Florida Inmate Executed For Killing Wife, Child
June 19, 2014
John Ruthell Henry, who was convicted in the December 1985 for the murders of his estranged wife in Pasco County and her 5-year-old son in Hillsborough County, was put to death Wednesday at Florida State Prison near Starke. The execution came after a last-minute appeal was rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Henry, 63, was convicted of killing Suzanne Henry, who was stabbed repeatedly in the throat with a kitchen knife after the two argued in her home over presents for her son Eugene Christian. Henry then took the boy to Hillsborough County.
Nine hours later, Henry used the same knife to kill the boy.
Juries in both counties sentenced Henry to death, though the death warrant for the execution referred only to the murder of Suzanne Henry. The murders occurred three years after Henry was released on parole for the 1975 murder of his first wife.
The execution came a day after a divided 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected arguments that the execution should be halted because of questions about whether Henry is intellectually disabled. The arguments centered on a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that found Florida had improperly used a “rigid” IQ score of 70 in determining whether Death Row inmates are intellectually disabled, a term that has replaced mentally retarded. The U.S. Supreme Court had ruled earlier that it is unconstitutional to execute people who are intellectually disabled.
Henry’s attorney pointed to a test that showed Henry’s IQ as 78 and suggested that the IQ could be as low as 73. But in a 2-1 decision, the federal appeals court said Henry did not provide adequate evidence that he might be intellectually disabled, with mental-health experts never expressing such an opinion. Also, the majority said the U.S. Supreme Court did not make its recent ruling, known as Hall v. Florida, retroactive to cases on what is known as “collateral” review.
Henry is the 18th person executed by Florida since Scott took office. Death Row inmate Eddie Wayne Davis, 45, is scheduled to be executed July 10. Davis was convicted in a Polk County case of kidnapping 11-year-old Kimberly Waters, sexually assaulting and strangling her and leaving her body in a dumpster. Davis was a former boyfriend of Waters’ mother.
by The News Service of Florida
Scott Signs Bills On Alzheimer’s, Cancer Centers
June 19, 2014
Gov. Rick Scott signed a trio of health care-related bills Wednesday.
Two bills (HB 709 and HB 711) address Alzheimer’s and other memory-robbing diseases, while the third (HB 5203) creates the Florida Consortium of National Cancer Institute Centers Program at the Department of Health. The consortium will be charged with allocating money, estimated by the governor’s office at about $60 million a year, to Florida’s cancer centers.
Of the bills dealing with memory-related diseases, (HB 709) requires the Division of Emergency Management to develop a special-needs shelter program for people with such diseases, creates a grant advisory board to make funding recommendations to the state surgeon general about Alzheimer’s treatment and research, and establishes the Ed and Ethel Moore Alzheimer’s Disease Research Program within the Department of Health to fund research leading to the prevention of, or a cure for, Alzheimer’s disease. The state’s $77 billion budget includes $3 million for the Ed and Ethel Moore program.
Man Arrested For Shooting Pizza Delivery Driver
June 18, 2014
An Escambia County man is behind bars, charged with shooting a pizza delivery driver.
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office received two calls about 1:20 p.m. Wednesday — the first from a male saying that he’d been shot and needed medical attention, the second from shooting suspect David Trevor Burgess saying that he might have killed someone.
The pizza delivery driver that was shot was delivering pizza to Burgess’s roommate at a residence of Michigan Avenue. Burgess admitted to deputies that he was using acid and marijuana and does not recall the incident, which was witnessed by the roommate.
Burgess has been charged with aggravated battery, aggravated assault and deadly missiles. He being held with bond set at $80,000.
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office said their investigation into the incident is ongoing.
Cantonment Man Sentenced To Prison In Child Porn Case
June 18, 2014
A Cantonment man was sentenced to prison Tuesday on child pornography charges for downloading sexually explicit pictures and movies of children from the internet onto his home computer.
Jason Scott Bergen, 42, was originally charged with a total of 25 counts of possession of obscene material/child pornography in September 2013. Fifteen of those child pornography charges were dropped when Bergen entered a no contest plea to the remaining 10 charges. He was sentenced by Judge Michael Jones to five years in state prison to be followed by 10 years probation.
Agents with the North Florida Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force initiated a search warrant at Bergen’s residence at 806 Chesapeake Trail in late September 20113 after he was identified via the internet as downloading child pornography.
Task force members from the Office of Homeland Security, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Naval Criminal Investigative Service, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and Walton County Sheriff’s Department assisted the Pensacola Police Department with the investigation.
Pictured top and bottom: Law enforcement executes a search warranat the home of Jason Scott Bergen in Cantonment during September 2013. The suspect’s address, 806 Chesapeake Trail, is the house to the far right (foreground) of the bottom picture. Reader submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Escambia Man Sentenced To Hundreds Of Years In Prison For Child Molestation
June 18, 2014
An Escambia County has been sentenced to hundreds of years in prison on child sexual molestation charges.
Lee Calvin Pardue was sentenced by Circuit Judge Marci Goodman to three consecutive life sentences followed by a total of 200 years in state prison, according to the State Attorney’s Office.
Lee Calvin Pardue was convicted of two counts of sexual battery on a child, lewd or lascivious molestation, five counts of promoting a sexual performance by a child and 25 counts of possession of photos depicting sexual conduct by a child.
A Santa Rosa County Jury deliberated for about an hour before finding the 44-year old Escambia County man guilty of all charges.
Pardue was arrested on November 8, 2012, following an investigation by the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office after Pardue had told an acquaintance that he took sexual photos of himself with a child. While babysitting one of the victims during the summer of 2012, Pardue committed sexual acts on the child. The images depicting these acts were discovered on
Pardue’s digital camera during a search of his home by investigators.
Images depicting sexual conduct by two other children were also discovered on Pardue’s camera. These children were able to be identified by Sheriff’s Office investigators, who found that both of the victims had been to Pardue’s home.
Pardue faces charges in another case for lewd or lascivious molestation that is currently scheduled for trial on July 7.
Council On Aging Needs Fans, Air Conditioners For Seniors
June 18, 2014
The Council on Aging of West Florida is in need of donations to help senior clients stay cool during the hot summer months.
Many clients are in need of fans and air conditioners. Donations, which must be new in the box, can be dropped off at the Council on Aging Office at 875 Royce Street in Pensacola.
Online donations towards fans and air conditioners can also be made by calling (850) 432-1475.
Escambia Student Report Cards Still On Hold
June 18, 2014
Middle and high school report cards in Escambia County are still on hold.
The report cards were delayed waiting on End of Course (EOC) grades in select subjects. Those scores were released Monday, and now district staff must convert the scores and double check them for accuracy before they are released, according to Escambia County School Superintendent Malcolm Thomas. That, he said, means it will be late this week or perhaps even next week before report cards are mailed.
In the meantime, parents can check their student’s grades in other courses (and the EOC courses minus the exam grade) at the district’s parent portal. Click here to access.
Navy League Presents Scholarship To Northview Grad Braun
June 18, 2014
Recent Northview High School graduate and valedictorian Kasie Braun was presented the Russell D. Stewart Memorial Scholarship for $1,000 on Tuesday by Michael Dollen, second vice president of the Navy League. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Scott Signs Bill To Thwart Human Trafficking
June 18, 2014
Gov. Rick Scott signed a pair of bills Tuesday as the state continues efforts to curb human trafficking.
The new laws (HB 989 and HB 7141) include numerous changes, such as increasing criminal penalties when children are victims of trafficking, requiring specially trained child-protective investigators and case managers and creating a new felony offense when victims are permanently branded. Lawmakers also set aside at least $3 million to help address the issue.
Attorney General Pam Bondi, who acknowledged the trafficking issue has been an “obsession” of hers for several years, said the most important aspects involve safe houses for victims and the funding to help provide care.
“Four years ago, people didn’t want to believe that this was really happening. When we would talk of human trafficking, people thought it only happened on TV or in the movies,” Bondi said. “It’s so horrific no one wants to believe it’s real.”
The state has been ranked third nationally in the number of calls received by the National Human Trafficking Resources Center’s hotline.
In March, Bondi traveled to Mexico City with four of her counterparts for meetings about crimes that have cross-border impacts, including human trafficking, drug trafficking, firearms trafficking, financial crimes and cyber crimes.
“This is alive and thriving in our state, in our country, and in other countries,” said Bondi who added she hopes the state funding will increase.
The House and Senate approved both laws without opposition. Scott said the bills represent “progress, but more needs to be done.”
Deborah Polston, a state advocate for human trafficking victims, called the laws “aggressive” and said they will allow Florida to better care for trafficking victims who have been held captive for labor or the sex industry.
One of the bills (HB 989) increases felony penalties for people who live off the proceeds of others through prostitution or when crimes involve the trafficking of children.
The measure also removes a statute of limitations for human trafficking violations, prohibits minors from working in adult theaters and requires adult theaters to verify the ages of all employees. The law also will create a new third-degree felony for those who permanently brand trafficking victims.
The bill becomes law Oct. 1.
The other bill (HB 7141), which becomes effective July 1, directs the Department of Children and Families to inspect and certify the “safe houses,” where victims can find shelter and services, and to establish services in parts of the state where none exist.
The law would also direct DCF to adopt screening and assessment tools to identify sexually exploited children and would allow such children to be placed in safe houses if the assessment determines that is the most appropriate setting and a place is available.
The law is intended to build on the Florida Safe Harbor Act of 2012, which first created the safe houses and amended state law to classify forced prostitution as child abuse, rather as than a criminal act by the child.
by Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida
Dr. Larry Walker: ECUA Employees Caught Lending A Helping Hand
June 18, 2014
Submitted by Dr. Larry Walker, ECUA Board Chairman Larry Walker
On Tuesday, I was driving on Lambert Bridge Road when I cam upon this scene — an ECUA sanitation truck stopped because an oncoming driver had slid his truck and trailer off the soft shoulder and into the ditch of the dirt road. ECUA employees Jamore Simmons and Reginald Evans attached a tow line and quickly had Mr. Edward Egerton of Oak Grove back in the road and on his way.