Murder Trial Delayed For Molino Mom Claiming Self Defense
June 11, 2014
A Molino woman that claimed she shot her husband in self defense appeared in court Tuesday for a hearing.
The second degree murder trial of 44-year old Rebecca A. Rogers was set to begin in about two weeks, but Tuesday Circuit Judge Linda Nobles delayed jury selection to begin in mid-August.
Rogers has entered a not guilty plea to the charges against her. She remains free on a $300,000 bond posted in late September.
She allegedly shot her husband, 42-year old Jason Lee Rogers, in the head last August at the couple’s home in the in the 3400 block of Highway 29 near Mathison Road. He died about two days later.
The shooting was domestic violence related, according to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office. Rebecca Rogers called 911 to say that her husband choked her and she shot him, according to an arrest report. Deputies arrived to find Rebecca Rogers standing outside the home. They found Jason Rogers lying unconscious in the back bedroom of the home on his stomach with what appeared to be a gunshot to his head. According to the report, he also suffered two other gunshot wounds to the back.
The couple had four daughters together.
Man With DUI History Charged With Two DUI’s For Recent Wrecks
June 11, 2014
A Cantonment man with a history of DUI convictions was arrested this week for two DUI traffic crashes on Beulah Road back in April.
Victor Keen Gallaher, age 60 of Pace Parkway, was charged with two felony counts of DUI fourth or subsequent offense, two counts of DUI property damage, one count of refusing to submit to a DUI test, one count of leaving the scene of a crash with property damage, and two counts of careless driving.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, Gallaher first struck a Mazda Miata on Beulah Road at Frank Reeder Road on April 24. The driver of the Miata was allegedly rear-ended by Gallaher before he fled the scene in his white Chevrolet S10 pickup.
A few miles away, witnesses told troopers that Gallaher was traveling about 80 mph when he lost control, ran off Beulah Road and wrapped his pickup truck around a utility pole.
Gallaher was airlifted to Baptist Hospital, where, according to a trooper, he refused a blood alcohol test.
According to the FHP, Gallaher’s license was revoked at the time of the crashes for three prior DUI convictions in 1996, 2004 and 2006, and he has prior charges of refusing to submit to a DUI test and driving while license suspended.
At the time of his arrest on the outstanding traffic warrants this week in Cantonment, the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office reported finding Gallaher in possession of 16 Alprazolam (trade name Xanax) in his back pocket. He told deputies, according to an arrest report, that he did not have a prescription for the pills.
Gallaher was charged with one felony count of possession of a controlled substance without a prescription.
Escambia Middle, High School Report Cards Delayed
June 11, 2014
Middle and high school reports cards in Escambia County have been delayed. According to Superintendent Malcolm Thomas, the report cards won’t be mailed until the school district receives End of Course (EOC) grades in select subjects back from the state.
Finals grades can’t be calculated in classes with EOC exams — such as algebra, biology, geometry and U.S. history — until the standard tests scores are back from the state.
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.
Boy Run Over By Tractor
June 11, 2014
A boy is recovering today after being run over by a tractor Tuesday afternoon in Gonzalez.
The 11-year old was transported by ambulance to Sacred Heart Hospital as a “trauma alert” following the accident in the 1800 block of Pauline Street, just north of the Gonzalez United Methodist Church.
Further details have not been released in the accident, which occurred about 12:20 p.m.
NorthEscambia.com file photo.
Escambia Sheriff’s Office ‘Camp Friendship’ Underway At Molino Park Elementary
June 11, 2014
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office “Camp Friendship” is underway this week at Molino Park Elementary School. The free summer day camp for ages 6-14 features presentations by the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office K9 unit, jail tour, sports, arts and crafts and much more. Photo courtesy Escambia County Sheriff’s Office for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Scott, Crist Keep The Campaign Cash Flowing
June 11, 2014
The arms race continues between Rick Scott and Charlie Crist.
Crist, trying to win back the governor’s mansion as a Democrat after a mid-life political conversion, raised more than $2 million in cash in May for his campaign and a closely aligned political committee, newly filed records show.
Scott, trying to win a second term and keep Republicans in total control of state government, brought in about $1.16 million in cash for his campaign and the sister “Let’s Get to Work” committee. But the state Republican Party, which is expected to play a huge role in Scott’s campaign, said it collected $3.54 million during the month.
The money will help fuel what is expected to be an expensive — and nasty — race filled with negative ads. As a sign of what’s to come, the Let’s Get to Work committee reported spending about $3.1 million on advertising in May, after spending about $5.1 million on ads in April.
With updated finance reports due Tuesday, Scott’s campaign reported raising $1,116,038 in May, bringing the overall total to nearly $4.7 million. The campaign had also received about $1.5 million in in-kind contributions through May, with the state party covering expenses such as staff and consulting.
Let’s Get to Work reported raising an overall total of slightly less than $28.1 million through May, though it also has spent about $12.9 million. The committee has dramatically ratcheted back its fund-raising during the past two months, collecting $46,100 in May and $257,000 in April. But the significance of that drop-off remains to be seen, as, for example, harder-to-track money can flow through the state GOP.
Crist’s campaign reported raising $410,787 in cash in May, bringing its overall total to nearly $3.7 million. Also, the committee has collected a total of $836,310 in in-kind contributions. Meanwhile, the committee, known as “Charlie Crist for Florida,” collected $1,627,500 in cash during the month, bringing its total to $8,234,580, records show.
by Jim Saunders, The News Service of Florida
Amendment 2 Opponents: ‘Don’t Let Florida Go To Pot’
June 11, 2014
“It’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing,” said Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, president of the Florida Sheriffs Association. “It’s wrought with loopholes. It’s very cleverly written so that there can be use and abuse.”
Judd and other members of the group said they want to educate voters about the dangers of the amendment, which they consider to be so loosely written that Floridians of all ages will be able to obtain marijuana if it passes in November.
“We are literally looking at an unleashing of a Wild, Wild West of potent marijuana products,” said Calvina Faye, executive director of Drug Free America.
A ballot summary that voters will see when they go to the polls says, in part, the medical use of marijuana would be allowed for people with “debilitating diseases as determined by a licensed Florida physician.” The more-detailed text of the amendment lists diseases such as cancer, glaucoma and HIV and also refers to “other conditions for which a physician believes that the medical use of marijuana would likely outweigh the potential health risks for a patient.”
Judd said that given the example of states that have legalized medical marijuana, such as California, the “other conditions” in the amendment could include sleeplessness, stress, cramps and pain from a sore back or broken arm.
“If you just look at the history of what we’ve gone through with pill mills, you can imagine that it would be the same type of doctors making those recommendations,” Faye said.
But Ben Pollara, campaign manager for United for Care, the group driving the amendment, said the anti-pot coalition’s arguments were misleading.
“This is about getting relief to really sick and suffering people,” Pollara said. “Our opponents look at the polls and see that Floridians probably support medical marijuana and are either split or opposed to the adult use of marijuana. And the way that they think they can win this campaign is by tricking people into believing this is about something other than what it really is, which is the medical use of marijuana.”
The constitutional amendment requires approval from 60 percent of voters to pass, and polling has been inconsistent. A Quinnipiac University poll released in early May showed that 88 percent of Florida voters support allowing adults to legally use marijuana for medical purposes.
But Sarah Bascom, spokeswoman for another anti-Amendment 2 effort, the “Vote No on 2 Campaign,” pointed to a poll out Tuesday that was conducted for The Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald. It showed that roughly 54 percent of Miami-Dade County voters supported the medical marijuana measure — not enough for it to pass in November. And that was in a heavily Democratic county.
“It’s completely at odds with what every poll has found on the topic in the last year and a half,” Pollara said of the Miami-Dade poll. “I don’t really think much of it.”
The polls are inconsistent because they’re changing, University of South Florida political science professor Susan MacManus said.
“I suspect some of them were fairly accurate at the time they were taken,” she said. “But you’ve got to put them in the time frame of when they were asked and what’s going on. … It makes a difference as to what kind of stories have been carried on television in what markets on the whole issue of marijuana in Colorado and groups coming out against it. The publicity, in other words, can really change people’s minds on this issue.”
MacManus said she thought the ballot measure could go either way.
A political committee that is helping fund opposition to the amendment raised $2.6 million in May, with $2.5 million coming from Republican super-donor and Las Vegas casino billionaire Sheldon Adelson. That committee, the Drug Free Florida Committee, had received $100,000 before May.
A spokesman for United for Care, the group backing the amendment, said it raised $195,359 in May, but details had not been posted on the state Division of Elections website late Tuesday afternoon.
Century Man Gets Three Years On Drug Charges
June 10, 2014
A Century man will spend the next few years in state prison after being convicted on drug charges this week.
Lawrence Hoff, age 65 of the 6800 block of Jefferson Avenue, was convicted of cocaine trafficking 28 to 200 grams and possession of marijuana over 20 grams.
He was sentenced to three years in state prison by Judge Jan Shackelford. He was also ordered to pay a $50,000 fine, a $2,500 surcharge, and $1,048 in costs and fees.
Escambia Man Faces Life For Armed Robberies
June 10, 2014
An Escambia County man faces up to life in prison after being convicted of two convenience store robberies.
Zethaniah Alexander Faulk, 39, was convicted by an Escambia County jury of two counts of armed robbery with a firearm, two counts of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, and two counts of a aggravated assault with a firearm.
The charges stemmed from two Circle K robberies which occurred approximately one hour apart on May 15, 2013. Faulk was masked and carried a firearm during both robberies. He utilized the firearm to batter the clerks from each store before stealing money and other items. He was identified with the help of a Crime Stoppers tip and the fact that a distinctive tattoo was matched to his person.
Circuit Judge Terry Terrell scheduled sentencing for July 14. Prosecutors will seek to sentence Zethaniah Faulk as a habitual felony offender and a prison releasee reoffender. Faulk faces a life sentence for these convictions.
Man Charged With Beating Baby With His Hands, Fists
June 10, 2014
A Santa Rosa County man is behind bars after allegedly beating a baby with his hands and fists repeatedly because the baby would not stop crying at a baseball park.
Joseph Shawn Walker, 27, was charged with felony cruelty toward a child aggravated child abuse. He’s being held in the Santa Rosa County Jail without bond.
The Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office responded to call from the Santa Rosa Medical Center where the 6-month old baby had been taken. The baby suffered a skull fracture, extensive bruising to the head and face area, and bruising to the abdomen shoulders and back. The baby was airlifted to Sacred Heart Hospital and remains in intensive care.