Daycare Owner Indicted For First Degree Murder In Toddler’s Death
November 13, 2014
A Santa Rosa County Grand Jury has indicted 55-year old Thelma Denise Lowery for first degree felony murder in the death of a 15-month old child that was attending her daycare.
She is currently being held without bond. If convicted as charged, she will face a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole.
According to the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office the 15-month old was taken to Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola with traumatic injuries consistent with shaken baby syndrome. Investigators said the injuries to the child occurred under Lowery’s care at her home daycare business at 4738 Ward Basin Road in Milton.
The toddler later died at Sacred Heart Hospital , according to the State Attorney’s Office. The Sheriff’s Office said Lowery was the person responsible for inflicting the injuries on the toddler.
Lowery remains in the Santa Rosa County Jail without bond.
Mae Day: Dog’s 11 Months On The Run End With Happy Reunion
November 13, 2014
Perhaps the best known dog in Atmore is no longer on the run; she’s back home in Birmingham today, ending an 11-month game of cat and mouse.
Back on January 15, Vickie Clark’s son was visiting Atmore from Birmingham along with 15-month old Mae the dog. Mae jumped the fence, beginning the 11-month saga.
Atmore Animal Shelter employee Brandon James and other animal shelter employees began, very unsuccessfully, to capture Mae.
“She’s one of the smartest dogs I’ve ever come across,” James said Wednesday. “She’d smell you from a long way away and take off.”
The Clarks and the animal shelter turned to the community which in turn provided numerous Mae sighting reports over the past several months. Animal shelter employees would head out, only to be outsmarted or outrun by Mae each time.
“Brandon James has been my lifeline to the whereabouts of this lost puppy. Our family looked for Mae numerous times but sadly she would run from familiar voices and was truly scared and in ‘flight’ mode,” Clark said in a letter praising James and the animal shelter. “Brandon and his team never gave up. The community would contact Brandon with every Mae sighting and he would go out to try to capture this elusive rascal. When I would start to lose hope, Brandon would lift me up and remind me to keep the faith that they would get our girl. Brandon worked tirelessly to capture Mae in every way possible. ”
Members of the Atmore community would feed Mae. One resident would even toss her flea medication stuffed inside a hot dog on a regular basis. James called her “Atmore’s mascot”.
The was one capture along the way but it turned out to be a male look alike.
Then there was a big break in the hunt for Mae last week. She was spotted in a fenced-in yard. James said an animal shelter staffer got close enough — from the upwind side — to hit her with a tranquilizer dart.
“I thought we had her since she was in a fenced-in yard, but no,” James said. “She got away, and then there was a three block foot chase. But she went down from the tranquilizer and we were able to pick her up.”
A quick check by a local veterinarian revealed that Mae was in remarkably perfect health — no worms, no other problems despite her 11-month time on the lam.
Mae was reunited with her “mom” Vickie Wednesday at the animal shelter. There was brief celebration, and then it was back home to Birmingham. Clark said she had no planned stops between Atmore and Birmingham to eliminate any other escape possibilities.
Pictured top: Mae reunited with her family Wednesday, along with members of the Atmore community and the Atmore Animal Shelter staff that took part in her 11-month rescue. Pictured inset: Atmore’s “mascot” dog Mae. Courtesy photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Three Tate Softball Players Sign Letters of Intent
November 13, 2014
Three Tate High School Lady Aggies softball players signed their National Letter of Intent to play at the next level Wednesday.
Rachel Wright will be attending University of West Florida, Lauren Brennan will be attending Lewis University (in a suburb of Chicago, IL), and Tori Perkins will be playing at the University of Alabama Birmingham. The trio has played softball together since their T-ball days at NEP, and they were also starters on Tate’s Final Four team last year.
Pictured top: Tate’s softball signees and their parents. (front, L-R) Diana Wright, Rachel Wright, Tori Perkins, Lauren Brennan, Dorice Brennan, (back, L-R) Marty Wright, Greg Mason, Chris Mason and Mike Brennan. Pictured below: The Tate softball seniors. Pictured bottom. The individual signees and their parents. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Escambia County Looking For Deputies, Will Pay For Training
November 13, 2014
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office is hiring deputies, and thanks to a new Cadet Law Enforcement Student Trainee Program, the ECSO is offering to pay for training.
With the recent addition of 15 deputy positions to the budget, the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office is currently actively recruiting qualified deputy sheriff applicants. The Cadet Program has been designed to attract men and women that may have an interest in law enforcement but may not necessarily have the means to pay for the law enforcement academy.
Cadet applicants will be selected, hired full-time and attend the law enforcement academy. They will receive comprehensive law enforcement training while being paid and receiving benefits as a full-time employee. Once the academy is complete, applicants will take their state exam for certification. Those certified will sign a two year commitment to work full-time as a deputy sheriff for Escambia County.
A law enforcement career offers paid holidays, sick leave, annual leave, health insurance, dental insurance, life insurance, free employee health clinic, 24 hour gym access and the Florida Retirement System (FRS).
“The ECSO is recruiting those unique individuals who have the aptitude and the sense of commitment to serve their community and make a difference in Escambia County,” Sheriff David Morgan said. “Our goal is to provide the highest level of professional public service to the diverse population of Escambia County. We believe we can achieve this by offering this vision to high caliber candidates in our area.”
Qualified applicants must be 21 years of age by June 30, 2015. They must also possess a GED or high school diploma, a valid driver’s license, and have the ability to complete a basic physical abilities test to advance into the hiring process. For a complete job description visit www.escambiaso.com and click on the “jobs” tab.
The Pensacola Police Department also has a Police Cadet Program for males and females ages 18 and up who want to pursue careers in law enforcement.
Cadets work a 40-hour week and are given preference in hiring at age 21 if they successfully pass all examinations required for police officer candidates. Among cadet duties are directing traffic at vehicle accident scenes, completing offense reports for minor crimes, assisting with crime prevention presentations, and fulfilling routine obligations required by various department sections.
For more information on the Pensacola Police Department’s Cadet Program, please contact Officer Lonnie Isom at 850.435.1912 or by email at LIsom@cityofpensacola.com.
Police: Man Used Craigslist To Solicit Sex With Escambia County Child
November 12, 2014
An Okaloosa County man has been charged after he allegedly used Craigslist to arrange a meeting in Escambia County for sex with what he thought was a 12-year old girl.
William McNeal Goode, 47, of 5851 Saratoga Drive, Crestview was charged with solicitation of a parent or legal guardian for unlawful sexual conduct, attempted lewd and lascivious battery on a minor, traveling to meet a minor for sexual purposes, and using a two-way communication device for an unlawful act.
The investigation began November 5 after the Pensacola Police Department’s Computer Crimes Unit received a complaint about someone soliciting parents via Craigslist to have sex with their children.
The investigation is continuing to determine if Goode had prior sexual contact with children.
Members of the North Florida Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force participating in the investigation included the Pensacola Police Department, Escambia County Sheriff’s Office, Department of Homeland Security Investigations, and Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
Anyone having information about suspicious activity involving Goode is asked to contact the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Officer at (850) 651-7547 or the Pensacola Police Department at
(850) 435-1900
Update: Teen Passes Away From Hwy 29, Hwy 97 Crash Injuries
November 12, 2014
[Updated 11/12/14 2:50 p.m.] A Northview High School student has passed away as the result of injuries she received in a two vehicle crash at the intersection of Highway 29 and Highway 97 in Molino Friday afternoon.
The Florida Highway Patrol said Wednesday afternoon Darion T. Riley, age 16 of Molino, passed away Tuesday afternoon at Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola0
The FHP said 16-year old Brayden Hubbard of Atmore pulled his 2011 Hyundai Sonata out of the parking lot of the Tom Thumb and into the median of the intersection. His view of northbound traffic was blocked by traffic stopped in the northbound turn lane of Highway 29, the FHP said. He then attempted to accelerate across the northbound lanes, but his vehicle was struck on the passenger side by a northbound 2012 Ford F250 driven by 51-year old Jeffery L. Nolen of Century.
The force of the impact pushed the Sonata onto the shoulder of Highway 29, with the pickup coming to rest against the passenger side of the car.
Riley, the front seat passenger, was trapped in the Sonata following the crash. Firefighters used a fire engine to pull the pickup away from the car, and then used the Jaws of Life to remove the car’s doors in order to free Riley.
Riley was airlifted by LifeFlight helicopter to Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola in critical condition where she later succumbed to her injuries, Hubbard was transported by ambulance to Sacred Heart Hospital in serious condition and has since been released from the hospital.
Nolen and his passenger, 9-year old Ryder Nolen of Century, were transported by Escambia County EMS to Sacred Heart Hospital and have both been released.
Troopers said alcohol was not a factor in the crash.
Any charges in the crash are pending investigation, the FHP said.
Funeral services for Darion Taylor Riley will be held Saturday at Faith Chapel Funeral Home North in Cantonment. Visitation will be held from noon until 2 p.m., and the funeral service will follow at 2 p.m.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Century Man Charged With Sawed Off Shotgun Assault
November 12, 2014
A Century man has been charged with threatening another man with a sawed-off shotgun.
Orlando Dantaus Dixon, 27, was charged with two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without the intent to kill and possession of a weapon by a convicted felon. He remained in the Escambia County Jail Wednesday morning with bond set at $40,000.
A resident of the 500 block of Hecker Road in Century reported that Dixon and two females drove by his home and yelled something. When the victim told Dixon he needed to keep going, Dixon stated “I’ll be back,” the victim told deputis. A short time later, the victim was outside his residence when Dixon returned with an older model brown and rusted sawed-off shotgun and pointed it at him and yelled obscenities, according to an arrest report.
Deputies located the vehicle and the females at the Century Quick Stop on North Century Boulevard. The females told deputies about the verbal altercation and said that Dixon drove to the Carver Community Center on Jefferson Avenue and retrieved the sawed-off shotgun from somewhere out of sight behind the building. The females affirmed that Dixon returned to Hecker Road and pointed the shotgun at the victim.
Dixon, according to his arrest report, is a convicted felon.
Woman Charged In High Speed Wreck That Killed Her Sister, Baby
November 12, 2014
[Updated] An Escambia County woman has been charged in connection with a high speed accident last April that claimed the life of her pregnant sister and unborn child.
Lindsey Eberhart, 18, was arrested for vehicular manslaughter. Her sister, Schintai Eberhart, 18, of Pensacola was ejected from the front passenger seat of a 2006 Lexus during a wreck on Brent Lane on April 12. She died at a local hospital after undergoing an emergency C-section, and her baby died soon after birth.
According to Officer Jason Browning, Eberhart was driving a vehicle westbound on Brent Lane from Ninth Avenue at a high rate of speed when she lost control and the vehicle hit a curb near Evergreen Road. The vehicle then struck a power pole and flipped a couple of times before stopping on its left Browning determined Eberhart was driving approximately 78 mph in a posted 35 mph speed zone.
Lindsey Eberhart was taken to a local hospital for treatment of minor injuries.
Century’s Buck Showalter Named American League Manager Of The Year
November 12, 2014
Former Century resident Buck Showalter, Baltimore Orioles manager, was named the American League Manager of the Year by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America on Tuesday night, putting Baltimore’s skipper in a special category following a spectacular 2014 season.
Showalter, who beat out finalists Mike Scioscia and Ned Yost, is the sixth manager to win the award three or more times and just the second — joining Tony La Russa — to do it with three different organizations. Showalter won with the Yankees in 1994 and the Rangers in 2004 and quipped he would definitely not be around in 2024 to see if the trend continues.
“I’m pretty speechless,” said Showalter on MLB Network, which unveiled the award live. “It’s such a great reflection on our organization, our ownership that has been so rock solid.”
Showalter, who took over in Baltimore in August 2010, has posted winning seasons in each of the past three years and finished runner-up to Bob Melvin for the AL Manager of the Year Award in 2012.
Showalter has 1,259 career victories in 16 seasons as a Major League manager, the third-most wins among active managers. He is 377-328 in Baltimore and the third O’s manager to be named Manager of the Year, joining Davey Johnson (1997) and Frank Robinson (1989).
Showalter’s family moved to Century in the late 1950’s. His father served as a teacher, coach and principal at Century High School for 23 year. Buck Showalter played Little League ball in a thriving program in Century, and he graduated from Century High School. Century’s modern day Showalter Park is named after him.
Courtesy Baltimore Orioles.
Pictured: A congratulatory message image tweeted Tuesday night by the Baltimore Orioles for AL Manager of the Year Buck Showalter, a former resident of Century.
Can The Yellow Jackets: Manna Food Drive Underway At Northview
November 12, 2014
A “Can the Yellow Jackets” food drive is underway at Northview High School. The Chiefs will play the Vernon Yellow Jackets in the first round of the state playoffs this Friday night. Non-perishable food items are being collected for the Manna Food Pantries during the food drive, which concludes November 17. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.