Alabama Man Seriously Injured In Nine Mile Road Accident
February 26, 2013
An Alabama man was seriously injured in a two vehicle wreck Monday night on Nine Mile Road at I-10.
The Florida Highway Patrol said 50-year old Mark Alan Mothershed of Grand Bay, AL, exited westbound I-10 in a 2004 Buick and tried to cross all lanes of Nine Mile Road to re-enter the interstate. In the process, Mothershed pulled into the path of a 2004 Lincoln Navigator driven by 37-year old Robert Guice Jones of Pensacola. The Buick came to rest against a pole.
Mothershed and Jones receive minor injuries in the crash. A passenger in Mothershed’s vehicle, 20-year old Daniel Dewayne Draughon of Irvington, AL, was seriously injured in the wreck. All three were transported by ambulance to Sacred Heart Hospital.
Mothershed was charged with failing to yield right of way; Jones was charged with driving with a suspended license, according to FHP.
Pictured: Three people were injured in this two vehicle crash Monday night on Nine Mile Road at I-10. NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Smith, click to enlarge.
Major Citizens Insurance Bill Could Be Hard To Pass
February 26, 2013
The Legislature appears to be on a path to make it harder for non-homesteaded homes, often owned by people living out-of-state, to be added to or remain under the umbrella of the state-backed Citizens Property Insurance Corp.
However, the Florida Insurance Council, one of the leading lobbying groups for the private insurance industry, is not overly optimistic there will be other lasting or meaningful changes in the coming session that could quickly spin Citizens back to being an insurer of last resort.
“The Senate bill is comprehensive, the Senate bill would reduce Citizens to an insurer of last resort, so it’s probably impossible to pass,” said council Executive Vice President Sam Miller. “The House is not even considering anything that comprehensive at this point.”
The Senate bill, still in a draft, comes as Citizens, with about 1.3 million policies, has been working to shed itself of the least risky polices.
For the insurance council, the pace isn’t fast enough.
Also, anything that does get through the Legislature will have to be signed by Gov. Rick Scott, who is up for re-election and has generally opposed rate and fee increases that impact Florida’s families.
Last Thursday, a trio of Senate Democrats — Sens. Chris Smith, D-Fort Lauderdale, Jeremy Ring, D-Margate, and Jeff Clemens, D-Lake Worth — urged Scott to consider expanding the risk to neighboring hurricane-prone states to establish a “regional approach for addressing the issue.”
Meanwhile, the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee under Chairman Sen. David Simmons, R-Altamonte Springs, has been considered a number of sweeping changes to speed those efforts, including raising the 10 percent cap on rate increases and reducing the maximum policy from $2 million to $600,000.
Among the proposals still on the table: making homeowners ineligible for Citizens if coverage is available at a near similar price from a private firm; setting rates for new customers to be more actuarially sound or less competitive with the private market; creating a “clearinghouse” to make the least risky policies available to private companies; requiring the state Office of Insurance Regulation to establish new guidelines for homes valued at more than $300,000 to get into Citizens; and prohibiting out-of-state homeowners and secondary-owned homes from being eligible.
The Senate Banking and Insurance Committee is expected to meet next week, the first week of the regular session, to discuss the proposed bill.
By The News Service of Florida
Two Convicted In Liquor Store Shooting
February 26, 2013
Two men have been convicted in connection with a shooting last summer at an Escambia County liquor store.
Lance Anthony Carter was convicted of attempted second degree murder and George Lewayne Blount was convicted of principal to attempted second degree murder.
On July 9, 2012, there was a fight at the Tom, Ann & Buddy Liquor Store on Cervantes between Blount and some other individuals. During the course of the fight, Blount yelled for Carter to shoot at Herman Hill who was trying to break up the fight.
Carter jumped on top of a table, pulled out a handgun and shot Hill twice in the back. Hill was able to crawl out of the store and a passerby drove him to Baptist Hospital.
Both defendants will be sentenced by Circuit Judge Joel Boles on March 21. Lance Anthony Carter is facing a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years state prison with a maximum of Life. George Lewayne Blount is facing 15 years state prison.
Man Pulls Gun On Walmart Workers (With Video)
February 26, 2013
What started out as a retail theft turned into a robbery when a suspect pulled what appeared to be a black semiautomatic pistol on loss prevention officers at a local Walmart. Now, Escambia Sheriff’s investigators are seeking the public’s help in identifying the suspect.
On Saturday, February 23, Escambia Sheriff’s investigators responded to a retail theft which occurred shortly after noon at the Walmart located in the 4600 block of Mobile Highway.
Loss prevention officers had witnessed the individual conceal several items from the store before checking out and failing to pay for the items. They then escorted him to the loss prevention office after a brief struggle in the exit area.
Before deputies arrived, dispatchers advised them that the person in question had pulled a weapon on store employees. The suspect fled and deputies circulated the area; however he was not located. He is described as a clean shaven white male with light brown hair. He was wearing dark pants and a gray tee shirt with a dark grey fleece pullover.
Anyone with information on the crime is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (850) 433-STOP or the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office at (850) 436-9620.
If you do not see the video below, it is because your work, school or home firewall is blocking YouTube videos.
Missing Woman Located
February 25, 2013
Escambia County Sheriff’s Office investigators have found a 91-year old woman that had been missing for a week.
Geneva Woods was last seen February 18 in the 6000 block of Chelsea Street.
She was found unharmed a few hours after the Sheriff’s Office asked for the public’s help in locating her Monday afternoon.
No Injuries In Wrecks On Muscogee, Crabbtree Church Roads
February 25, 2013
There were no injuries in single vehicle wrecks Monday morning on Muscogee Road and Crabtree Church Road.
Muscogee Road Crash
The Florida Highway Patrol said 49-year old Kenneth Vincent Oakley of Mobile was traveling eastbound on Muscogee Road west of Highway 29 at about 5 a.m. in a 1996 Peterbuilt truck when he said he met another vehicle with high beams that blinded him.
Oakley veered off the road and into a ditch. He tried to continue to the travel out of the opposite end of the ditch but collided with a culvert, rupturing a fuel tank and dumping the truck’s load of sheet metal.
Charges against Oakley are pending, according to the FHP.
Crabtree Church Road
There were no injuries reported when a driver overturned about 6:10 a.m. on Crabtree Church Road near Homeplace Lane, just west of Highway 97.
The Florida Highway Patrol said 29-year old Jason Williams of Molino was traveling east on Crabtree Church Road where he said he hit standing water and lost control of his 2000 Ford SUV. The vehicle hit a culvert and overturned onto its right side.
Williams was not injured. There were no charges filed, according to the FHP.
Couple’s Mandatory Prison Time Cut From 15 To 3 Years For Drug Trafficking
February 25, 2013
A Walnut Hill man and his wife sentenced in 2009 to a mandatory 15 years in state prison for drug trafficking have had their mandatory sentence cut to only three years.
In June 2009, it took an Escambia County jury just 50 minutes to convict the Stephen Eugene Freeman, 43, and his wife Monica Lassitter Freeman, 40, on the trafficking charges involving 14 to 28 grams of hydrocodone.
Both Freemans filed a motion alleging that they had ineffective counsel during their trials, “essentially claiming that their lawyers did a poor job”, according to Assistant State Attorney Greg Marcille, asking the judge to set aside their convictions.
“They made substantial allegations that would have been very difficult to refute,” Marcille said. “If their motion was granted, it would mean a new trial.”
Prosecutors were unable to locate the confidential informant that testified against the Freemans in 2009, Marcille said, making it near impossible to prove without question the number of pills sold. For that reason, the State Attorney’s Office negotiated the charges against both Freemans down from trafficking 14 to 28 grams to trafficking in more than four but less than 14 grams — which carries a much shorter minimum mandatory sentence — in order to avoid a new trial.
Monica Freeman was sentenced on the lesser charge to 69 months in state prison with a minimum mandatory of three years with credit for 214 days plus time served in prison since her conviction. Stephen Freeman was sentenced to 60 months in state prison with a three year minimum mandatory with credit for 81 days plus time served in state prison since his conviction. The court did not rule on the ineffectiveness of the Freeman’s lawyers.
The Freemans were originally arrested by Escambia County Sheriff’s Deputies on June 4, 2008, following an undercover operation in which deputies discovered prescription Lortab and other pills in the couple’s home on Garrett Road in Walnut Hill.
Pictured: Monica and Stephen Freeman as seen in their 2008 Escambia County Jail booking photos (below) and their most current Florida Department of Corrections photos (above).
Escambia County Drive-By Shooting Under Investigation
February 25, 2013
A drive-by shooting Sunday in Escambia County is under investigation.
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office responded to Rochelle Drive and Massachusetts Avenue about 5:30 Sunday morning in reference to a shots fired call. Deputies found 34-year old Herbert Lee Bonner of Pensacola with a gunshot wound to the thigh.
He told deputies that he had been walking on Massachusetts Avenue when a white car traveling eastbound fired multiple rounds at him, striking him in the back of the thigh.
Bonner was transported to a local hospital for treatment. Further details have not been released. Anyone with information on the shooting is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (850) 433-STOP or the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office at (850) 436-9620.
Escambia County Students Of The Month Named
February 25, 2013
Students of the month for January have been named in Escambia County. The awards are presented monthly to a limited number of students from participating schools.
(North Escambia area schools are in bold.)
Bellview Elementary — Marleigh Gideons, fifth; Silkia Conley, first;
Beulah Elementary — Sadie Ridley, second; Tyson Snyder, second;
Blue Angels Elementary — Jude Trahan, first; Alara Biggs, first;
Bratt Elementary — Brayson White, KG, Savannah Doremus, fourth;
Brentwood Elementary — Jakiya Williams, third; Logan Labossiere, third;
Ferry Pass Elementary — Mackenzie Jones, first; Jonathan Dean, first;
Global Learning Academy Nicole Wigington, second; Lakota‐Rayne Gibbs, second;
Hellen Caro Elementary — Aidyn Hemmert, fourth; Jonah Leland, fifth;
Holm Elementary — Grace Hurt, Pre-K, Kaleb Bowser, Pre-K,
Jim Allen Elementary — Audrey Rudd, first; Robert McClammy, first;
Lipscomb Elementary — Aubriana Frick, second; Emily Oswald, third;
Longleaf Elementary — Nahriyah Alejandro, fourth; Alexander Russo, fourth;
McArthur Elementary — Kylee Rose, first; Hajar Abdelqader, first;
Montclair Elementary — Camden Vandervort, second; Lyquasha Mccorvey, second;
Myrtle Grove Elementary — Christian Sande, second; Bos’nia White, second;
Navy Point Elementary — Patience Goble, third; Maksim Stakheev, second;
Pleasant Grove Elementary — Quo’tasha Leverette, fourth; Cortrez Sims, fourth;
Sherwood Elementary — Makayla Amante, second; Joshua Rumpff, second;
Suter Elementary — Margaret Adair, first; Austin Doidge, first;
Weis Elementary — Jacques Brewington, second; Jaynisha Howard, second;
MIDDLE SCHOOLS
Bailey Middle — Riley Annabel, sixth;Julie Percle, seventh; Aniya Gaines, eighth;
Bellview Middle — Tineka Benjamin, eighth; Benjamin Northcutt, eighth;
Brown Barge Middle — Sarina Paolini, eighth; Erick Lopez, eighth;
Ernest Ward Middle — Jessica Stacey, eighth; Cody Kite, seventh; Lexxi Baggett sixth,
Ferry Pass Middle — Darius Anderson, seventh;
Ransom Middle — Justin Schubeck, seventh; Maggie Sharritt, seventh;
Warrington Middle — Zayda Sepulveda, sixth;Ty’asia Knight sixth,
Workman Middle — Samar Aalshareef, eighth; Majad Alqassim, eighth;
HIGH SCHOOLS
Escambia High — Marissa Magill, 10th; Allison Nicholas, 12th;ohnie Sublett, 12th;
Northview High — Dustin Parker, 12th; Courtney Peebles, 10th;
Tate High — Lacie Walker, 11th; John Pendleton, 12th;
West Florida High — Delaney Anderson, 10th; Samuel Skinner, 12th;
SPECIAL CENTERS
Escambia Westgate — Diamond Whitesell, third; Amaya Katumba, first; Whitney Brown, eighth; Timothy Fink, seventh;
Escambia Westgate — Justin Matthews, 10th; Alexis Fredericks, 10th;
Beulah Academy — Dallon Burgess, eighth; Hayley Lester, seventh.
Northview To Hold Baseball Camp This Saturday
February 25, 2013
The Northview Chiefs will hold a Baseball Camp this Saturday, March 2.
The camp is open to all machine pitch through senior league players wanting to sharpen their baseball skills. Players can get valuable, specialized training from the Northview
Chief’s Varsity Baseball Team.
Under the supervision and direction of Northview’s Head Coach Marty Lister, players will be taught the necessary skills to become a better player. All aspects of the games will be covered such as, base running, stealing bases, pick-off moves for both pitchers and catchers, batting and throwing.
All camp participants will get one-on-one instruction from the Northview players.
The camp, sponsored by the Northview Diamond Club, will be held Saturday, March 2 from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. Registration time is 8:30; registration is $20 per player.
For complete information (including preregistration information), click here (pdf).
Pictured: Last year’s Diamond Club Baseball Camp at Northview High School. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.