Child Hit By Vehicle In Century
January 21, 2013
A child is recovering today after being hit by a vehicle Sunday afternoon in Century.
The 10-year old female was reportedly struck by a vehicle about 1:50 p.m. on Hecker Road at Kelly Field Road, near Showalter Park. The girl was transported by ambulance in stable condition to Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola. An update on her condition was not available.
The accident is under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol.
The Century Station of Escambia Fire Rescue and Escambia County EMS also responded to the accident.
Convicted Cantonment Sex Offender Arrested
January 21, 2013
A convicted sex offender from Cantonment was arrested Sunday on a felony charge for failing to comply with Florida’s address registration laws, according to jail records.
Terrance Devonte Cowart, 20, was booked into the Escambia County Jail with bond set at $5,000. He was required to register as a sexual offender for a 2007 charge for sexual battery; the victim was an underage female, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
Second Time: Century Man Charged With Strangulation Of Girlfriend
January 21, 2013
For the second time in seven months, a Century man has been charged in connection with an alleged attempt to strangle one of the mothers of his children.
Maurice Austin, 24, was charged with battery by strangulation and remains in the Escambia County Jail with bond set at $5,000.
The victim told Escambia County Sheriff’s deputies that she was driving near Cottage and Zion and was forced to stop when Austin jumped in front of her car. She said Austin forced his way into the driver’s seat, drove to Zion Street and parked the vehicle at a friend’s house.
The victim claimed Austin hit her with closed fists, pulled her from the vehicle by the hair and strangled her until she passed out. Deputies noted bruising on the victim’s legs, shoulders, chest and arms.
Austin faced similar allegations back in July 2012 when another victim, then pregnant with his child, told deputies that she was walking down Jefferson Avenue near East Street in Century to catch a ride with friends alongside Highway 29. She said Austin was standing in the road.
The victim claimed Austin grabbed her by the neck, pushed her into the ditch and began fighting with her. The victim told deputies she broke free and continued walking toward her destination. She said that Austin’s girlfriend pulled off to the side of the road and ran over her foot. The two women — Austin’s girlfriend and the mother of his child — tried to fight, but Austin kept them apart briefly before saying he was going to step back and watch them fight, according to an Escambia County Sheriff’s Office report.
A third party drove by, broke up the fight and transported the victim to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office Century Substation, the report states. The victim reportedly suffered cuts, bruises and swelling. Her flip-flop was broken on the foot she claimed was ran over, but she told deputies that there was no pain and she could move all her toes.
When questioned by deputies, Austin’s girlfriend denied knowledge of the alleged events.
Charges against Austin were dropped in the July 2012 incident after the victim refused to testify against Austin.
Landfill Fire Fills Neighborhoods With Smoke
January 21, 2013
A landfill fire is sending smoke and ash into adjacent neighborhoods in the Ensley area.
The fire broke out Friday night at the Cove Landfill on Raymer Street, directly behind Pine Meadow Elementary School. Area fire departments and landfill employees continued to work to contain the fire Saturday and Sunday, and the Florida Forest Service responded.
Just before noon Sunday, the Forest Service reported the fire to be about 2-3 acres in size with little advancement. Just after noon, fire crews from Ensley and Cantonment were called back to the scene to assist the forest service in battling the blaze.
The Forest Service said smoke will continue for some time in parts of the area. Residents in the immediate area report ash falling from the sky and covering vehicles.
Northview’s Neiko Robinson Pays First Visit To Penn State
January 21, 2013
Northview High School senior Neiko Robinson visited Penn State over the weekend. Robinson is expected to sign with the Penn State Nittany Lions on National Signing Day — February 6.
It was the first trip to Happy Valley for the PSU commit, his first ever trip to anywhere in Pennsylvania and the first time he had ever set foot in a 110,000-seat stadium.
Robinson, a 6-foot, 162-pound defensive back, visited with coaches Bill O’Brien and John Butler during the trip, and toured the Penn State campus during his 1,700 mile round trip.
Pictured top: Northview’s Neiko Robinson (center) celebrates after the Chiefs won the Class 1A state championship in Orlando. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Obama Sworn In For Second Term (With Video)
January 21, 2013
President Barack Obama was formally sworn in for a second four-year term, and Vice President Joe Biden also took the oath of office Sunday before Monday’s public inauguration ceremony, to be witnessed by hundreds of thousands of people on the National Mall.
Obama took the oath just before noon in a ceremony lasting about half a minute in the oval-shaped White House Blue Room, with views of the executive mansion’s South Lawn sweeping down to the Washington Monument.
With First Lady Michelle Obama, daughters Malia and Sasha, and a small group of reporters looking on, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts administered the oath (video below).
Obama shook Roberts hand, kissed his wife and children, and said to his family, “I did it.”
This was the seventh time in U.S. history a president has taken the oath on Sunday, before a public ceremony the following day. The U.S. Constitution requires a president’s term to begin on January 20.
Obama used a Bible that belonged to his wife’s grandmother, LaVaughn Delores Robinson.
SWAT Team Responds to Escambia County Home
January 20, 2013
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office SWAT Team responded to a home on Oakcliff Road off Patricia Drive in West Pensacola Sunday afternoon.
A person reportedly barricaded themselves inside the home, refusing to exit. The incident was over by about 4:26 p.m. The person inside the home was taken to an area hospital for a mental evaluation.
There were no injuries reported. No other details have been made available.
McDavid Registered Sex Offender Headed Back To Prison For Four Years
January 20, 2013
A registered sex offender from McDavid is headed back to prison after violating his probation and cutting off his electronic ankle monitor.
Nathan Arron Mack, age 21 of 403 Railroad Street, was sentenced by Judge Joel Boles to four years in state prison after being convicted of violation of probation, failing to report a residence change and destroying electronic monitoring equipment.
In January 2011, Mack was convicted of the sexual battery of a 14-year old girl. He was sentenced to 18 months in prison, with credit for time served awaiting trial, followed by 18 months probation. Under the terms of his probation, he was forbidden to have unsupervised contact with any minor and ordered to enter a sex offender counseling program.
The victim’s stepfather told Escambia County Sheriff’s deputies that the 14-year old, who had been reported as a runaway, was at Mack’s residence on Railroad Street. When deputies arrived at the residence, they found Mack and the teen girl.
According to a Sheriff’s Office arrest report, Mack admitted to having intercourse multiple times with the 14-year old. He admitted that he had picked up the Pensacola girl at the Winn Dixie on Nine Mile Road because he knew the victim’s mother would not allow the two to be together. The young girl corroborated Mack’s story, according to the report.
When deputies contacted the victim’s mother, she advised that she wanted to pursue criminal charges against Mack. The mother stated that she had retrieved her daughter from Mack at the McDavid Mini Mart the week prior and had forbidden him from having any contact with her daughter.
Mack, a registered sex offender, was released from the Okaloosa Correctional Institution on November 30, 2011, and placed on probation.
In August 2012, deputies found Mack in the area of Bluff Springs Road and Dawson Road after a tip he was in that area, about two weeks after he had removed his electronic ankle monitor. Mack told deputies he removed the monitor because he knew he had already violated his probation and he was going to hide out until warrants became active. He told deputies he threw the monitoring bracelet and charging station into the woods in the area of Mystic Springs about two weeks earlier.
Firefighters Extinguish A Dozen Fires Over Three Mile Stretch Of Hwy 4
January 20, 2013
Firefighters worked Saturday afternoon to extinguish a dozen or more small grass fires along a three mile stretch of West Highway 4.
The series of grass fires were along West Highway 4 from Nall Road in Century westward to Canoe Creek. It appeared that a malfunction on a piece of equipment or a vehicle was sparking and started the fires along the roadway.
The Century and Walnut Hill stations of Escambia Fire Rescue were dispatched to the fires, and the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office assisted with locating the fires and in search for the responsible vehicle.
Pictured top: Small burned areas dot a three mile stretch of Highway 4 from Nall Road to Canoe Creek. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Store Robbery Suspect Arrested; Century Woman Charged As Accessory
January 20, 2013
An Escambia County man was charged with a Saturday morning convenience story robbery, and a Century woman was charged with being an accessory in the crime.
Felipe Samuel Cruz, 46, was charged with the robbery of the Tom Thumb at Saufley Field Road and Blue Angel Parkway just before 8:00 Saturday. Cruz allegedly entered the store, held a knife to the clerk’s throat and demanded cash.
As deputies were arriving on scene, they spotted Cruz running and were able to catch him as he was attempting to enter a Jeep Cherokee Laredo occupied by 29-year old Candida Rose Daw of Whirlpool Road in Century and Summer Kalb.
Cruz was charged with aggravated battery and robbery with bond set at $115,000. Daw and Kalb were booked into the Escambia County Jail. Daw’s bond set at $10,000; Kalb was held without bond.