Your Christmas Photos: Molino Lights
December 18, 2013
This house on Highway 29 near Cross Faith Church is decorated for Christmas. Submitted photo by Charles Crumpton for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Share your Christmas lights or other Christmas photos. Email the photos to news@northescambia.com.
Donations Make For Merry Christmas At Century Care Center
December 18, 2013
Residents at the Century Care Center recently held their annual Christmas party. The event included gifts for the residents that were made possible by donations from local groups, families and staff.
“Thanks to all,” said Mae Hildreth, the facility’s activities director. “You help make Christmas wonderful, magical for our residents.”
Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Northview Boys, Girls Beat Baker
December 18, 2013
The Northview varsity boys and girls beat Baker Tuesday night.
Northview 45, Baker 25 (Girls)
Northview Varsity Girls beat Baker, 45-25. It was 14-13 at the half, Northview leading. The Chiefs outscored Baker 31-12 in the 2nd half. E’Layzha Bates lead the Lady Chiefs with 16 points. Danielle Steadham had 11 points, Angel Lathan had 9 points, Lana Clayton had 5 and De’Asia Fountain had 4. Northview plays Thursday in the Jay Christmas Tournament.
Northview 59, Baker 51 (Boys)
The Northview Varsity Boys beat Baker 59-51. . The boys play next this Friday in the Alabama Southern Christmas Tournament.
Reindeer Games: US Marshals, Escambia Deputies Bust 93 Wanted Felons
December 17, 2013
In a joint effort, the U.S. Marshals Florida Regional Fugitive Task Force and the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office hit the streets of Escambia County the past week in the second phase of an earlier round-up initiated two weeks ago, capturing some of Escambia’s more elusive and violent fugitives.
Deputy Marshals from Tallahassee, Panama City, Tampa and Pensacola worked with Sheriff’s deputies from the ECSO TAC Team and arrested 93 wanted felons in a street-level sweep dubbed as Operation Reindeer Games.
The Task Force identified approximately 120 of Escambia’s more dangerous fugitives who were wanted on various charges including murder, attempted murder, sexual battery, assault, armed robbery, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, kidnapping, strangulation, possession of firearms and other weapon offenses as well as numerous narcotics violations.
At the end of the week, the population of Escambia County Jail swelled as a result of the multi-agency fugitive round-up and others found themselves in local jails in Santa Rosa and Okaloosa Counties; as well as other parts of Florida and Alabama. Of the 93 criminals who went to jail, 12 fugitives surrendered to jails after learning they were being sought on warrants.
Although the operation’s aim was to find fugitives, others were arrested on probable cause arrests of which several included harboring a fugitive or obstruction of justice when trying to conceal the fugitives’ locations. In just four days over 120 warrants were served, three firearms seized, over 1000 grams of various drugs and $240 in counterfeit bills were confiscated, a stolen car was recovered and three active meth labs were shutdown.
This sweep is the latest but not the last one as a part of Sheriff David Morgan’s objective to crackdown on violent offenders with the help of the Florida Regional Fugitive Task Force. The shared goal is to try and help make the people in the community feel safer.
Highlighted cases from Operation Reindeer Games:
Eddie McGee – Charged with 1st Degree Homicide. McGee was wanted out of Atlanta, GA and was believed to be hiding out in Pensacola. The US Marshals in Atlanta identified possible locations and asked the Florida Regional Fugitive Task Force for assistance. McGee was wanted in association with a homicide that took place June 14th, 2013, that occurred at Hidden Cove Circle, Gwinnett County, Norcross, Georgia. On that day, officers arrived on a scene of a reported shots fired call. Gwinnett Officers found the victim dead of a gunshot wound to the back of the head. Gwinnett Homicide investigators determined during their investigation that McGee was a suspect along with Norman Griffith who is also in custody relating to the murder. According to police reports they had arranged to purchase cocaine from the victim.
Douglas White – Charged with Child Cruelty and Abuse. When Marshals and officers attempted to arrest White inside of a trailer, White then took a two-year old whom White stuffed in a plastic tub and covered with clothing and blankets to hide the child to keep it quiet. White then secreted himself in a larger plastic tub beside the child and covered himself under a blanket. White and the child were located and White was subsequently tased by FRFTF members as he attempted to avoid arrest. The child is also the victim of the original crime in which the child was admitted to an Emergency Room for stitches due to injuries reportedly inflicted by White. White also had an active child abuse case with Department of Children and Family services for an assault on a 5 year old child. White was charged additionally with Child Cruelty and Resisting Arrest.
Jermaine Beasley – Charged with Attempted Homicide, Armed Robbery. Beasley is a suspect in a random street robbery and shooting that occurred at Gadsden and “Y” Streets in Pensacola on November 19 of this year.
Latasha Griggs – Charged with Possession of Cocaine and Marijuana. Griggs arrest resulted in the seizure of 126 grams of cocaine and marijuana which also led to the arrest of:
Tequilla Stallworth – Was arrested and charged with Grand Theft Auto, Possession of Counterfeit US Currency.
Casey Blackmon – Charged with Aggravated Assault with Deadly Weapon and Felony Battery by Strangulation. Escambia County Sheriff’s reports state that Blackmon was involved in an argument with his reported girlfriend that resulted in him allegedly choking her, punching and smacking her in the face, then held her down kneeing her in the stomach (police report reflects that she stated she is pregnant and Blackmon was aware of that) and then attempted to tase her with some type of taser device.
Keith Rogers – Charged with Armed Robbery with a Firearm and Aggravated Battery with a Firearm. Rogers was wanted in connection with a home invasion robber that took place on October 10th of this year at the Oakwood Terrace Apartment complex. According to victim and witness statements, Rogers and another man approached the victim and Rogers pistol whipped the man and then the two suspects dragged him into his apartment and robbed him before fleeing. Rogers has 6 prior firearm related arrests.
The sweep was by in large successful because of the assistance of Special Deputy Marshal Task Force Officers from Escambia, Bay, Leon, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa and Walton County Sheriff’s Offices, Panama City and Tallahassee Police Departments, Florida Department of Corrections and Special Agents from the ATF and FBI.
Fire Destroys Pickup Truck, Camper On Jacks Branch
December 17, 2013
There were no injuries when fire destroyed pickup truck and pop-up camper Monday night near Molino.
The pickup and camper caught fire on Jacks Branch Road, just north of Schifko Road about 7:15 p.m.. The driver of the truck was able to escape without injury.
The Molino Station of Escambia Fire Rescue responded to the blaze, which shut down Jacks Branch Road for about an hour. The exact cause the fire was not immediately known.
Pictured: Fire destroyed a pickup truck and pop-up camper Monday night on Jacks Branch Road. NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Smith, click to enlarge.
Bill Targets Criminals Who Cross County Lines
December 17, 2013
Local criminals that cross county lines to commit certain felony offenses could find themselves facing an additional felony charge.
A bill filed Monday would make it a felony offense to cross county lines to commit crimes such as sexual battery, robbery, burglary, kidnapping or trafficking in controlled substances.
House Justice Appropriations Chairman Charles McBurney, R-Jacksonville, proposed the measure which would make it a third-degree felony to cross county lines to commit a variety of types of felony offenses. The bill would apply when crimes are committed in counties other than where the perpetrators live. If approved during the spring legislative session, the measure would take effect October 1 of next year.
Pictured: Highway 4 entering Escambia County across the Escambia River from Santa Rosa County. File photo.
Federal Judge Orders Kosher Meals At State Prisons
December 17, 2013
A federal judge has ordered the Florida Department of Corrections to offer kosher meals to “all prisoners with a sincere religious basis for keeping kosher” by July 1.
The little-noticed ruling, signed Dec. 5, grants the U.S. Department of Justice a preliminary injunction forcing the state agency to offer kosher meals and to drop some of the restrictions on a kosher program at one state facility.
“Injunctive relief is necessary to prevent irreparable harm to hundreds of Florida prisoners who believe that keeping kosher is an important part of their religious beliefs,” wrote U.S. District Court Judge Patricia Seitz in her decision.
The lawsuit concerns the state’s Religious Diet Program, or RDP, currently in place only at Union Correctional Institution. According to Seitz’s ruling, the state has continuously changed its timeframe for expanding the program, first saying it would be available statewide this year, then saying kosher meals would be available at five institutions next month, and then announcing an implementation date for just three of those locations.
The state has also maintained that it is not required to offer kosher meals under federal laws protecting religious liberty.
Seitz barred DOC from enforcing four rules used in the kosher program at Union:
–A 90-day waiting period that the state said it will no longer enforce.
–A requirement that inmates undergo a “test” to determine whether they qualify for the program, including answering a question about the specific religious laws that require them to eat kosher.
–The “10 percent rule,” which drops a prisoner who fails to eat at least 90 percent of his or her meals.
–The “zero-tolerance rule,” which removes an inmate from the program for a period of time if he or she is found to eat something prison officials say is not kosher.
The state has argued that offering kosher meals at every prison could become prohibitively expensive. If enrollment were the same as an old program offering kosher food, it would cost the state less than $1.1 million a year. But the Union program has an unexpectedly high enrollment, which could result in a cost of almost $54.1 million if it went statewide, according to Seitz’s ruling.
But she said there were suspicions that the interest in the program at Union might not have had to do with religious fervor and could eventually decline.
“Thus, it appears that the high participation rate will not be maintained as the RDP continues and the ‘bugs’ in the system, which currently have made the RDP more desirable than standard prison fare, are worked out,” she wrote.
In a filing dated last week, though, the state continued to argue that the policy would cost too much.
“To the extent that FDOC’s dietary policies impose a substantial burden on a prisoner’s religious practices, the FDOC asserts that the policies are in furtherance of compelling governmental interests in preserving the security and good order of its institutions and in allocating scarce governmental resources and that these policies reflect the least restrictive means of furthering those interests,” the filing says.
A trial in the case is scheduled to begin Aug. 25.
by Brandon Larrabee, The News Service of Florida
Mrs. Grinch? Woman Caught Stealing Christmas Decorations
December 17, 2013
An Escambia County woman was busted red handed Monday morning taking Christmas decorations out of front yards.
Daphne Ann Whited, age 44 of Cantonment, drove around the Tributary Street neighborhood, taking decorations from yards and placing them inside her vehicle, according to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.
One resident, Sean Young, caught Whited on camera and posted the photos to his Facebook page.
“I asked her if she needed help putting my stuff in her car,” Young wrote on Facebook. “Then I took her picture.”
Whited was charged with multiple counts of petit larceny and possession of marijuana. She was released from the Escambia County Jail on a $1,000 bond. Several victims were located and their decorations returned.
Whited told deputies that an ad on Craiglist said the decorations were on a lawn free for the taking on Tributary Street.
Courtesy photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Robinson Nets 32 As Northview Beats Miller
December 17, 2013
The Northview Chiefs beat T.R. Miller Monday night 66-55 in Brewton.
Scoring for the Chiefs were Neino Robinson 32, Eric Williams 11, Tony Mcaroy 9, Nick Lambert 5, Cameron Newsome 5, Jeffery Taylor 2, and Dalton Tullis 2.
The Chiefs will host Baker Tuesday, with the varsity girls playing at 5:00 and the varsity boys taking the court at 6:30. It will be the last home games of the calendar year for the Chiefs.
Florida Could Reach 1 Million Gun Background Checks
December 17, 2013
The gift of a gun may be high on many Floridians’ holiday shopping lists.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement says it is on target to conduct nearly 1 million background checks this year on private firearm purchases. The projection comes as the department is reporting a record number of reviews conducted over the Thanksgiving weekend that typically kicks off the year-end holiday shopping season.
“We have definitely seen an increase in the number of background checks over the past several years,” FDLE spokeswoman Samantha Andrews said Monday. “You can see November and December are relatively larger” for sales.
Andrews declined to speculate on the reason for the increase and said the checks are only conducted on the individuals making purchases.
National Rifle Association lobbyist Marion Hammer said that in addition to buying firearms as gifts, guns sales have grown due to the improved economy and an effort by merchants to move stock by offering enticing holiday sales.
“I think it’s a combination of people wanting to take advantage of sales as well as the gift giving,” Hammer said. “The retailers I talked to … they feel the economy may be starting to recover, or people are relaxing a little more, and are starting to turn loose some of the money they were reluctant to spend. And it’s that time of year.”
The FDLE recorded approximately 823,000 checks on firearms purchases as of Dec. 15, of which about 40,000 were from December. Last December, the department recorded more than 110,000 checks.
The 2013 number already surpasses the 797,000 background checks conducted in 2012. There were roughly 610,000 checks conducted in 2011.
Each check includes criminal history and mental-health database reviews.
Times can fluctuate depending upon demand, but the agency aims for a 4 minute turn-around when a check is conducted by a dealer over the phone, Andrews said.
The check can also be done online.
Fewer than 6 percent of the checks result in a sale being denied, Andrews said.
There were nearly 13,500 checks conducted the Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving, up from 13,200 during the same period a year earlier.
Because of the growing number of background checks, the FDLE has requested 18 new employees during the next budget year to help complete the requests in the firearms purchase program, while another 18 employees already doing the quick checks under an “other personal services” temporary designation could be shifted into full-time positions.
The requests are part of a $19 million increase proposed to the FDLE’s $269 million budget for the 2014-15 fiscal year.
During an appearance last week before the state Cabinet, FDLE Commissioner Gerald Bailey pointed to the Thanksgiving weekend as an example of a spike in sales that taxes staff time.
“In order to do this, we had to bring in people from other parts of the departments to make it work,” Bailey told Gov. Rick Scott and members of the Florida Cabinet.
Bailey added that even though there was a brief glitch when the internal system for Wal-Mart went down, the checks were done relatively quickly.
The increased number of checks comes at the same time as Florida has a record number of concealed-weapon or firearm licenses issued by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
The consumer services department reported that as of Nov. 30, there were 1,195,645 concealed weapon or firearm licenses issued in Florida. The state went over the 1 million mark a year ago, becoming the first state in the nation to surpass that figure.
Hammer said because of the increasing population, and a growing awareness of the state’s concealed-carry laws, guns sales will continue to grow.
“People are more aware of the need to protect themselves and their families,” Hammer said.
The checks typically also increase around Valentine’s Day and in the spring as federal tax refunds are mailed out, Andrews said.
By Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida