ECSO: Suspect Kidnapped Elderly Man During Cantonment Home Invasion
August 8, 2014
One person was been charged in connection with a home invasion during which an elderly man was kidnapped near Cantonment Wednesday afternoon.
Marcus Demond Stallworth, 22, was booked into the Escambia County Jail Thursday on charges of home invasion robbery, kidnapping, possession of a weapon by a convicted felon and battery.
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office responded to a burglary in the 2000 block of Stacey Road. They discovered that a home invasion had occurred. The elderly male victim had been kidnapped and driven to his bank.
Stallworth allegedly withdrew money from the victim’s account using an ATM before driving the victim to a shoe store where he used the victim’s debit card to purchase shoes. Stallworth then ordered the victim to drive him home.
The elderly male suffered unspecified non-life threatening injuries, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Stallworth remains in the Escambia County Jail with bond set at $325,000.
Escambia Man Convicted In 2011 Homicide
August 8, 2014
An Escambia County was convicted Thursday of a 2011 homicide.
Sergio Depree Moorer, 21, was convicted of the death of John Daniel Hall. Hall was found on August 21 in a wooded area near the Marcus Pointe apartment complex. Last seen alive the day before, Hall had been beaten and burned beyond recognition.
Hall’s vehicle was located four days later by the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office in the Oakstead Mobile Home Park on Massachusetts Avenue. Moorer was inside the vehicle and fled on foot as deputies arrived. After a short foot chase, he was taken into custody.
Moorer faces up to the death penalty when he is sentenced next week.
Molino Park’s Woodward Named Escambia Principal Of The Year
August 8, 2014
Molino Park Elementary School Principal Alice Woodward has been named as Escambia County’s Principal of the Year, according to Superintendent Malcolm Thomas. Janet Penrose of Belleview Middle School was named the Assistant Principal of the Year.
Principals are nominated by their peers for the awards, with Thomas making the final selection. Both will be recognized at the August regular meeting of the Escambia County School Board and will compete for state honors in the spring.
“Alice is an outstanding principal,” Thomas said. “She is greatly respected among the administrators in our district. She is that ’steady hand’ that guides Molino Park, and she’s very involved in the community. She is an excellent role model.”
The Florida Department of Education annually honors principals and assistant principals from each of the state’s 67 school districts for their exemplary contribution to students, schools, and communities. Award criteria also include innovative leadership, dedication to academic excellence, and increased student performance.
Pictured: Escambia County Principal of the Year Alice Woodward of Molino Park Elementary School. Courtesy photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
NOAA Calls For Increased Chance Of Below Normal Hurricane Season
August 8, 2014
Forecasters with NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center raised the likelihood for a below-normal season in an update released Thursday to the Atlantic Hurricane Season Outlook.
The update predicts a 70 percent chance of a below-normal season, a 25 percent chance of a near-normal season and only a five percent chance of an above-normal season. The probabilities in the initial outlook issued on May 22 were 50 percent, 40 percent and 10 percent, respectively.
“We are more confident that a below-normal season will occur because atmospheric and oceanic conditions that suppress cyclone formation have developed and will persist through the season,” said Gerry Bell, Ph.D., lead seasonal hurricane forecaster at NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center, a division of the National Weather Service.
“Nonetheless, tropical storms and hurricanes can strike the U.S. during below-normal seasons, as we have already seen this year when Arthur made landfall in North Carolina as a category-2 hurricane. We urge everyone to remain prepared and be on alert throughout the season.”
The primary factors influencing the increased chance of a below-normal season are:
- Overall atmospheric conditions are not favorable for storm development. This includes strong vertical wind shear, a weaker West African monsoon, and the combination of increased atmospheric stability and sinking motion. These conditions mean fewer tropical systems are spawned off the African coast, and those that do form are less likely to become hurricanes. These conditions are stronger than originally predicted in May and are expected to last mid-August through October, the peak months of the hurricane season;
- Overall oceanic conditions are not favorable for storm development. This includes below-average temperatures across the Tropical Atlantic, which are exceptionally cool relative to the remainder of the global Tropics. This cooling is even stronger than models predicted in May and is expected to persist through the hurricane season; and
- El Niño is still likely to develop and to suppress storm development by increasing vertical wind shear, stability and sinking motion in the atmosphere.
The updated hurricane season outlook, which includes the activity to-date of hurricanes Arthur and Bertha, predicts a 70 percent chance of the following ranges: 7 to 12 named storms (top winds of 39 mph or higher), including 3 to 6 hurricanes (top winds of 74 mph or higher), of which 0 to 2 could become major hurricanes (Category 3, 4, 5; winds of at least 111 mph).
These ranges are centered below the 30-year seasonal averages of 12 named storms, six hurricanes and three major hurricanes. The initial outlook in May predicted 8 to 13 named storms, 3 to 6 hurricanes and 1 to 2 major hurricanes.
The Atlantic hurricane region comprises the North Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. NOAA’s seasonal hurricane outlook is not a hurricane landfall forecast; it does not predict how many storms will hit land or where a storm will strike.
Redistricting Proposal Released As Special Session Convenes
August 8, 2014
Lawmakers returned to the Capitol on Thursday for a rare August special session, hoping to quickly redraw congressional districts before returning to the campaign trail in an election year.
As a sign of how quickly the process was moving, the chairmen of the House and Senate committees working to revise the map released a joint proposal Thursday, hoping to hold committee votes on Friday and gain approval from the full Legislature early next week.
Leon County Circuit Judge Terry Lewis, who ruled last month that two congressional districts were drawn in 2012 to help the Republican Party in violation of anti-gerrymandering rules passed by voters in 2010, has set an Aug. 15 deadline for lawmakers to give him a new plan.
The Republicans who run both legislative chambers said they would focus on correcting the two districts targeted by Lewis: Congressional District 5, represented by Democratic Congresswoman Corrine Brown, which sprawls across eight counties as it winds its way from Jacksonville to Orlando; and Congressional District 10, represented by Republican Congressman Dan Webster.
“The goal is to fix (district) 5, fix 10 and only those that are directly as a result of the fix to 5 and 10,” said Rep. Richard Corcoran, a Land O’ Lakes Republican who chairs the House committee charged with redrawing the lines.
Because all congressional districts must have roughly equal population, any change to one or two districts will ripple through other parts of the map.
Democrats said more should be done, arguing that the trial revealed efforts by political consultants to manipulate the 2012 redistricting process, which also could have tainted legislative maps passed at the same time. But House Minority Leader Perry Thurston, D-Fort Lauderdale, seemed to hedge when asked how far his party would go.
“We certainly want to see a broader rewrite, but we’re going to abide by whatever the judge ordered,” he said.
Under the plan revealed by Corcoran and Senate Redistricting Chairman Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton, Brown’s district would no longer include the city of Sanford — it would instead pick up more of Putnam and Marion counties.
All of Seminole County, which includes Sanford, would be included in Congressional District 7, now held by Republican Congressman John Mica, while the changes would force Republican Congressman Ron DeSantis’ District 6 to pick up more of Volusia County.
As for Webster’s district, it would lose an appendage of white voters in Orange County that Lewis found was included to help the incumbent. Webster would pick up parts of Polk and Osceola counties to offset the population loss. District 9, currently held by Democratic Congressman Alan Grayson, would shed parts of Osceola County, particularly the southern end, and Polk County while picking up the population Webster would give up.
Republican Congressman Tom Rooney’s District 17 would pick up the southern end of Osceola to make up for population that was shifted into Webster’s district.
The plan differs significantly from a proposal by two voting-rights groups that were among those challenging the current map in court. Those groups wanted Brown’s district to instead run from Jacksonville in the east to Gadsden County in the west.
“Slight alterations will not correct the constitutional defects Judge Lewis identified,” wrote Deirdre Macnab, the president of the League of Women Voters of Florida, and Peter Butzin, chairman of Common Cause Florida, in a letter Thursday to legislative leaders. “The snaking north-south configuration of CD 5 should be abandoned.”
But George Meros, an attorney for the House, ripped the east-west configuration in a presentation to the House and Senate redistricting committees Thursday afternoon, saying it would decrease the chance for African-American voters to elect a candidate of their choice and was even more bizarrely shaped than Brown’s current district.
“This to me looks like a surfboard that was attacked by Jaws in any number of different places,” he quipped.
It’s still not clear whether the revisions will disrupt the elections scheduled for November. Lewis has not decided whether to delay elections in the districts affected by the new lines. Elections supervisors have argued that holding a separate special vote in those districts after the general election could confuse voters and cause logistical problems.
“I don’t believe that a 2014 election, without changing current Florida law, changing current federal law, is doable,” Michael Ertel, the elections supervisor in Seminole County, told the joint committee meeting.
Sen. Darren Soto, D-Orlando, said he would propose an alternate map that affects only Congressional Districts 5, 7 and 10 and would allow the current maps to be used in the primary and the new maps to be used in the general election. But that plan is not expected to go far in the GOP-controlled Senate.
by Brandon Larrabee, The News Service of Florida
Wahoos Even Series With 3-2 Win Over The Jackson Generals
August 8, 2014
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos (18-29, 49-68) evened up the series with a 3-2 victory over the Jackson Generals (21-25, 52-63) at Pensacola Bayfront Stadium. Starting pitcher Daniel Corcino dazzled in his longest start of the season, earning his team-leading 10th win.
Corcino went 8.0 innings for the Wahoos and did not allow a run. The righty surrendered four hits and struck out six batters while walking just one. With the win, he heads into a five-way tie atop the Southern League in wins. He is also the second Wahoos pitcher to reach 10 wins in a season. Josh Smith was the first with 11 wins in 2013.
The Blue Wahoos struck first in the second inning when Ryan Wright hit a long fly ball to right field, scoring Ray Chang on a sacrifice. Chang led the inning off with a single, but the run wouldn’t have been possible if not for an error by the Generals’ second baseman, Brock Hebert. The Wahoos scored again in the fifth inning because of an error by the Generals. Yorman Rodriguez hit a fly ball down the right field line that Jordy Lara dropped, which allowed Wright to score all the way from first base.
The Wahoos added an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth, which would later prove to be necessary. Rodriguez doubled to begin the inning and Brodie Greene’s single moved him over to third with no outs in the inning. Catcher Chris Berset hit a sacrifice fly to deep left field that allowed Rodriguez to score the Wahoos third run of the game.
The Generals finally got on the board with two runs in the top of the ninth, which included a solo home run from Dan Paolini. Shane Dyer allowed the two runs, but earned his 14th save of the season. The shortstop, Greene, made a sprawling, diving play to his right, got to his feet and fired a strike to first base to end the game in stunning fashion.
Despite taking the loss, LHP Tyler Olson pitched very well for the Generals. Olson didn’t allow an earned run over 5.2 innings of work. The lefty surrendered just three hits and struck out seven Wahoo batters.
The Blue Wahoos will send RHP Jon Moscot (6-10, 3.30) to the mound for game three of the series. RHP Stephen Landazuri (6-3, 3.62) will start for the Generals.
by Tommy Thrall
First Remains Identified From Dozier Boys School In Marianna
August 8, 2014
University of South Florida researchers on Thursday announced they had identified the first set of remains exhumed from 55 unmarked graves at the Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys, a now-closed Panhandle reform school in Marianna.
The remains of George Owen Smith, who went to Dozier at age 14 in 1940 and was never seen by his family again, were matched with DNA collected from his sister, Ovell Krell of Polk County.
Smith’s remains, which were found wrapped only in a burial shroud, will be returned to his family.
“We may never know the full circumstances of what happened to Owen or why his case was handled the way it was,” Erin Kimmerle, a USF anthropologist who is one of the leaders of the excavation, said in a statement. “But we do know that he now will be buried under his own name and beside family members who longed for answers.”
Smith’s mother, Frances, wrote to Dozier superintendent Millard Davidson in December 1940, asking about her son, according to the university. She received a letter saying no one knew where he was. In January 1941, the family was told Smith had been found dead under a house after escaping from the school. Family members traveled to Marianna to claim his body, but when they arrived, they were led to a freshly covered grave with no marker.
Krell said her mother never accepted that her son was dead and spent the rest of her life waiting for him to come home.
“So that brings closure to one family,” said U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, who helped get U.S. Department of Justice funding for the DNA research. “But think about all the other families that still don’t know.”
University researchers began digging for remains last year at the site of the former reform school, which operated for decades in the Jackson County community of Marianna. Questions have arisen about whether boys who reportedly died of pneumonia and other natural causes were killed at the school.
Nelson told reporters in Tallahassee that the family members of Dozier boys had flown in from all over the country to give DNA samples to the researchers.
“This dirty little secret has been covered up for a better part of a century,” Nelson said. “It’s finally coming out.”
The state hopes to sell the 1,400-acre Dozier site eventually, a move that has been put on hold by the investigation. In September, Gov. Rick Scott and the Cabinet gave the research team a one-year window to search the school’s 1,400 acres for more unaccounted-for bodies.
State Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater will work with the researchers to develop reburial plans if and when more bodies are identified. Attorney General Pam Bondi and Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam released statements of support following Thursday’s announcement.
“The University of South Florida has made great progress in answering a number of questions about the dark history of the Dozier School for Boys,” Putnam said. “In order to bring resolution to the community and the families, the USF researchers should quickly and thoroughly complete the work that they have begun. The victims’ families and the people of Florida deserve to have the best answers that science can provide.”
by Margie Menzel, The News Service of Florida
Pictured top: A trench dug in the search for human remains at the Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys in Marianna. Pictured below: Mapping the graves. Pictured inset: The remains of George Owen Smith have been positively identified. Courtesy photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
School Orientations Scheduled
August 8, 2014
School orientations are scheduled in Escambia County, with school beginning Monday, August 18.
Orientations will be held as follows:
ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS
Orientation, Meet And Greets, August 14-15
- Bratt – August 14 – K-5, 8:30 – 10:30; Pre-K, 9:30-11 a.m.
- Byrneville — August 15, 9-11 a.m.
- Jim Allen – August 14, K-5 9-10:30 a.m.
- Lipscomb – August 14, K – 8:30-9:30; grades 1-5, 9:30-11 a.m.
- McArthur – August 14, 8:30-10 a.m.
- Pine Meadow – August 14, 9-11 a.m.
- Molino Park - August 14, Pre-K 9-10:00; K-5, 10-11 a.m.
For Escambia County elementary schools not listed, click here.
MIDDLE SCHOOLS
Orientations, August 14
- Bailey – 6th grade 10 a.m.; 7-8th 1:00 p.m.
- Bellview Middle – 9 – 11 a.m.
- Brown-Barge – 9 – 11 a.m.
- Ernest Ward – 10-11 a.m.
- Ferry Pass – 10 – 11 a.m.
- Ransom – 1-3 p.m.
- Warrington - 10: a.m.
- Workman – 1:00 – 2:30
- Woodham Middle – 6th grade 1 p.m.; 7-8th 1-2 p.m.
HIGH SCHOOLS
Ninth Grade/New Student Orientation
- Northview
- 8/13/14 9:00 a.m. — noon 10th-12th grade schedule pickup
- 8/14/14 8:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. 9th grade/new student orientation
- Tate
- 8/14/14 1:00 p.m. 12th grade schedule pickup
- 8/14/14 2:00 p.m. 10th-11th grade schedule pickup
- West Florida
- 8/09/14 9:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.9th grade orientation
- 8/14/14 10:00 a.m. 11th grade schedule pickup
- 8/14/14 1:30 p.m. 10th grade schedule pickup
- 8/14/14 6:00 p.m. Senior/parent(s) information meeting
- Pine Forest
- 8/09/14 9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. 9th grade/new student orientation
- 8/14/14 9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. 9th grade/new student schedule pickup
- 8/14/14 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. 10th-12th grade schedule pickup
- Pensacola
- 8/14/14 9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. 9th grade orientation
- 8/14/14 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. 10th-12th grade schedule pickup
- Washington
- 8/14/14 9:00 a.m. — noon New student orientation
- 8/13/14 8:00 a.m. – noon 12th grade schedule pickup
- 8/14/14 8:00 a.m. – noon 11th grade schedule pickup
- 8/15/14 8:00 a.m. – noon 10th grade schedule pickup
- Escambia
- 8/14/14 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. 10th- 12th grade schedule pickup
Note that some high schools have already held some orientation events.
Deputies, Marshals Nab Wanted Fugitive In Drive-Thru Line
August 7, 2014
Escambia County Deputies and the U.S. Marshals’ Task Force apprehended James Jonathan Mitchell, 50, on Thursday. He was wanted on revoked bond.
After receiving numerous tips from the community, Mitchell was located in the drive-thru line at a Highway 98 restaurant and arrested. Mitchell was initially arrested on May 20, 2014, on numerous charges stemming from a narcotics investigation pertaining to the sale and distribution of black tar heroin in Escambia County.
Black tar heroin is a potent form of heroin, mainly produced in Mexico and smuggled into the United States.
Bus Driver Charged With Sexual Assault On Mentally Challenged Woman
August 7, 2014
An Escambia County man was arrested Wednesday afternoon after an investigation determined he intimidated a mentally challenged woman to have sex with him.
Jeremy L. Hubert, 28, address unavailable, was charged with two counts of sexual assault on a person with special needs and one count of attempted sexual assault on a person with special needs.
Pensacola Police Detective Amy Parsons determined Hubert, who drives a bus for ARC of Escambia County, demanded sex from a 29-year-old mentally challenged client on the bus. The woman said she cooperated with Hubert, who is seven feet tall and weighs 400 pounds, because she was afraid of him.
The investigation has been on-going since the incident was reported in April.
Hubert was booked into the Escambia County Jail with bond set at $300,000.