Former Pensacola High Assistant Principal Arrested On Additional Video Voyeurism, Child Porn Charges
September 17, 2024
Additional voyeurism and child porn possession charges have been filed against the now former assistant principal of Pensacola High School .
In August, Sean Clark Roby, 55, was charged with felony video voyeurism by an offender age 19 or older. He was released from jail two days later on a $15,000 bond.
Now, Roby has been arrested again on new charges of:
- five counts of video voyeurism by person 19-years-old or older
- four counts of video voyeurism by person 24-years-old or older on child less than 16-years-old
- 20 counts of child porn possession
He remains in the Escambia County Jail with bond set at $520,000.
The victim in the initial case, who is now 23, alleged the crime occurred back in 2019 when she was 17-years-old. According to reports, Roby allegedly video recorded her nude while she was inside her bedroom.
According to new court documents, investigators discovered the child porn files following Roby’s first arrest.
Regarding the charges of video voyeurism on a child younger than age 16, the documents state that two of the counts stem from incidents in December 2016 when the child was age 15. The other two counts stem from incidents in January 2017 when the child was age 15.
Regarding the new charges of video voyeurism by person 19-years-old or older, the documents state the five incidents took place on these dates:
- 3 counts – May 2018
- 1 count – June 2018
- 1 count – January 2020
No further details have been released about the new charges.
Escambia County Public School released the following statement after Roby’s August arrest: “We can confirm the arrest of one of our employees yesterday, and are fully cooperating with our partners in law enforcement as their investigation unfolds. Out of respect for their investigative process, and in accordance with our policies as negotiated in our Employment Master Contract, we will not be able to provide further information at this time, other than to say this individual is suspended pending the outcome of the investigation.”
The school district said Monday that he has now been fired.
Century Puts Charter Changes On The November Ballot. But Wait, They Were Never Approved.
September 16, 2024
The Town of Century has placed three charter amendments on the November 5, 2024, ballot. But there’s a big problem.
The town never formally approved addling the charter change questions to the ballot.
That’s put sample and vote-by-mail ballots for voters inside the Century town limits on hold while lawyers talk about a problem that may simply just work itself out this week.
The Century town charter is the document that establishes the town, outlines its powers and spells out how it should operate. The charter has not been updated in almost 40 years, and that often creates problems in the operation of the town. In recent years, the town sat a charter review committee to create a new draft charter, and the town council set about reviewing those changes. There were several snaps along the way, from the pandemic to wrong documents, that delayed the process.
Now, the town had scrapped the full charter review committee recommendations, instead opting for three changes (more on that below).
How did the Century charter get on the ballot without approval?
The three Century charter questions are already on the ballots for Century precinct voters that live inside the town limits — already there on printed sample and vote-by-mail ballots. (left, click to enlarge). It’s the same General Election two-page ballot that all Escambia County voters will receive, plus one additional page that will go only to voters that live in the town.
The town council voted to approve the three questions for the ballot at their July 2 meeting; the approval came as three ordinances. That was step one, but ordinances require a second reading and a final vote to become official.
Escambia County Supervisor of Elections (SOE) Robert Bender said the town had been given a deadline of the week of the August 20 primary to submit the ballot items for the November election.
The town had a regular meeting scheduled for August 20, but they rescheduled the meeting and d two workshops because the council chambers were being used for primary voting under an agreement with Bender’s office. The meeting was rescheduled for the following day, August 21. The charter ballot ordinances were on the agenda for that night, but the vote was deliberately delayed until September 17 –after the SOE deadline — at the request of Mayor Luis Gomez, Jr.
“Madame president, I would like to have those three items tabled until September 17,” Gomes said with no explanation. He did not tell the council about the deadline imposed by Bender’s office, nor did he disclose the council that the charter changes had been submitted for the ballot two days prior.
Without any discussion, the town council unanimously approved the mayor’s request.
What happened after the mayor requested a delay?
“We received the changes for the ballot on August 19,” Bender said Friday afternoon after the incomplete approval was discovered. “We thought they (the town) had met before the August 20 primary and had approved them,” he added, saying his office though the town met prior to the meeting that originally set for August 20.
At 11:45 a.m. on August 19, Century administrative assistant Mallory Walker sent an email (pictured below) to the Supervisor of Elections Office with the subject line “Town of Century Ballot Questions for November 5, 2024 Election”. The email, copied to Gomez and interim town manager Howard Brown, simply stated, “Attached you will find 3 Ballot Questions in English and Spanish translation for the November 5, 2024 Ballot. Please confirm you have received this email and the attachments.” An attachment contained a copy of all three ballot questions, with nothing indicated that approval by the town council was still pending.
“Now, it’s already on the printed ballot because of that,” Bender said Friday afternoon. “Our attorney is making contact with the town’s attorney.”
Now, the three charter questions are on the town council’s agenda for Tuesday night, the date requested by Gomez back on August 20.
What’s next?
Most issues on the a Century council agenda typically have a “recommended action” coming from the mayor or the appropriate staff, and the council moves forward with that recommendation or takes other action. On this Tuesday’s agenda, there is no “recommended action” listed; only agenda items that state “Motion to pass”.
For now, Bender’s office is holding the vote-by-mail and sample ballots for voters in the town of Century to see what happens with the vote Tuesday night. If final approval is granted by the council, the process will continue to move forward. If the ordinances fail to pass, Bender said his office is prepared to shred the paper ballots that contain the charter amendment questions. If they should pass in some altered form, Bender said his office will reprint the page in-office with the approved changes.
The SOE is facing a deadline of September 21 to send vote-by-mail ballots to “Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act” (UOCAVA) voters, according to the Florida Division of Elections. The deadline period to send vote-by-mail ballots to domestic voters is September 26, 2024 – October 3, 2024.
“We are just waiting to see what action Century takes,” he said, “but we will make the deadlines.”
What are the three chanter questions on the ballot?
The exact ballot questions for voters won’t be determined until Tuesday night, if they are approved at all by the council.
The ballot questions that were submitted without final approval are as follows:
Question 1:
TOWN CHARTER AMENDMENT PROVIDING FOR TOWN PURCHASING TO BE GOVERNED BY COUNCIL-APPROVED PURCHASING POLICIES
Amending the Town of Century Charter to remove specific bidding, contracting, purchasing, and expenditure requirements and procedures from the Charter, and provide that Town bidding, contracting, purchasing, and expenditures will be governed by Town ordinances, policies, and procedures adopted by the Town Council. Shall the above-described amendment be adopted?
Question 2:
TOWN CHARTER AMENDMENT CONCERNING MAYOR’S EMPLOYMENT AUTHORITY
Amending the Town of Century Charter to expand the Mayor’s powers to select, appoint, suspend, and remove town employees and appointive administrative officers, by limiting the requirement for Council approval of such actions solely to the selection, appointment, suspension, or removal of the Town Clerk, Town Attorney, and Town Manager. Shall the above-described amendment be adopted?
Question 3:
TOWN CHARTER CLEANUP AMENDMENT
Amending the Town of Century Charter to correct scriveners and codification errors, and to conform charter provisions to the requirements of the Florida Election Code. Shall the above-described amendment be adopted?
At this point, the text above is the only information that will appear on the ballot. Once the ballot questions receive final council approval and move forward onto the ballot, NorthEscambia.com will provide more coverage before the election on the specifics of each ballot question and the ordinance behind them.
NorthEscambia.com photo, images, click to enlarge.
20 Years Later: Ivan The Terrible
September 16, 2024
It’s one of those moments in life that Gulf Coast residents will never forget.
It was September 16, 2004 at 1:50 a.m.
Powerful Hurricane Ivan made landfall just west of Gulf Shores as a Category 3 Hurricane 20 years ago today.
Ivan packed 120 mph sustained surface winds and a historic storm surge, the magnitude and extent of the damage and destruction over Baldwin County in Alabama and Escambia and Santa Rosa Counties in northwest Florida exceeded that of both Hurricane Frederic (September 1979) and Hurricane Opal (October 1995).
For a photo gallery, click here.
Hurricane Ivan may rival the magnitude of damage and destruction caused by the Hurricane of 1926 which ravaged the counties east of Mobile Bay. Damage was estimated near $14 billion dollars.
As a major characteristic of most landfalling hurricanes, Ivan’s maximum surface winds occurred within the right front quadrant of the storm (or northeast of Ivan’s center given the orientation of approach in this case) just prior to and after landfall.
The worst storms and some of the highest inland winds on that northeast corner of the monster storm’s eyewall impacted the North Escambia area. On the edge of the eye, the raging winds stopped for a moment, rapidly changing directions with a vengeance. (Pictured left: A hand drawn NWS image shows the estimate eyewall path. Pictured below article: A radar image from 4 a.m. shows the heaviest storms and the edge of the eyewall over North Escambia.)
As we all ventured outside after daybreak, the winds were still strong, and we were met with images we’ll never forget. Trees were down everywhere. Homes were damaged or completely destroyed. Destruction everywhere.
Seven people in Escambia County died as the direct result of Hurricane Ivan, and one person lost their life in Santa Rosa County.
A trucker died when massive waves destroyed a section of the Escambia Bay Bridge.
As soon as there was life, the members of the farming community went to work with tractors and equipment in the Walnut Hill area, clearing the major roads and cleaning up ahead of power crews. It would take those power crews from across the county a good week, sometimes two weeks or more, to restore power in North Escambia.
A peak wind gust of 107 mph was recorded at NAS Pensacola, 101 mph at the Pensacola airport. There were no official weather stations reporting in North Escambia at the time. Many weather stations lost phone and data communications well in advance of the peak winds. But Ivan was more than just hurricane winds with numerous tornadoes inland and a destructive storm surge of several feet at the coast.
Ivan dumped 15 or more inches of rain in portion of Baldwin and Escambia (FL) counties, including the North Escambia area.
For a photo gallery, click here.
The came the cleanup — mountains of debris in front of homes, endless debris trucks, and a staging and burn area on Nine Mile Road.
Data sources: National Weather Service, National Hurricane Center.
Photo sources: Federal Highway Administration, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Navy, USGS, NOAA, NASA, National Weather Service Mobile, Defense Visual Information Distribution Service, State Library and Archives of Florida. FEMA, State of Florida and more…
Photo Gallery: Tate High Homecoming Parade
September 16, 2024
Tate High School held their “Tangled In Our Memories” parade Friday in Pete Gindl Stadium.
For a Homecoming Parade photo gallery, click here.
- For Homecoming King info and photos, click here.
- For Homecoming Queen and her court, click here.
- For a game action story and photos, click here.
Look for an upcoming photo gallery here on NorthEscambia.com with bonus photos with the alumni cheerleaders, cheerleaders, student section, band, fans and more.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Northview Grad Jamarkus Jefferson Making Area College Football History
September 16, 2024
Northview graduate and Chiefs football standout Jamarkus Jefferson made area college football history Saturday.
Jefferson scored the first home touchdown in the history of the Lighthouse Private Christian Academy Makos on their way to a 31-12 defeat of South Carolina Central Christian College, their second win for of inaugural season.
He wears No. 6 for LCC, a number familiar to Northview fans as he racked up records for the Chiefs. During the 2022 season, he was No. 1 in Florida with 286 points. His 47 touchdowns that season ranked 13th nationally.
For Jefferson, the smaller college is great second chance.
“It’s a great opportunity; it’s giving us a second chance to do and play the sport that we love. A lot of us are overlooked because these major colleges want players out of the portal or that are 4 and 5 stars,” he said.
LCC head coach Ronnie Cottrell left Mobile Christian after nine seasons with a 2023 state championship. In 24 years as a head coach, he was 186-101 at schools that included Flomaton, W.S. Neal, and Mobile Christian. He was the Alabama Crimson Tide recruiting coordinator under Mike DuBose from 1998-2000.
“It’s local kids that are just as good or even better with Coach Cottrell starting this program,” Jefferson said. “It’s even giving us a chance to play local and stay home to be able to play in front of our families.”
Pictured: Jamarkus Jefferson gains yardage Saturday for the Lighthouse Christian College Makos. Photos courtesy Jenette Stuckey for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Showers And Thunderstorms Likely For Monday
September 16, 2024
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Tonight: Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly before 10pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 69. East wind around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Monday: Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm before 1pm, then showers and thunderstorms likely after 1pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 79. East wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Monday Night: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 68. East wind around 5 mph.
Tuesday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 82. Northeast wind around 5 mph becoming southeast in the afternoon.
Tuesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 68. Calm wind.
Wednesday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 84. Calm wind becoming northwest around 5 mph in the afternoon.
Wednesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 67. Calm wind.
Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 85. Calm wind becoming north around 5 mph in the morning.
Thursday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 65. Calm wind becoming north around 5 mph.
Friday: Sunny, with a high near 86.
Friday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 66.
Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 85.
Saturday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 66.
Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 83.
Blue Wahoos End Season With Dramatic Walk-off Win In 10 Innings
September 16, 2024
by Bill Vilona
A rain delay had passed and the skies were still threatening Sunday when the Blue Wahoos hurriedly unfurled a pregame banner thanking their fans.
More than three hours later, after catching a break with weather, they treated the crowd at Blue Wahoos Stadium to a 6-5, walk-off win in 10 innings against the Montgomery Biscuits, thus ending the season in a special way.
Josh Zamora blasted a fastball from fill-in pitcher Mason Auer, the Biscuits’ centerfielder, that hit the warning track in left-center and easily scored Andrew Pintar for the game-winner.
And the celebration was on. For the crowd of 3,839 who endured some intermittent rain, what a game and dramatic finish this one became.
While the game itself didn’t matter in the big picture of things – the Biscuits won both half-season division races — the teams played as if it were the postseason.
The Blue Wahoos had a 3-0 lead into the sixth. The Biscuits picked up a run that inning, then had a 4-run rally in the seventh against two new Blue Wahoos relievers.
Trailing 5-3, the Blue Wahoos answered in the eighth with a pair of runs. Graham Pauley led off with a walk. Pintar doubled to put runners on second and third. Kemp Alderman followed with a two-run double.
It stayed that way through the ninth. In the top of the 10th, Blue Wahoos reliever Tyler Eckberg had a clutch performance to earn the win. With the Biscuits’ placed runner Xavier Isaac on second, Eckberg struck out the first batter, Dru Baker. Auer then followed with a walk.
Eckberg got catcher Ricardo Genoves and third baseman Willy Vasquez to fly out to end the inning.
With many in the crowd standing with anticipation, the Wahoos got their turn. Pintar was the placed runner on second base. He moved to third when Auer’s first pitch to Alderman sailed wide and high past home plate.
With one-out and a 2-1 count, Zamora ended the game and the Blue Wahoos (71-65) finished the season with three consecutive wins against the Southern League South Division winners to split the series. The Biscuits (80-57) will now head to Biloxi to face the Biloxi Shuckers on Tuesday in the first game of their divisional playoff series.
Because of their playoff games ahead, the Biscuits went to Auer in the 10th. But he surprised, reaching the mid-90s with his fastball and locating a breaking pitch well.
The Wahoos got a big swing from Zamora to produce their first walkoff win since July 25, after staring the season 5-0 on home walkoffs.
The Blue Wahoos used seven pitchers in this game, beginning with Evan Fitterer, who worked five innings, allowing no runs on two hits and recording seven strikeouts for one of his best outings of the year.
Four Blue Wahoos hitters – Johnny Olmstead, Nathan Martorella, Graham Pauley and Andrew Pintar – finished with two hits apiece in a 12-hit attack.
Olmstead got things started for the Blue Wahoos when he led off the first inning with a single and later scored on a wild pitch. He then scored the game’s second run when leading off the third inning with a single, advancing on a double steal and scoring on Martorella’s RBI ground out.
The Blue Wahoos picked up their third run in the when Josh Zamora doubled and catcher Spencer Bramwell doubled. It was only the second game Bramwell has played this season as bullpen catcher.
GAME NOTABLES
— The Blue Wahoos players followed the game by cleaning out lockers and preparing to head out on Monday to their homes and either begin an off-season or await playing in the Arizona Fall League which begins in early October.
— More than a dozen people, including injured Blue Wahoos pitcher M.D. Johnson, participated in a post-game baptismal service performed by Marcus Pointe Baptist Church, a long-time Blue Wahoos partner. Entitled, “Headed For Home,” each person was introduced by the assistant pastor handling the ceremony. They climbed into a baptismal pool that was located at home plate while the brief service was completed.
— Johnson, who played at Dallas Baptist University during his collegiate career, started 16 games for the Blue Wahoos before an injury curtailed his season. He and his wife attended Sunday services at Marcus Pointe Baptist and liked living in Pensacola.
WHAT’S NEXT?
OPENING NIGHT: 2025 Blue Wahoos Season Opener
WHO: Biloxi Shuckers vs. Blue Wahoos
WHEN: April 4, 2025
WHERE: Blue Wahoos Stadium
These Are This Week’s Road Construction Trouble Spots
September 16, 2024
Drivers will encounter traffic disruptions on the following state roads and projects in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties as crews perform construction and maintenance activities.
Escambia County:
- Interstate Circle Bridge Over Eight Mile Creek Construction – Interstate Circle is closed at the Eight Mile Creek Bridge through mid-2025 while crews replace the bridge. Signage is in place to detour drivers around the work zone using Pine Forest Road, Longleaf Drive and Wymart Road.
- Interstate 10 (I-10) at U.S. 29 Interchange (Exit 10) Construction Drivers will encounter the following construction-related traffic disruptions the week of Sunday, Sept. 15:
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- I-10, between U.S. 29 and I-110, is reduced to two travel lanes in each direction.
- Sunday, Sept. 15 through Thursday, Sept. 19, drivers will encounter intermittent lane closures on I-10 near U.S. 29 and on Palafox Street near the I-10 overpass between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m.
- The U.S. 29 northbound ramp to I-10 eastbound is closed. U.S. 29 northbound drivers are being detoured to make a U-turn at Broad Street onto U.S. 29 southbound to access I-10 eastbound.
- A new, temporary on-ramp for U.S. 29 southbound drivers accessing I-10 eastbound will open Monday, Sept. 16. Detouring traffic to the temporary ramp will allow crews to continue work to reconstruct the I-10/U.S. 29 interchange.
- I-10 at Nine Mile Road Interchange (Exit 5) Construction– Drivers will encounter inside lane closures on I-10 near Exit 5, Wednesday, Sept. 18 and Thursday, Sept. 19, from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. These closures are required as crews construct a temporary detour.
- U.S. 29 (North Century Boulevard) Resurfacing between Henry Street and Cottage Street in Century – Traffic on U.S. 29 (North Century Boulevard) is shifted to the southbound travel lanes, between Rudolph Street and Green Street. One travel lane in each direction remains open as crews reconstruct the adjacent northbound lanes. The traffic shift is expected to remain in place through fall 2024. Signage is in place to safely direct drivers through the work zone.
- North Palafox Street (U.S. 29) Resurfacing from Cervantes Street to Brent Lane (State Road (S.R.) 296) – Drivers may encounter intermittent lane closures on North Palafox Street, between Brent Lane and West Scott Street, Sunday, Sept. 15 through Saturday, Sept. 21, from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. for milling and paving operations.
Santa Rosa County:
- S.R. 89 Resurfacing, from north of S.R. 87 to County Road (C.R.) 178 – Drivers will encounter intermittent daytime lane closures, between S.R .87 and C.R. 178, Monday, Sept. 16 through Friday, Sept. 20 as crews install rumble strips and place thermoplastic striping.
- U.S. 90 Resurfacing from west of Avalon Boulevard to east of Stewart Street – Drivers may encounter intermittent U.S. 90 lane closures, between Avalon Boulevard and Stewart Street, Sunday, Sept. 15 through Thursday, Sept. 19, from 7 p.m. to 5:30 a.m., for paving operations.
- U.S. 98 Widening from Bayshore Road to Portside Drive – Motorists will encounter the following traffic impacts:
- Median and turn-lane closures from Bayshore Road to Tiger Lake Drive.
- Intermittent lane closures and additional median closures between Bayshore Road and Tiger Lake Drive Sunday, Sept. 15, through Friday, Sept. 20, from 9 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. for stormwater drainage improvements and paving operations.
All activities are weather dependent and may be delayed or rescheduled in the event of inclement weather.
NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
Highway 29 Southbound To I-10 Detour Scheduled To Start Today
September 16, 2024
UPDATE: Readers tell us this detour did not start Monday as announced by FDOT. We’ve reached out to FDOT for more information and a new schedule.
On Monday, September 16, drivers from Highway 29 southbound will be detoured to a temporary on-ramp to access I-10 eastbound. The temporary on-ramp will allow crews to reconstruct the interchange, according to the Florida Department of Transportation.
FDOT reminds drivers that the Highway 29 northbound ramp to I-10 eastbound is also closed. Highway 29 northbound drivers will continue north and make a U-turn at Broad Street onto U.S. 29 southbound to access I-10 eastbound. Directional signage is in place to direct drivers through the work zone.
The $236 million project to construct all-new I-10 travel lanes and about a dozen bridges is expected to be complete by 2030. FDOT said 62,000 commuters travel through the corridor daily.
This detour was schedule from begin September 9, but was delayed by weather.
All activities are weather dependent and may be delayed or rescheduled in the event of inclement weather.
Click graphic to enlarge.
AAA: Florida Gas Prices are the Lowest Since January
September 16, 2024
Florida gas prices continue their downward march in response to falling oil prices. according to AAA. On Sunday, Florida’s average price was $3.11 per gallon. That’s the lowest daily average price since January 23, 2024. The lowest state average price of 2024 was $2.988 on January 22.
“It has been 237 days since Florida gas prices were below $3 a gallon, but that streak could come to an end soon,” said Mark Jenkins, spokesman, AAA – The Auto Club Group. “Oil prices suffered big losses in recent weeks, due to global economic concerns and the belief that global fuel supplies could begin to outpace demand. This could enable the state average to fall below $3 a gallon before October.”
More than a quarter of Florida gas stations already have pump prices below $3 a gallon. The lowest 10% of unleaded gasoline prices averaged $2.82 per gallon. The highest 10% of regular unleaded gas prices averaged $3.47 per gallon.
In Escambia County, the average per gallon was $2.84. A low of $2.59 was available Sunday night in North Escambia at a station on Highway 29 in Cantonment. Pensacola prices were as low as $2.58 at stations on Mobile Highway and Kenmore Road.
NorthEscambia.com file photo.