Store Employees Robbed At Atmore Bank Night Deposit
January 14, 2014
Atmore Police are looking for a suspect that allegedly stole a night deposit outside a local bank.
About 9:35 p.m Saturday, three employees of the Dollar Tree reported they were outside the night deposit at Regions Bank on East Church Street. As they were about to make the night deposit, a black male walked up behind one of the employees and grabbed the deposit. During the struggle at the drop box, one employee received minor injuries. The suspect fled on foot with the deposit.
Atmore Police officers and members of the Alabama Department of Corrections K-9 Tracking Team searched the area for several hours but were unable to locate the subject.
Anyone with information on the case is asked to call the Atmore Police Department at (251) 368-9141.
Escambia Man Gets 15 Years For Moped Meth Lab
January 14, 2014
An Escambia County man is headed to prison for a meth lab on his moped.
Douglas Keith Caperton, 40, was convicted by an Escambia County jury of trafficking in methamphetamine 200 grams or more, sale, manufacture and deliver of methamphetamine, possession of controlled substance (more than 20 grams of cannibas), possession of listed chemical hydrochloric acid, possession of drug paraphernalia, and carrying a concealed weapon.
Following the verdict, Judge Terry Terrell sentenced Caperton to a minimum mandatory sentence of 15 years state prison during which he will not receive any gain time and will be required to actually serve the entire 15 years.
On August 16, 2013, Deputy Michael Runge with the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office responded to a complaint at 518 Norris Avenue in Escambia County. He made contact with a male and a female standing next to a yellow moped in the front yard. The male consented to a search of his person which revealed a large filet knife in a sheath strapped to his back. At this point he was detained and consented to a search of the moped.
Deputy Runge immediately recognized what he believed to be “1 pot” meth labs and called in Deputy Ken Tolbirt who specializes in investigating meth cases. Deputy Tolbirt arrived and processed the scene which revealed three active “1 pot” labs on the moped. Also on the moped was a bag with 40.5 grams of marijuana. The total weight of the methamphetamine was 336.9 grams.
Crackdown On Sex Predators Starts Moving In Florida Capitol
January 14, 2014
A Florida Senate panel on Monday unanimously passed three bills dealing with sexually violent predators and sexual crimes against children — the first in a series of measures expected to unfold across four committees and both legislative chambers this week.
After a highly critical newspaper series and a fatal attack on a Jacksonville girl, both last summer, legislative leaders vowed to crack down on sexual predators, and that effort was evident in the Senate Criminal Justice Committee.
“We want to send a message that if you do something to our children, you will spend time in jail — and it’s not going to be a short time,” said committee Chairman Greg Evers, R-Baker and the sponsor of one of the bills.
Lawmakers have been focused on the issue since August, when the South Florida Sun Sentinel reported that nearly 600 sexually violent predators had been released only to be convicted of new sex offenses — including more than 460 child molestations, 121 rapes and 14 murders.
What’s more, lawmakers have a cautionary tale in the June murder of 8-year-old Cherish Perrywinkle in Jacksonville. Recently-released sex offender Donald Smith, 57, was accused of abducting, raping and strangling the child. He faces trial in May on charges of first-degree murder, kidnapping and sexual battery; prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.
The shadow of Smith fell on Monday’s discussion as lawmakers sought to plug loopholes that allowed him to be released.
Suzonne Kline, the former administrator of Florida’s Sexually Violent Predator Program, urged the panel to consider the use of a risk assessment tool to determine which offenders are among the 10 percent she said were most likely to re-offend.
Before Perrywinkle’s death, Smith had been arrested for a series of crimes against children, including impersonating an employee of the Florida Department of Children and Families in a failed attempt to kidnap a girl.
Kline said she had performed a risk assessment on Smith — only on paper, she said, noting that she never interviewed him in person — and that his score was “very high.”
“And had the judge had that information available, I firmly believe that he would not have agreed to allow (prosecutors) to plea down to the lesser sentence, nor would he have given (Smith) a jail term as opposed to incarceration,” Kline said.
The first bill, SB 494 by Majority Leader Lizbeth Benacquisto, R-Fort Myers, would eliminate a three-year statute of limitations on prosecuting lewd or lascivious offenses involving children younger than 16.
“The bill has a simple intention,” Benacquisto said. “It is to provide a voice for children who are older than 11 who have been victimized in some form, to allow them to have the time to make that claim.”
The second bill, SB 526 by Sen. Rob Bradley, R-Fleming Island and chairman of the Senate Civil and Criminal Justice Appropriations Subcommittee, would strengthen penalties against sex offenders. It would increase the length of sentences for certain adult-on-minor sexual offenses formerly classified as lewd and lascivious, ban prison gain-time for people who commit certain sexual offenses and require courts to order community supervision after release from prison for those convicted of certain offenses.
The third bill, Evers’ SB 528, would increase the amount of personal information that registered sexual predators and offenders must provide. It would require them to report their vehicle information, Internet identifiers, palm prints, passports, professional licenses, immigration status and volunteer work at higher-education institutions.
Evers said his bill needed more work in collaboration with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement on the question of tracking all vehicles in households with sexually violent predators. He also said prosecutors wanted some clarifications.
Senate Minority Leader Chris Smith, D-Fort Lauderdale, expressed some doubts about what he called “a slippery slope” in pursuit of tougher sanctions against sex predators.
“I do have pause with the direction we’re going by getting rid of gain time, ” he said. “Rehabilitation — that’s not a word in our vocabulary anymore.”
But in the end, Smith voted with the others.
On Tuesday, the Senate Children, Families and Elder Affairs Committee will take up two more measures dealing with sexually violent predators.
One of the bills, SB 522 by Sen. Denise Grimsley, R-Sebring, would make a series of changes such as adding a state attorney, a law enforcement officer and a victim’s advocate as advisory members to each multidisciplinary team that evaluates offenders considered for civil confinement.
The other Senate measure, SB 524 by committee Chairwoman Eleanor Sobel, D-Hollywood, would require that offenders be defined as sexually violent predators and be subject to civil confinement after a finding by two or more members of a multidisciplinary team.
Also Tuesday, the House Healthy Families Subcommittee will take the first House vote on a measure dealing with sexually violent predators. And on Thursday, the House Criminal Justice Subcommittee will take up five proposed committee bills on the subject.
by Margie Menzel, The News Service of Florida
Library To Uncover “The History Of Molino”
January 14, 2014
The West Florida Library will present “The History of Molino” in a special program later this month.
The event will be hosted by Lil King, president of the Molino Mid-County Historical Society at the Molino Branch Library, 6450 Highway 95A, on Saturday, January 25.
With its location just 25 miles north of Pensacola, the Molino area, including the old town of Molino, played a vital role in the area’s settlement and development. From its start as a Spanish mission in the 1700s, an important mill town during the Industrial Revolution and into the modern era, Molino’s history is the story of life in rural Florida and how it has changed over the years.
The event is a part of the Explore Pensacola History lecture series. For more information, call the Main Library at (850) 436-5060.
Pictured top: Work to uncover evidence of The Mission San Joseph De Escambe along the Escambia River in Molino by the University of West Florida Archaeological Field School. Pictured below: An unusual glass necklace bead found in Molino, believe to possibly be an 18th-century “melon bead” with a translucent cobalt blue color. NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.
Escambia Man Faces Up To Life For Shooting Outside Store
January 14, 2014
An Escambia County man faces up to life in prison when he is sentenced for a shooting outside a convenience store.
James Nathaniel Marshall was convicted by an Escambia County jury of aggravated battery with a firearm, aggravated assault with a firearm, shooting into an occupied vehicle and three counts of discharging a firearm in public.
The conviction stems from a shooting at the Beacon Foodmart on Barrancas Avenue in December 2012. Prosecutors said Marshall got into a verbal argument with two people. Once the argument ended, the other two individuals got in their vehicle to leave. As they began to drive out of the parking lot, Marshall fired shots at their vehicle. One of the individuals exited the vehicle and was struck in the shoulder with one shot. That person was treated at Baptist Hospital and survived.
Marshall will be sentenced by Circuit Court Judge Linda Nobles at a later date. He faces from 25 years to life in state prison under Florida’s 10-20-Life law.
Northview Beats Escambia Charter
January 14, 2014
The varsity Northview Chiefs continued their winning ways Monday night as they beat Escambia Charter 77-72.
Scoring for the Chiefs were Neino Robinson 23, Tony Mcaroy 18, Cameron Newsome 11, Eric Williams 10, Tydre Bradley 8, and Nick Lambert 6.
The Chiefs are now 11-0 overall , 3-0 in the district. Northview’s varsity boys will host Holmes County in a district game Thursday at 5:30. The varsity girls will begin play at 4:00.
NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
PNJ Names New Publisher
January 13, 2014
Gannett Co., Inc. announced today Terry Horne has been named president and publisher of the Pensacola News-Journal.
Horne had been publisher of the East Valley Tribune in Arizona and general manager of 1013 Communications, which offers digital services in Phoenix, Dallas and Houston. Previously, he was CEO and president of the Orange County Register from 2007 to 2011. He is returning to Gannett, where he served as vice president of community newspapers for The Arizona Republic from 2004-2007.
“Terry has a rich history as a media executive, is passionate about community journalism and understands the role digital plays in connecting with our customers,” said Robert Dickey, Gannett’s U.S. Community Publishing president. “We’re excited to have him return to Gannett and engage in the vibrant Pensacola community.”
Horne has also worked with Swift Newspapers in Reno, Clarksburg Publishing in West Virginia, Thomson Newspapers, and Knight-Ridder, where he started as a staff writer for The Wichita Eagle in Kansas, having been inspired to pursue journalism by the Watergate scandal and coverage.
He received his BA in journalism from Wichita State University and an MS in mass communications from Oklahoma State University. He is married with six children.
Budget Chairman Promises Large Cut To Vehicle Fees
January 13, 2014
An unpopular 2009 vehicle-registration fee hike will be rolled back, the Senate’s budget chairman promised Thursday.
The size of the reduction is still a couple of months from being settled, as lawmakers and Gov. Rick Scott have proposed different bottom-line numbers. But Appropriations Chairman Joe Negron, a Stuart Republican who is spearheading the issue in the Senate, assured his colleagues that the final total will be big.
“What we can promise people is that the fee decrease will be large and something that they’ll feel,” Negron told members of the Transportation, Tourism, and Economic Development Appropriations Subcommittee.
The panel unanimously supported the proposal (SB 156), which is projected to collectively save motorists $185 million during the upcoming budget year, growing to $236.7 million the following year.
The reductions would translate to about $12 per vehicle registration fee, or half the 2009 increase.
Scott, who was at a Brandon Honda dealership on Wednesday as he continues to promote his proposal to roll back the 2009 hike by $400 million, called the committee vote Thursday an “important first step.”
“We’re committed to undoing the 54 percent tax increase that families experienced in 2009, so we can give more back to families,” Scott said in a prepared statement.
Scott, who is up for re-election in November, has said his proposal will be part of a $500 million tax-and-fee-cut package for the upcoming legislative session.
After the committee meeting, Negron said the cut amount will ultimately depend on updated revenue projections from state economists after the legislative session begins in March.
In December, state economic forecasters pushed the state’s projected surplus toward $1.2 billion for the coming year.
“The good news is that our economy is recovering and we will have some additional revenue this session, and some of that we’ll save for the future,” Negron said. “I hope to keep our reserves at a good level and we’ll address some infrastructure needs. But I think there is a good piece in there to return some of that money to the taxpayers that sent it to us in the first place.”
The vehicle registration fee will be in competition with a number of other proposed cuts, from a three-day back-to-school sales tax holiday to reductions in corporate-income taxes, communications-services taxes and commercial rental taxes.
“Every budget proposal is in competition with every other budget proposal, I don’t mind that there is competition, that is part of the process,” Negron said.
The vote Thursday was the second Senate panel to back Negron’s vehicle-registration fee proposal. The Transportation Committee endorsed the measure on Oct. 9.
The final stop before being sent to the Senate floor is Negron’s Appropriations Committee.
The House version (HB 61), which is sponsored by freshmen Rep. Mike Hill, R-Pensacola, has yet to be scheduled.
Hill’s office hopes the proposal will get its first hearing next Thursday before the House Finance and Tax Subcommittee.
by The News Service of Florida
Escambia To Interview Administrator Finalists On January 30
January 13, 2014
The Escambia County Commission is set to schedule one-on-one job interviews with each of the five finalists for the county administrator position.
The interviews will be held the morning of January 30 with each finalists meeting separately with individual commissioners in their office prior to public interviews with the full board at 1:00 that afternoon.
A second special board meeting will be scheduled for 9 a.m. on January 31; the meeting will be canceled if the BOCC makes a final decision on an administrator on January 30.
The five finalists for Escambia County administrator, as recommended by a citizens advisory committee, are:
- Jack Brown — Perry, FL. County Administrator, Taylor County BOCC.
- Ted Lakey — Graceville, FL. County Administrator, Jackson County BOCC.
- Albert Penska — Gettysburg, PA. County Manager, Adams County.
- William Reynolds — Pensacola. Former City Administrator, City of Pensacola.
- John Weaver — Murrells Inlet, SC. Attorney, Thomas & Brittain
The original pool of candidates was compiled by the Waters Consulting Group before being cut to five by the citizens committee.
Scott Wants $100 Million To Promote Florida For 100 Million Visitors
January 13, 2014
Gov. Rick Scott will seek $100 million to help bring 100 million visitors a year to the Sunshine State.
Scott announced Friday that he intends to ask the Legislature for the record amount of funding for Visit Florida, the state’s tourism-promotion arm, in the 2014 budget.
Legislative budget leaders are taking a cautious approach to the proposal.
The proposal is a jump of $25 million from what Scott sought last year and more than $35 million above what the Legislature eventually gave the agency for the current 2013-14 budget year.
The boost in funding would allow Visit Florida to expand its seasonal, city-specific targeted advertising to a year-round national campaign and would allow it to further target areas such as the United Kingdom and Brazil that already send large numbers of tourists to Florida.
During a morning appearance on an Orlando television station, Scott said marketing is “how we grow our economy.”
“All we have to do now is basically call up north and ask what the temperature is,” Scott said. “Other times, the more you put yourself in front of people, talk about our beaches, our weather, our attractions, our parks … so we just market ourselves more. We can get a lot more tourists in our state.”
And, of course, Scott said that with more tourists would come the creation of more jobs.
The funding request will be included in his annual budget request, which will be sent to the Legislature before the 2014 session starts in March.
Scott’s office released a series of supportive quotes from lawmakers, including Sen. Andy Gardiner, R-Orlando, and Rep. Ed Hooper, R-Clearwater, who will help oversee the economic-development budget process in their respective chambers. However, that doesn’t mean the funding request will have an easy journey through the Legislature.
Sen. Joe Negron, a Stuart Republican who heads the powerful Appropriations Committee, called the proposal “bold” and said the Senate will give it great consideration. But he added that lawmakers will have to determine if the recent funding increases to Visit Florida are why the state has seen tourism numbers increase.
“While tourism has increased, is this a correlation or causation?” Negron said. “That’s something we’ll have to analyze as part of the committee process.”
Rep. Seth McKeel, a Lakeland Republican who chairs the House Appropriations Committee, said in a release that the proposal will be “thoughtfully considered.”
“Tourism is certainly an important industry in our state,” McKeel said. “However, each year during the legislative budget process we must look at all of the state’s priorities and determine how to best allocate our available funds statewide.”
The Legislature approved $63.5 million for Visit Florida during the 2013 session, a $9.5 million increase from the prior year.
Meanwhile, the state is expected to be close to 94 million visitors for 2013, which would easily break the 2012 record of 91.4 million visitors.
Through the first three-quarters of 2013, the state had attracted an estimated 72.5 million tourists.
With the $100 million proposal, Visit Florida President and CEO Will Seccombe said the governor is further challenging Visit Florida and the tourism industry to reach 100 million visitors.
“We’re on pace for a third consecutive record year of tourism,” Seccombe said. “If you’re on that kind of a pace, there are two things you can do: You can sit back and enjoy the ride or you can double down and redouble your efforts to build on that momentum. There is no question that is what the governor has done.”
The state has already started to market itself as a year-round destination rather than just a warm-weather winter playground. Also, while focusing on attracting more people from traditional locales — New York, Boston, Atlanta and Chicago — ads have increased in markets west of the Mississippi and overseas.
The additional money would expand on both domestic and international advertising and include efforts to encourage passenger air carriers to increase international flights to the Sunshine State, Seccombe said.
Of Florida’s 2012 visitors, 13.8 million were international travelers.
The state money is in addition to $110.9 million in private contributions to Visit Florida.
by Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida