated Legislature is problematic. Many members are prone to protect pari-mutuel operators in their own backyards or have ideological objections to gambling in general, which could prompt them to cast a “no” vote against any gambling-related proposal.
Slots for the Palm Beach Kennel Club are considered crucial to getting any bill out of Bradley’s Regulated Industries Committee, whose members include several Palm Beach County legislators.
The addition of slots would be contingent on the track’s purchase of at least one active pari-mutuel license elsewhere, according to those involved in the negotiations. The same would apply to a new gambling permit for a facility in Miami-Dade County, which would likely be granted based on a competitive bid and require some sort of payment to the state. Both the new facility and the Palm Beach dog track would be restricted to having fewer slots than the maximum 1,500 machines now allowed at pari-mutuels in Broward and Miami-Dade counties.
Granting slots to the Palm Beach dog track while prohibiting the cash cows in other counties where voters have approved them — including Lee, Brevard and Gadsden — is rife with political problems. Limiting slots expansion to Palm Beach County, just north of the two counties where slots are already in operation, could gain support among gambling-leery conservatives in the House. But it could also cost the endorsement of legislators who want their local operators to reap the same benefits.
Requiring the Legislature’s approval injects doubt into a complicated gambling agreement much like “putting a queen-sized sheet on a king-sized bed,” according to House Regulatory Affairs Chairman Jose Felix Diaz, a Miami-Dade County Republican.
“It’s a Rubik’s cube. I don’t think a Rubik’s cube is impossible to solve. If you give an intelligent person enough time, they’ll figure it out. But in the world of competing interests where you have so many other things taking place. … Right now we’ve been singularly focused on the compact because it’s the off-season. But we’re about to ramp up and start swallowing water out of the fire hose. So where Rob Bradley and I have been able to fully dedicate ourselves to this negotiation over the past few months, now I’m going to have to be digesting insurance bills and energy bills and business regulation bills that come before my committee. The timeline for an easy landing is winding down. With each passing day, it becomes more difficult to have a soft landing,” Diaz told The News Service on Tuesday.
And, unlike nearly a decade ago when then-Gov. Charlie Crist championed the gambling deal with the Seminoles, neither Scott nor leaders in the House and Senate leader have openly advocated for a new agreement with the tribe, making the odds for final passage of a compact even longer.
“The state of the economy is completely different than it was when the original deal was inked back in 2010. At the time the deal was put together, the state budget was enhanced by $435 million. Now, we’re in a situation where the economy is much better. We’re not spending or counting on the dollars from the Seminole Tribe. And we’re not dealing with a governor who is defending an existing deal as being valid, like we were with Gov. Crist back then,” said Senate Majority Leader Bill Galvano, a Bradenton Republican who, as a House member, was instrumental in crafting the 2010 deal with the Seminoles.
by Dara Kam, The News Service of Florida
Northview Chiefs Volleyball Marks Senior Night
October 14, 2015
Tuesday night was Senior Night for the Northview High School volleyball team as they honored seniors Hanna Ging, Savanna Roux, Maddi Weber, Leah Fischer, Brittney Ward and Laurie Purdy.
On the court, W.S. Neal defeated Northview 18-25, 25-19, 20-25, 25-11, 15-12. In junior varsity action, W.S. Neal defeated Northview 25-22, 27-25.
Both teams will travel to West Florida on Thursday.
Pictured top: Northview seniors (L-R) Hanna Ging, Savanna Roux, Maddi Weber, Leah Fischer, Brittney Ward and Laurie Purdy. NorthEscambia.com photos by Gary Amerson, click to enlarge.
FHP Investigating Fatal Crash
October 14, 2015
A fatal crash Tuesday in Escambia County is under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol.
According to the FHP, a 2010 Toyota Camry drive by 57-year old Doan Thi Thuy-Nga and a 2004 Chevrolet Cavalier drive by 76-year old Clara Darby Ward collided at the intersection of Mobile Highway and Boulder Avenue.
Ward was pronounced deceased at Sacred Heart Hospital after the crash; Thuy-Nga was taken to Sacred Heart in serious condition.
The FHP has not released details on the cause of the accident as they continue their traffic homicide investigation. And charges are pending the outcome of that investigation.
Another Atmore Home Heavily Damaged By Fire
October 13, 2015
A home in the 300 block of South Presley Street in Atmore was heavily damaged by fire early Tuesday morning. It was the second house fire in Atmore in less than 24 hours.
There were no injuries reported in either fire.
For information about Monday’s fire, click here for an earlier story.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Farm Tour Highlights North Escambia Agriculture (With Photo Gallery)
October 13, 2015
Participants in the Escambia County Farm Tour recently learned about agriculture in the North Escambia area.
Local governmental officials, community leaders and even international visitors toured several agricultural locations in North Escambia and get an up close and personal look at a variety of farming activities.
Following registration at the Molino Community Center, farm tour participants heard presentations from 4-H members before heading to Lulu Road in Molino to learn about forestry. Attendees then observed peanut production with Eric Koehn on Crabtree Church Road, visited the Birdsong Peanut Buying Point outside Atmore, and watched a cotton harvest with Mike Koehn on Kansas Road in Walnut Hill.
The farm tour then stopped to observe the growth of a sun hemp, a cover crop growing at Highway 97 and Kansas Road in Walnut Hill, and then visited the West Florida Gin Company on Meadows Road near Davisville.
Pictured top: Cotton production, and pictured inset: Peanut production. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com. Pictured below: Inside the West Florid Gin with cotton ginning equipment. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
FWC Law Enforcement Report
October 13, 2015
The Florida FWC Division of Law Enforcement reported the following activity during the weekly period ending October 8 in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties.
ESCAMBIA COUNTY
Officers Pettey, Barnard and Livesay were working dove hunting. After hearing multiple shots, the officers found four hunters hunting over a baited field. The hunters were hunting near an active corn feeder and wheat was also spread on the field. The four hunters were charged with hunting migratory birds over bait.
Lieutenant Hahr was patrolling in the Perdido River Wildlife Management Area when he encountered a couple parked on management area property after legal entry hours. When he made contact with them, he observed evidence of drug use. A search revealed cannabis, THC “dabs”, hash oil, methamphetamine, and various drug paraphernalia. The driver of the vehicle admitted to possession of the items and was arrested and transported to the Escambia County Jail. Charges included possession
SANTA ROSA COUNTY
No information submitted for Santa Rosa County.
This report represents some events the FWC handled over the past week; however, it does not include all actions taken by the Division of Law Enforcement. Information provided by FWC.
Driver Cited, Company Fined For Dump Truck Versus School Bus Wreck
October 13, 2015
An Escambia County company is facing thousands of dollars in penalties and a driver cited on multiple charges for a wreck involving a school bus and Mack dump truck in late August.
The Florida Highway Patrol Bureau Commercial Motor Vehicle Enforcement conducted a compliance review of G.B. Green Construction Management and Consulting. The review found multiple civil violations that resulted in $14,555 in civil penalties. The driver of the dump truck, Abraham Larry, Jr. was charged with traffic violations for failure to obey a red light and expired registration. He was also issued faulty equipment violations for brakes and tires.
The bus loaded with students from Pensacola High School was hit by the company’s dump truck on August 27.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, 16 students were transported to area hospitals, two as “trauma alerts”. The FHP said bus driver Harriet Collins, 27, along with 22 students and a driver’s assistant were westbound on Jordan Street attempting to cross Pace Boulevard.
A Mack dump truck being driven by Larry, Jr., age 33 of Pensacola, was traveling north on Pace Boulevard. The dump truck driven by Larry ran the red light at the intersection of Jordan Street on collided with the left rear side of the school bus. The collision caused the school bus to overturn and strike a utility pole, coming to final rest on its right side.
Tire photos courtesy Andrew McKay, NewsRadio 1620 for NorthEscambia.com. Other photos are NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Learn Quilting For Beginners At The Molino Library
October 13, 2015
Cena Harmon will teach the basics of hand quilting at the Molino Branch Library in a two part series.
In part one at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, October 20, at 6 p.m. participants will discuss how to chose patterns and fabrics, and look at how to use basic tools. In part two of the series on Tuesday, October 27, at 6 p.m., attendees will start piecing together their quilt.
Both classes will be held in Room 123. The Molino Branch Library is located in the Molino Community Center at 6450 Highway 95A. For more information, call the Molino Branch Library at (850) 435-1760 .