Escambia Man Arrested In Fatal Chemstrand Road Stabbing
March 14, 2013
An Escambia County man is behind bars charged with a fatal stabbing last night.
Just after 8 p.m. Wednesday, the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office responded to a disturbance in the 8000 block of Chemstrand Road, just south of Nine Mile Road. Deputies said 58-year old Leonard A. Brown was in an altercation with 43-year old John James Turberville.
Turberville was stabbed twice during the altercation and transported to an area hospital were he was pronounced deceased.
Brown was arrested at the scene and charged with manslaughter with a weapon and use of a weapon during a felony. He is being held without bond in the Escambia County Jail.
Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan said Thursday morning that investigators do not believe the homicide was drug related.
Tuberville was in front of his home, having gone out to check his mail, as Brown was walking down the street when the altercation began for unknown reasons. Morgan said Tuberville was able to identify Brown has his assailant.
Pictured top: Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan at a late Thursday morning news conference. Courtesy image for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Century Clinic To Double Free Medical Services; Paid Provider And Volunteers Needed
March 14, 2013
The Health and Hope Clinic has received a grant to expand their free medical services to residents in North Escambia from their Century location.
The Health and Hope Clinic quietly opened in October 2011 in the old Escambia County Health Department building at 501 Church Street in Century. It is the second location for the clinic, which was first established in Pensacola back in 2003 by the Pensacola Bay Baptist Association to meet the needs of uninsured and medically underserved in Escambia County. The clinic is entirely volunteer and donor supported.
The Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation of Florida has provided a grant to open the Century clinic a second day each week, expanding from the current to 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday schedule. The new hours will mostly likely be 3-7 p.m. on Tuesdays.
“They have become a great partner to our clinic and we’re so blessed to have their support and to be right in line with their desire to create healthier communities,” Health and Hope Clinic Executive Director Jessica Simpson said of the Blue Cross donation.
In order to open the second day each week, the clinic must hire a health care provider and recruit volunteers. For the paid provider (MD; DO; ARNP; PA) job description, click here. For information about volunteer opportunities, click here.
“We’re so excited to be expanding the hours of our Century clinic,” Simpson said.
The Health and Hope Clinics in Pensacola and Century have provided over $10 million worth of health care services and 14,000 patient/provider visits since 2003. The Health and Hope Clinic relies on the generosity of its contributors and volunteers to accomplish its mission of providing health and hope to the hurting”.
For more information, call (850) 479-4456 or (850) 336-4100.
Drug Charge Dropped Against Century Man
March 14, 2013
A Century man arrested by Pensacola Police in October on traffic and drug charges by the Pensacola Police Department has been sentenced.
Lorenzo John Payne, age 23 of Hudson Hill Road, was charged with felony possession of a controlled substance without a prescription, and cited for driving with a revoked license and driving with a license plate unassigned to the vehicle. The drug charge was dropped, and Payne was convicted on both traffic offenses.
He was sentenced by Judge Terrell to time served, plus $410 in costs and fines.
According to an arrest report, Payne was stopped by Pensacola Police at Davis and Baars streets when officers discovered the license plate registration did not match the vehicle Payne was driving. During the traffic stop, officers reported finding Oxycodone pills in the center console of the vehicle with Payne having no valid prescription.
Payne told police that he knew the tag on the vehicle was wrong; he said his tag was seized during a previous traffic stop. His license had been suspended for failure to pay traffic fines, the arrest report states.
Escambia 4-Year Old VPK Registration Ends Friday
March 14, 2013
Registration for the Voluntary Prekindergarten Program for 4-year olds ends Friday at area elementary schools, including Bratt, Molino Park and Jim Allen.
Registration will continue through March 15 at selected Title I schools: Bratt, Ensley, Lincoln Park, Molino Park, Monclair, McMillan (Wies), Oakcrest, Semmes, and West Pensacola. Children who live in these Title I attendance zones will given priority for enrollment.
Registration will also take place at the Global Learning Academy, Jim Allen and Warrington; however, only children in the attendance zones of these schools may apply.
For complete information, including required documentation, click here (pdf). For more information, call (850) 595-6915, ext. 224 or 227.
Federal Fund Application Deadline Friday For Ag Producers In Escambia River Watershed
March 14, 2013
Agricultural producers living in the Escambia River watershed have until March 15 to apply for financial incentives from the Gulf of Mexico Initiative resulting from the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill.
Financial assistance is available to help eligible producers focus on reducing soil erosion, improving water quality, and improving wildlife habitat on cropland, pastureland, and forestland, according to the Natural Resources Conservation Service.
NRCS and their conservation partners developed this initiative in response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and President Obama’s call to help restore the waters, shores, and wildlife populations along the Gulf Coast.
All NRCS conservation programs are voluntary but participants must meet eligibility requirements. For more information about signing-up for this initiative contact Escambia County District Conservationist Josh McElhaney at 151 Highway 97 in Molino or call (850) 587-5404, ext. 3.
For a printable information sheet, click here.
Escambia Extends Lake Stone Caretaker, Management Agreement
March 14, 2013
The Escambia County Commission has extended a contract for the management of Lake Stone Campground near Century.
Since the inception of the Lake Stone Campground, the county has entered into an agreement for on-site caretaker and management services at the facility. Mervyn Simmons has served as the caretaker since February 2009.
The commission extended the agreement with Simmons until February 10, 2014. Simmons is compensated $850 per month with housing and utilities provided.
Century Correctional BBQ To Benefit Special Olympics
March 14, 2013
Century Correction Institution will hold a BBQ to benefit Special Olympics.
Lunches will include a BBQ pork sandwich, chips and a cookie for $5. Plates will also be sold on Friday, March 22 at the Nadine McCaw Park on North Century Boulevard beginning at 10 a.m.
Arrests, Carroll Resignation Puts Long Odds on Future Of Internet Cafes
March 14, 2013
The Internet Cafés that have popped up around the state, which some say are essentially strip mall gaming parlors, appear about to be finished as an industry in Florida.
The president of the Senate and the speaker of the House both said Wednesday that the cafes should be shut down, and a bill doing that is likely to be heard on the House floor as soon as next week. It would almost assuredly pass there and in the Senate quickly thereafter.
Legislative leaders said they wanted the ban hours after state and federal officials announced a massive investigation into the industry, a probe that also led Wednesday to the resignation of Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll, who has done consulting work for the organization at the center of that probe.
House Speaker Will Weatherford said the House will take up a bill to ban the storefront businesses next week. Senate President Don Gaetz also said he would “fully support such a ban.”
Gov. Rick Scott last year expressed support for banning Internet cafes. But he did not take such a direct stance when asked about it during a news conference Wednesday.
“I think that issue’s on the table,” Scott said. “I want to work with the House and the Senate to see if that is something we ought to be doing.”
Law enforcement officials earlier in the day announced a sweeping probe into an Internet café chain operating under the umbrella of a supposed veteran’s charity, but also said the investigation could include other companies in the industry.
The revelation of the widespread probe also led industry lobbyists to jump ship, leaving the cafes with few friends at the Capitol.
Attorney General Pam Bondi, officials from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and several others said at a press conference in Orlando that a three-year investigation revealed an alleged sophisticated racketeering and money laundering scheme involving 49 centers in 23 Florida counties.
The organization at the center of the investigation is a veterans charity group called Allied Veterans of the World, which purported to be using money raised to assist veterans.
Carroll and her firm 3N and JC, at a minimum served as a public relations consultant to the company in 2009 and 2010 while she was in the House.
The officials declined to discuss any role that Carroll may have played or the potential that other elected officials could still be in the investigative crosshairs.
Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Gerald Bailey alleged the company wasn’t a true charity – and also said the probe will now shift to other café operations that have long claimed to offer “sweepstakes.”
“This is the only the first wave of our investigation,” Bailey said. “Our investigation suggests that the premise of charity is a lie, a lie to our citizens and a lie to our veterans.”
The FDLE claims that less than 2 percent of the $300 million the Allied gambling centers generated in revenue in Florida between January 2008 and January 2012 made its way to any charity.
Scott’s chief of staff, Adam Hollingsworth, said Wednesday that Carroll stepped down to avoid “distracting” the work of the executive office.
As of Wednesday, 57 people had been arrested and remained held without a bond limit set, each on: 57 charges of racketeering and influence corrupt organizations (RICO); 614 counts of possession of slot machines; and 614 counts of keeping a gambling house; and 1,265 counts of money laundering, FDLE said.
Bondi said her office will file formal charges next week against those arrested as part of the probe, called “Operation Reveal the Deal.”
The investigation began in Seminole County in July 2009 and grew to include law enforcement agencies in South Carolina, Oklahoma and Texas.
The latest sweep started when a federal search warrant was issued Monday by the Oklahoma Bureau of Investigation, Internal Revenue Service and the FDLE on International Internet Technologies, which provided the software for the machines used at the Allied businesses.
Law enforcement alleges that the four primary principles, including two from Florida – Kelly Mathis, 49, and Jerry Bass, 62, both from Jacksonville – allegedly received more than $90 million, with other money going into lobbying efforts.
It couldn’t be determined Wednesday who was representing them in the matter.
But at the Capitol, there was almost no call for waiting for that side of the story.
“The case against Allied Veterans of the World makes clear that internet casinos are a breeding ground for illegal activity,” Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam said in a statement. “I intend to work with the Legislature to shut down these organizations and keep them from defrauding and scamming their clients and, in this case, veterans who were never given their share of the promised proceeds.”
Putnam’s office has been involved in a lawsuit with Allied Veterans of the World since November 2011 for failure to provide required documentation as evidence of its charitable activity.
The House Gaming Committee is now set to discuss Internet cafes on Friday. The Senate Gaming Committee is expected on Monday to take up a bill (SB 1030) by Sen. John Thrasher, R-St. Augustine, that seeks to impose a moratorium on new cafes. Thrasher was one of the first lawmakers on Wednesday to call for going further and banning the businesses.
Critics have long contended the cafes illegally operate electronic games that are akin to slot machines, but the industry has said they are legal sweepstakes games.
Former state Rep. Scott Plakon sponsored legislation that passed the House last year to ban the outlets, but the measure failed in the Senate.
He said Wednesday he hoped the arrests will give the proposal a boost to passage.
“I’m interested to see them try to stand behind what is happening here,” Plakon said. “I don’t see how you can anymore.”
While investigators say the money generated from the cafes also went into lobbying efforts, the industry may find it doesn’t have as much clout with lawmakers as the legislative gaming committees take up the issue.
Last year, International Internet Technologies, which licenses the software to the cafes, spent $740,000 on lobbying the Legislature, according to a lobbyist-compensation report.
But International Internet Technologies’ lobbying team terminated its representation after the announcement of the arrests and law-enforcement searches of Internet cafes.
Sarah Bascom, who runs a prominent public-relations business in Tallahassee, served as a spokeswoman for a group called the Coalition of Florida’s Internet Cafes, which included International Internet Technologies. She said she quickly terminated representation because of “misrepresentation” by International Internet Technologies.
By The News Service of Florida
Sheriff’s Task Force Taking Aim At Spring Break Safety
March 14, 2013
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office will join a Florida Sheriff’s Task Force program aimed at a cracking down on Spring Break drug and alcohol use. Operation Dry Spring — aimed at protecting the safety of Florida’s youth — will run through April 7.
The Sheriff’s Office said the use of drugs and alcohol by youth leads to emergency medical situations. There were, the Sheriff’s Office said, 190,000 alcohol related injuries to persons under the age of 21 requiring an emergency room visit in 2010.
“Come to Escambia County, enjoy our weather, beaches and varied nightlife. Do not let a momentary lapse in judgment affect you for the rest of your life,” Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan said. “Illegal activity of any kind will not be tolerated. You can have fun and be safe.”
The Florida Sheriffs Task Force will be targeting businesses that are selling alcohol, tobacco or synthetic drugs to underage youth. Operation Dry Spring will also focus on underage youth in possession of drugs, alcohol and tobacco.
Pictured: An Escambia County Sheriff’s deputy patrols Pensacola Beach. Courtesy photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Florida Lt. Gov. Carroll Resigns Amid Scandal
March 14, 2013
Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll’s resignation in the wake of an illegal gambling probe sent shockwaves through the Capitol on Wednesday, potentially ending the career of a rising political star and confronting Gov. Rick Scott with one of the most sensitive personnel decisions of his administration.
It was the end of a tumultuous two years for Carroll, the highest-ranking black elected official in state history, who has not been charged with any wrongdoing in the investigation. Law enforcement officials, though, said more indictments were possible in the ongoing probe.
Carroll had earlier raised hackles with some of her comments; after criminal charges against an employee led to allegations last year that Carroll was caught in a compromising position with another female aide, Carroll suggested she was too attractive to be gay. She later apologized.
Still, the lieutenant governor had been a darling of social conservatives, and her selection as Scott’s running mate was a gesture from the former health-care executive who was known mostly for his economic conservatism.
And Carroll was often seen as a desperately needed female, minority voice in a Republican Party whose strongest voices are largely white and frequently male. In 2012, she was named a member of TheGrio’s 100, a list of prominent political, cultural and business figures put together by a website focused on black issues.
On Wednesday, Scott stood on a sun-drenched corner of the Capitol grounds and spoke about Carroll’s departure, which was handled quietly late Tuesday and became public the next day.
“I will not elaborate on the details of her resignation further, other than to say that she resigned and she did the right thing for the state and for her family,” Scott said.
A company Carroll co-owned during her time in the Legislature, 3N & JC Corporation, provided consulting services for Allied Veterans of the World, the entity at the center of the investigation.
In a statement issued through unofficial channels, Carroll said she did not believe she or her company are “targets” in the ongoing investigation.
“My decision yesterday to resign as Lieutenant Governor represents my unwavering commitment to the great state of Florida,” Carroll said in the lengthy statement. “I simply refuse to allow the allegations facing a former client of my public relations firm to undermine the important work of the Governor and his administration.”
Attention immediately pivoted to who might replace Carroll. Speculation surrounded members of the Cabinet, including Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam and Attorney General Pam Bondi. It wasn’t clear whether either of those officials, both of whom have been rumored as potential primary challengers for Scott in 2014, would be interested in the position.
“I’m very happy being attorney general,” Bondi said at a press conference about the investigation. “I’m sure the governor will make a great choice.”
Scott said he wouldn’t pick a replacement until after the 2013 legislative session ends in early May.
“I think, whenever you pick a lieutenant governor, you want somebody that can do the job, somebody that can do the right things for the state of Florida,” he said.
Some legislators were also mentioned, including Sen. Anitere Flores, R-Miami, whose supporters quickly started a hashtag on Twitter to boost her chances. A legislative choice could help Scott, an outsider, work with lawmakers on his election-year agenda in 2014.
“A lieutenant governor can be helpful in this process, here,” said Sen. John Thrasher, a St. Augustine Republican and former chairman of the state GOP. “I certainly think that that’s appropriate, to look at somebody that might have some experience in this process, somebody that has an identity from the standpoint of the entire state, if you can find somebody like that.”
The selection could also have a political impact on Scott’s bid for re-election in 2014.
“The governor now has a chance to pick, frankly, somebody that he believes can help him in the campaign,” Thrasher said. “So I think it will be benefit to him, frankly, down the road.”
Like most lawmakers, though, Thrasher stressed the final decision was Scott’s to make.
Legislative leaders also shrugged off the thought that the open position could give Scott more sway over representatives or senators who might want to be considered.
“I don’t think it has any more leverage over lawmakers than him having the veto pen [over] every bill and every appropriation that goes in the budget,” said House Speaker Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel.
As for Scott, the governor promised to remain fixed on his long-running message of creating jobs.
“That’s what I want to focus on,” he said. “That’s what I’m going to go back to focusing on.”
By The News Service of Florida