Tom Thumb Robbed At Gunpoint (With Surveillance Video)
September 3, 2015
An early morning armed robbery is under investigation at Highway 29 convenience store.
The Tom Thumb at Highway 29 at Roberts Road was robbed at gunpoint just before 1 a.m. Thursday. A black male wearing a dark hoodie and a mask entered the store and demanded cash, according to Sena Maddison, spokesperson for the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office. The clerks were not injured.
Investigators have not yet determined if this robbery is related to the robbery of a Tom Thumb at in the 300 block of Highway 29 last week. Click here for more information and surveillance images from that robbery.
Anyone with information on either robbery is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (850) 433-STOP or the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office at (850) 436-9620.
(If you do not see the video below, it is because your home, school or work firewall is blocking YouTube videos.)
Man Steals Truck For Beer And Cigarette Run, Visits Creek And Returns Truck
September 3, 2015
A Bratt man is facing charges after allegedly stealing his neighbor’s truck to buy beer and cigarettes and go to a a creek before returning the pickup the next morning.
A resident of York Road reported his truck stolen, only to wake up the following morning and discover that his truck had been returned He told deputies that he confronted his neighbor, 51-year old Marvin Anthony Haynie, who allegedly admitted to the theft.
The neighbor said Haynie told him that he had walked into his yard to see where deer had been crossing, entered the truck and found the keys. He then reportedly took the truck to get beer and cigarettes at a store before driving to a creek near Little Rock, AL. That’s where the truck’s battery died and Haynie spent the night before someone jumped off the truck’s battery the next morning.
Prior to the truck being reported stolen, it was caught on a camera and observed by an off-duty with Haynie driving at York Road and Pine Barren Road, according to an Escambia County Sheriff’s Office report.
Haynie was charged with felony grand theft of a motor vehicle, burglary of an unoccupied conveyance and driving with a suspended license. Haynie remained in the Escambia County Jail early Thursday with bond set at $6,000.
Man Sentenced To 12 Years For Burglary, Grand Theft
September 3, 2015
An Escambia County man convicted on burglary related charges will spend the next 12 years in state prison.
Trenton Marquis Fails was sentenced by Circuit Judge Thomas Johnson for burglary of an occupied dwelling, grand theft auto, theft from a person 65 years of age or older, criminal mischief, trespass and resisting officer without violence, fleeing or attempting to elude a law enforcement officer, reckless driving and driving without a valid driver’s license.
On January 4, Fails and his co-defendant, Anthony McPherson, knocked on the door of an 87-year old woman and briefly spoke with her before forcing their way into the residence. The defendants took her purse, along with cash and her car keys, before stealing her car.
When deputies spotted the vehicle on Belmont Street, they attempted to conduct a traffic stop of the vehicle by initiating their lights and siren. A brief chase ensued before McPherson and Fails abandoned the vehicle and fled on foot. A K-9 track led deputies to a residence on Frisco Road where both were apprehended.
McPherson was previously sentenced to 15 years in state prison.
The investigation was conducted by the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant State Attorney Jeremiah Monahan prosecuted the case.
Deputies Seek Cantonment Armed Robbery Suspect
September 3, 2015
Authorities are seeking information in the armed robbery of a Cantonment Tom Thumb during the early morning hours of August 25.
The suspect entered the store in the 300 block of South Highway 29 about 1:45 a.m. He was armed with a revolver, forcing the clerk to place money from the register into a plastic bag. The suspect was described as a black male wearing a camouflage hoodie with a black mask over his face. It is believed that he drove the silver vehicle pictured prior to the robbery.
Anyone with information as to his identify is asked to contact Crime Stoppers at (850) 433-STOP or send an online tip at gulfcoastcrimestoppers.org.
These surveillance photos were released Wednesday by the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.
Northview To Hold Open House Next Week
September 3, 2015
Northview High School will hold an Open House next week.
The even will be held from 6-7 p.m. on Tuesday, September 8 with school faculty and staff on hand to provide a more in-depth look at the education programs at Northview.
For more information, click here.
Escambia Sheriff’s Office Presents Quarterly Awards
September 3, 2015
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office held their quarterly awards ceremony Wednesday, with Sheriff David Morgan presenting the following awards and commendations:
Commendation Medal and Law Enforcement Officer of the Quarter: Deputy Ron Busbee (pictured top).
(scroll down below photos for more)
Law Enforcement Employee of the Quarter: Vicki Hodge (pictured above).
Big Smiles: Tate Cheerleader Wins $500 Prize For Her Squad
September 3, 2015
A Tate High School varsity cheerleader received a big surprise, and a big check, Wednesday from her orthodontist. Freshman Emilee Potter won a Shehee & Callahan Family Orthodontics’ car magnet contest, earning her $500 for her school. She chose to give the money to her cheerleading squad. The money will be used to purchase pink pom-poms for the Tate cheeerleaders to use for breast cancer awareness. Courtesy photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
State Sets 320 Bear Limit For Upcoming Hunt
September 3, 2015
A target was placed on at least 320 black bears Wednesday as the once-threatened species will be hunted across Florida next month for the first time in more than two decades.
A split Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission approved quota numbers that represent about 10 percent of the bear population in four regions of the state — there are seven regions — where the hunt will be allowed. Commission staff called the regional and overall quota numbers “conservative.”
Commissioners, meeting in Fort Lauderdale, also gave support Wednesday to a position paper on the Florida panther population. Some panther advocates argued the commission’s move is a step toward allowing the endangered animals to eventually be hunted like bears.
The bear hunt, approved by the commission in June and set to start Oct. 24, will last from two to seven days. While the hunt is supposed to end in each region once the preset quotas are reached, hunters are guaranteed a minimum of two days of pursuing bears.
Commissioner Robert Spottswood said he’d like to give the agency’s executive director authority to close the hunt after the first day if the quotas are reached, but he failed to get support from the full commission.
“Why not manage the program so you can’t exceed the objective?” Spottswood said.
Commissioner Ron Bergeron, a hunter who cast the lone vote against the hunt in June because of what he said was a need to gather more data on the number of bears, also voted against approving the quotas.
Diane Eggeman, director of the commission’s Division of Hunting and Game Management, said that while the number of bears killed could exceed the quota numbers in each of the four regions, there will not be an “over-harvesting,” based on examples from others states that allow bear hunts.
Opponents said the commission was mismanaging the hunt, with an unlimited hunt for the first two days, and warned of a pending bear “blood bath.”
Lee Cook, a wetlands biologist, questioned assurances that there won’t be over-harvesting, as the state has sold 1,948 bear hunting permits — as of Tuesday — at a cost of $100 for Floridians and $300 for non-Floridians.
“You have put us on track to go over the quota in the first two days,” Cook said. “That, combined with the nuisance bear kills and the car kills, could put us right back on the endangered species list, which we all worked so hard to get them off.”
Black bears were placed on the state’s threatened list in 1974, when there were between 300 and 500 across Florida. At the time, hunting black bears was limited to three counties. In 1994, the hunting season was closed statewide.
This year’s hunt is intended to help the state achieve a 20 percent reduction in the bear population in each region. The 20 percent figure includes the number of bears that die naturally, are hit and killed by cars and are captured and killed by wildlife officers due to conflicts.
Eggeman said permitted hunters, who will be limited to one bear each, must report kills within 12 hours, and there will be nightly updates, via text and social media, on the counts for each region.
According to the latest figures, there are an estimated 1,300 bears in the Central region, which includes the St. Johns River watershed to the Ocala National Forest, and 550 bears in the North region, which goes from Jacksonville west to Hamilton and Suwannee counties. In each region, the harvest target is 100 bears.
The bear quota is 40 in an eastern Panhandle region, which includes the northwestern Big Bend area to west of Apalachicola Bay. In a South region, which includes Broward, Collier, Hendry, Lee, Miami-Dade, Monroe, and Palm Beach counties, the quota number is 80. The South region excludes the Big Cypress National Preserve.
The issue has gained attention recently because of conflicts between bears and humans in some areas of the state. Critics of the hunt contend that people are moving into bear habitats and that the state should focus on efforts such as bear-proofing trash containers and prohibiting people from feeding bears.
Thomas Eason, director of the commission’s Division of Habitat and Species, said the agency is identifying obstacles in getting more “bear resistant” trash cans in areas where bears live, including a need to push for local ordinances to ensure compliance.
“It’s not rocket science. We know it works,” Eason said.
The panther issue also drew heavy discussion Wednesday. Commissioners backed the new position paper, which seeks incentives for private landowners to maintain panther habitat and assistance from the Department of Transportation to install panther crossings to reduce collisions with vehicles. Also, it seeks to develop ways to respond to encounters between panthers and people or panthers and livestock.
Commissioner Charles “Chuck” Roberts called the policy “our best efforts” to sustain the panther populations.
Agency officials say they aren’t seeking to allow the federally endangered species to be hunted but are seeking better management to reduce conflicts with humans.
Such assurances weren’t accepted by many of speakers addressing the commission Wednesday.
“It’s not what’s in the paper that’s wrong, it’s what’s missing from the paper that is wrong,” said Manley Fuller of the Florida Wildlife Federation. “Not a word about habitat loss. You folks know, and your scientists know, and the Fish and Wildlife Service folks know, that the big problem for the panther is loss of habitat. It’s been continuous, ongoing and it’s happening now.”
The policy statement also recommends the commission seek more federal assistance as the panther population in Southwest Florida has reached its “carrying capacity” and is expanding to other parts of the state.
Nearly a half-century of conservation efforts have allowed the panther population, mostly across South Florida, to grow from about 30 to around 180, according to the commission paper.
The current recovery plan calls for the panther population to reach about 240 adult cats in three areas across South Florida. Yet the panther population is being impacted by humans moving into the animal’s natural habitat.
Commissioner Aliesa “Liesa” Priddy, a Collier County rancher who shared a video of a panther strolling across a field apparently unconcerned about the human occupants of a nearby vehicle, questioned if the 240 number is realistic due to development growth. She also said many people may not understand the impact of panthers on residents of rural areas.
“The people that are in the urban, suburban areas have to have some empathy for those people that are not in the urban and suburban areas,” Priddy said.
Gunshots Fired During Domestic Dispute, One Injured
September 2, 2015
Gunshots were apparently fired in a domestic dispute this near Walnut Hill Wednesday morning.
The Escambia County Sheriffs Office responded to an address in the 6000 block of Rockaway Creek Road, south of Nokomis Road. Sena Maddison, spokesperson for the Sheriff’s Office, said a female allegedly fired a weapons at a man’s feet during a dispute, and he was injured by debris, but not directly shot. His injuries were not considered serious.
There was no immediate word of any arrests. Further details have not been released.
Escambia County EMS and the Walnut Hill Station of Escambia Fire Rescue also responded to the incident.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Unlikely Best Friends Battle Cancer As Family Fights For More Research Funding
September 2, 2015
Bryant Cooper, age 18 years, and Kena Spivey, age 19 months, might seem like the most unlikely of best friends. Their friendship, their bond, is held together by the thing they’d most like to beat — childhood cancer.
In late October of last year, Bryant was a happy, focused young man with a love for football. And John Deere…that love was strong enough that he had even landed a dream job of sorts with a local John Deere dealership. But pain in his back — he thought just a pulled muscle or maybe kidney stones — sent him to the emergency room. The preliminary diagnosis was not good…suspicious spots on his liver. More tests for a final diagnosis that Bryant and his mother, Janet Little Cooper, never expected on November 4.
Cancer.
Not just cancer, but a Stage 4 rare neuroendocrine cancer, and it had spread with a vengeance to other parts of this body.
“It’s very rare and incurable. Because it had spread, there was nothing that they could do other than chemo. We were basically told six months for him to live without chemo, maybe a couple of years with chemo.”
Kena was diagnosed with a Stage 3 tumor on her cervix and uterus on July 7, 2014.
Kena was in Sacred Heart Hospital for a chemo treatment, and Bryant was in for his first ever treatment when the two met on November 17. Her parents, Charles and Dawn Spivey, were walking her down the hallway trying to calm her when they met Janet.
“Dawn, seeing the fear in my face, was so kind and began telling me the details of what to expect when Bryant’s chemo started,” Janet said. “Her compassion is what I needed that night.”
Kena’s tears stopped when she saw Bryant lying in his hospital bed.
“As the tears stopped, she reached her little hand out to Bryant and started baby talk grunting like she wanted him. At that moment, a bond was made….”
The friendships have grown outside the hospital…daily texts, activities together and phone calls. Bryant has become a voice of sorts for Kena, able to relate how a medicine tastes or feels to her mom.
During those long hours at her son’s bedside, anger began to grow inside Janet. Not just the anger one might expect toward cancer, but an anger of what’s being done to cure childhood cancer.
On average, 43 teens are diagnosed with cancer each day. And before the day ends, a childhood cancer will claim seven lives.
“There are billions and billions of dollars spent on cancer research every year in this country. But only four percent is spent on find a cure for childhood cancers,” she said.
September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, and this Saturday a special event will be held at Maritime Park with a shave-a-thon benefiting St. Baldrick’s Foundation, a charity committed to funding the most promising research to find cures for childhood cancers. Participants can shave their heads, or just donate, to help the cause. For more information, visit the St. Baldrick’s website. Kena and Bryant have their own team in the event, Standing with Coop & Baby Kena, click here to donate specifically to their team. The funds all go to national childhood cancer research, not to Kena and Bryant.
Janet has also joined the movement to have the NFL go gold for childhood cancer….much as they go pink for breast cancer. For more information, see NFLgoGOLD.com.
“I know this is all too late for my son, but we can keep other families and other children from going through this by working to increase childhood cancer research funding,” she said.
As for Kena…her cancer has spread to her lungs, and the family hopes that someone reading this has experience with a doctor somewhere in the country that might be able to help. And she’s learned to call her best buddy Bryant by name.
Bryant will continue chemo as long as he can tolerate it. And beyond that, according to his doctors, there is little hope. He’s not oblivious to that fact.
“Mama before I die I want to…”, is how many of the conversations between Bryant and his mom go. But still, Bryant has a different outlook.
“Those doctors don’t have the authority to number my days. Only God does,” he said.
Follow Bryant’s progress on Facebook at “Standing with Coop“.
Pictured: “Best friends” Bryant and Kena are battling cancer. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
