Milby, Erickson Win Free Wedding; Local Couple Falls Short
August 1, 2013
Evan Milby and Alanna Erickson have won this year’s Pensacola Block Party Wedding Contest — a free wedding held on the streets of Pensacola with everything donated by various vendors.
“We had a great experience and we wish them the best in life,” Jessy Killam, a top ten finalist in the contest, said Wednesday night. “The marriage truly begins after the wedding is over.”
Jessy and her fiance Jarrett Swearingen, were featured Monday in a NorthEscambia.com story due to their local ties.
Jessica grew up in Byrneville and graduated from Northview High School. Her fiance Jarrett grew up in Jay and graduated from Jay High School. He’s now an Escambia County Sheriff’s deputy.
Pictured top: Pensacola Block Party Wedding winners Evan Milby and Alanna Erickson. Pictured below: Top ten finalists Jessy Killam and her fiance Jarrett Swearingen. Courtesy photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
NHS QB Club Still Needs Teams For Weekend Softball Tournament
August 1, 2013
The Northview High School Quarterback Club still needs a few teams for a coed softball tournament to be held this Saturday.
The entry fee is $150 per team. To register a team and support the Class 1A state football champions in their upcoming season, call Bodie Tullis at (850) 390-3945.
Man Gets Life For Sexually Abusing Girl
August 1, 2013
A man that sexually abused a young girl for over 10 years will spend the rest of his life in prison.
Jeffrey Todd Morris was convicted by an Escambia County Jury of two counts sexual battery by a person in familial or custodial authority and one count of lewd and lascivious molestation on a victim under 12. Wednesday, Judge Frank Bell sentenced him to life in prison along with two concurrent 30 years sentences.
The charges stemmed from ongoing sexual activity from the time the victim was six years old until she was 18 years old. The victim gave birth in February and DNA confirmed Morris to be the father.
Altercation Outside Century Bar Lands Man In Jail
August 1, 2013
A Flomaton man was jailed after allegedly having an altercation with a woman outside Odom’s Bar in Century before fleeing on foot to Alabama.
Michael Dannell Pleasant, 34, was charged with battery and petit theft. He remained in the Escambia County Jail Thursday morning with bond set at $5,500.
During the early morning hours of Tuesday, Pleasant allegedly snatched 24-year old Jessica Ann Mathis out of a vehicle parked outside Odom’s Bar on North Century Boulevard. Mathis told deputies she had just sat down in a male friend’s Land Rover when Pleasant grabbed her by the hair and pulled her to the ground, causing injuries to her elbow, back of her head and ankle. Mathis alleged Pleasant then took her iPhone 4, scratched and kicked her car, and then took off running behind the neighboring Flomaton Wholesale into Alabama.
Mathis and her male friend followed Pleasant to his home on Martin Luther King Drive in Flomaton. The Flomaton Police Department, assisted by the Escambia County (FL) Sheriff’s Office, responded.
Mathis told deputies that she and Pleasant had lived together “as family” for three years, but they were currently separated.
After returning to the bar, Pleasant told deputies that he had lived with Mathis for four years and he made contact with her when he saw her sitting in a car with another man outside the Century bar. Pleasant told deputies he grabbed Mathis by the arm and asked her to get out as she exited the vehicle. Pleasant told deputies that he took the iPhone and walked away.
Mathis was arrested on an outstanding failure to appear warrant in a traffic case. She was released from the Escambia County Jail on a $250 bond.
BayBears Top Wahoos 4-3
August 1, 2013
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos rallied from two separate deficits on Wednesday night, but still fell victim of a late-inning run in a 4-3 setback to the Mobile BayBears at Pensacola Bayfront Stadium.
The game was tied at three headed to the eighth inning before the BayBears took the lead against Pensacola reliever Parker Frazier. Mobile loaded the bases with nobody out against Frazier who then gave up a sacrifice fly to Ryan Court to give the BayBears a 4-3 lead. Lee Hyde entered to limit the damage thanks to a pick off and a groundout.
Frazier took the loss for Pensacola, falling to 1-1. The right-hander allowed a run on two hits with a walk in just a third of an inning.
Pensacola had chances to tie and win the game in their last two at-bats but stranded three runners in the final two frames, including the tying run at second in the ninth when closer Jake Barrett struck out Yorman Rodriguez to end the game.
Mobile jumped out on top early in the contest against Pensacola starter Josh Smith. Ender Inciarte doubled on the first pitch of the game, stole third, and scored on a sacrifice fly from Justin Greene to make it 1-0.
Former Wahoo Mark Serrano got the start for the BayBears and dominated his former team with three shutout innings before running into a bit of trouble in the fourth. Mike Costanzo led off with a walk, moved to third on a Rodriguez double and scored on a groundout from Lutz to knot the game at one.
The two teams traded a pair of runs in the top of the sixth. In the top half, Mobile loaded the bases with two outs against Smith and scored a run on an RBI infield single from Raywilly Gomez that deflected off the glove of a diving Costanzo at first base. Drew Hayes came on to relieve Smith and uncorked a wild pitch, allowing a run to score and giving the BayBears a 3-1 lead.
Smith didn’t factor in the decision as he went 5.2 innings allowing three runs on eight hits while notching eight punchouts, one shy of a season high.
Pensacola battled right back in the bottom half to tie things up at three despite a baserunning mistake. With runners at first and second, Donald Lutz singled to left but Rodriguez was caught rounding second to far and induced a rundown between second and third before Corey Wimberly took off for home and was thrown out at the plate. Tucker Barnhart picked up the slack, though, with a two-run single to right scoring Lutz and Rodriguez.
However, Pensacola stranded runners on base in each of their last four at-bats adding up to a total of nine on the night. Six of the nine runners were left in scoring position.
Blake Cooper (3-2) picked up the win for the BayBears by getting the final out of the seventh inning and tossing a scoreless eighth.
The series wraps up on Thursday with the rubber game between the two squads at 7 p.m. Carlos Contreras (0-1, 4.66) will toe the rubber for Pensacola against Mobile’s Bradin Hagens (9-3, 3.63).
story by Kevin Burke
Two Injured In Molino Wreck
July 31, 2013
Two people were injured in a wreck Wednesday afternoon on Highway 29 at Molino Road.
Both of the injured, including a 12-year old, were transported by ambulance to a Pensacola hospital. Their injuries were not considered life threatening.
The accident block a portion of Highway 29 southbound for a brief period. The 12:47 p.m. accident is under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol. Further information, including names, has not been released.
Escambia County EMS and the Molino and Cantonment stations of Escambia Fire Rescue also responded to the crash.
Local Residents Sentenced On Federal Meth Related Charges
July 31, 2013
Seven defendants arrested back in April on methamphetamine and pseudoephedrine related conspiracy charges have been sentenced in federal court, while five additional defendants will be sentenced within the next month. All either previously pleaded guilty or were convicted.
A federal judge convicted 29-year old Jared L. Hester of Pensacola on charges involving a conspiracy to possess and distribute pseudoephedrine, knowing it would be used to manufacture methamphetamine. Prosecutors said Hester was involved in the conspiracy to possess and distribute large amounts of pseudoephedrine in order to manufacture methamphetamine from January 1, 2011, until his arrest in April 2013.
The jury heard from other members of the conspiracy and was shown pharmacy records displaying dozens of pseudoephedrine purchases by Hester during the conspiracy. Many of these purchases overlapped with his co-defendants’ purchases. In all, the conspirators purchased between 350 and 400 boxes of pseudoephedrine, so that it could be manufactured into methamphetamine. All of Hester’s seven co-defendants pled guilty to the charges.
Hester will be sentenced in August.
The following additional defendants have been sentenced:
- Stephanie Ann Gunderson, 26, Cantonment — Four months in federal prison, home detention for 24 months, supervised release for three years. She will be allowed to remain free until she surrenders on or before August 12.
- Shawn Michael King, 34, Cantonment – Federal prison for 51 months, three years supervised released.
- Joseph David Peterson, 33, Cantonment – Federal prison for 168 months, three years supervised released.
- Hunter Grant Myrick, 23, Cantonment – Federal prison for 20 months, three years supervised released.
- James E. Atiabi, 35, Pensacola, — Federal prison for 162 months, three years supervised released.
- John Wyatt Casey, 33, Pensacola — Federal prison for 115 months, three years supervised released.
- Shannon Lee Hurd, 29, Pensacola – Federal prison for 70 months, three years supervised released
In addition to Hester, four additional defendants will be sentenced in August or September:
- Gregory A. Militello, 42, Cantonment
- Kirby Brian Smith, 50, Molino
- Joshua Paul Militello, 30, Pensacola
- Nicole Danielle Jones, 32, Pensacola
Federal prosecutors say suspects were all were involved in a conspiracy to possess and distribute large amounts of pseudoephedrine in order to manufacture methamphetamine from January 1, 2011, until their arrests.
The indictments resulted from an investigation by agents of the United States Drug Enforcement Administration, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office, and the State Attorney’s Office.
Each defendant faces or faced up to 20 years imprisonment and fines up to $250,000.
Molino Class: Raising Urban And Backyard Poultry
July 31, 2013
The Escambia County Extension will host a class on raising poultry focused on both the urban and backyard farmer. Classes will be held on Monday, August 5, at the Molino Community Complex, 6450 Highway 95-A, and Wednesday, August 7, at the Downtown Library, 200 W. Gregory Street. Both programs begin at 6 p.m.
This class will provide information on breed selection, housing, nutrition and daily care for new and current poultry owners.
Contact Fran Lainhart, Escambia County Extension, (850) 475-5230 to reserve a seat. Space is limited to 40 participants.
One Killed, One Injured In Warrington Shooting
July 31, 2013
One man is dead and another hospitalized after a shooting Tuesday night in Escambia County.
The shooting happened just before 6 p.m. at The Pines at Warrington apartments on Navy Boulevard. When deputies arrived at the scene, they discovered two male victims who had been shot. One of the victims, identified as 17-year-old Ledarrious Ramone Washington, was taken to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead. The second victim, whose name has not been released, was transported to a local hospital, and his condition is unknown at this time
Further information has not been released by the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.
Pictured: The scene following a shooting Tuesday night at The Pine at Warrington apartments on Navy Boulevard. Photos courtesy WEAR 3 for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Insurance Boss: Individual, Small Group Rates To Go Up
July 31, 2013
With the bulk of the federal Affordable Care Act taking effect Jan. 1, Florida insurance regulators say rate filings indicate premiums could increase 30 to 40 percent in the individual health market and 5 to 20 percent in the small-group market.
Wences Troncoso, a deputy insurance commissioner, made a presentation Tuesday about the federal law, better known as “Obamacare,” to the state Health Insurance Advisory Board.
Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty also used those estimates in an earlier interview with The Palm Beach Post. But the estimates do not take into account factors such as tax subsidies that many people could receive to help offset premium costs.
The potential rate impacts of the federal law have long been a point of debate, with Republican opponents and many businesspeople arguing that premiums will soar.