Charges Dropped Against Century Man Accused Of Assaulting Pregnant Girlfriend
September 13, 2012
Charges have been dropped against a Century man charged in April with assaulting his pregnant girlfriend in Century.
Darryl Thomas Frazier, age 24 of Alger Road, was originally charged with aggravated battery on a pregnant woman, criminal mischief property damage and second degree petit theft. Those charges were dropped after the victim refused to cooperate with prosecutors, according to the State Attorney’s Office.
He was accused of kicking in doors at his pregnant girlfriend’s residence on Burgess Road, punching her, slapping her and throwing her into a window frame. Frazier was also accused of taking $18 in cash, a debit card and an iPod docking station from the victim.
Escambia Man Gets Life For Killing Teen
September 13, 2012
An Escambia County man was convicted Wednesday afternoon in a 2011 murder and sentenced to two life terms.
State Attorney Bill Eddins said Jeremy Cornell Rand was convicted by an Escambia County Jury of one count of first degree premeditated murder and one count of attempted premeditated murder. At the conclusion of the trial, Judge Jan Shackelford sentenced Rand to two-life sentences to run concurrent with each other.
The convictions stemmed from the September 9, 2011, killing of Deiante Graham and shooting of Neyshana Nobles. Rand and two others confronted the victims in the parking lot of the Royal Crest Apartment complex while they were sitting in their car.
Rand mistakenly thought Graham had been looking through his apartment window and after Graham continued to deny it, Rand shot him in the chest. Nobles was shot one time in the neck.
Donny McKay, Jr., is also charged in the shooting and is scheduled for trial in November.
Scott Asks Washington To Cover Local Isaac Damage
September 13, 2012
Florida counties affected by Hurricane Isaac would be eligible for federal grants under a request made this week by Gov. Rick Scott, including Escambia and Santa Rosa counties.
Escambia County leaders say Hurricane Issac left behind $13 million in damage to Pensacola Beach and Perdido Key. Of that, about $10 million is eligible for reimbursement from FEMA.
A preliminary damage assessment found Pensacola Beach lost 250,000 cubic yards of sand, which will cost about $8 million to fix. Perdido Key lost 180,000 cubic yards and had up to $6.3 million in damage.
Santa Rosa County estimates $704,000 in damages in the unincorporated areas — $4,000 to parks and $700,00 for Navarre Beach erosion.
The money requested by the governor reimburse local governments for debris removal costs and other costs related to damage to public facilities from the storm.
Register Now For 3rd Annual Chief Challenge 5K Run/Walk
September 13, 2012
The Third Annual Chief Challenge 5K Run/Walk is coming to Northview High School.
The event will be held Saturday, October 6 at 8:30 a.m. at the school campus in Bratt. “The course is not your typical 5K race. It includes a variety of terrains and challenging hills around the campus,” according to event organizers.
Awards will be presented to the top six male and female runners in the elementary, middle and high school categories, and to the top three male and female runners in two adult categories plus master and grand master.
For a registration form and more details, click here. The registration fee and a t-shirt are discounted to only $15 though September 28.
“The event is to promote wellness through running and walking in the area. Now with Bratt Park more and more people are taking advantage of the walking track and getting into shape,” said Natalie Nall, cross country coach at Northview.
About 120 runners and walkers took part in last year’s Chief Challenge.
The Chief Challenge 5K Run/Walk is sponsored in part by NorthEscambia.com.
Pictured: The 2011 Chief Challenge. NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.
State Voter Purge List Shrinks, Agreement Reached
September 13, 2012
A controversial list of 2,600 allegedly illegal voters has been whittled to 207, Florida election officials said Wednesday after running the names through a federal immigration database.
Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner said the names, about 8 percent of the initial list, will be forwarded to local election officials as early as next week.
The revised list was released the same day as an agreement was announced between the state and voting rights groups over efforts to remove non-citizens and other ineligible voters from the ranks.
“We want every Florida voter to be confident that their vote is protected and not hurt in any way by the illegal activity of others,” Detzner said in a statement. “We know that every vote counts, especially here in Florida where only 537 votes decided the presidential election in 2000.”
Wednesday’s announcement marks the latest development in a months-long battle between voting rights advocates, state and federal elections officials over Republican-led efforts to cull the ranks of voters and eliminate those not eligible to cast ballots.
Voting groups, which filed suit in federal court to stop the purge, said the new agreement would help prevent the targeting of minorities, who disproportionately turned up on earlier lists of questionable voters.
“The citizens of Florida have taken another step toward realizing the right to vote, without any undue barriers imposed by the state,” said Penda Hair, co-director of Advancement Project, a plaintiff in the case.
At Gov. Rick Scott’s urging, state election officials last year began looking at whether ineligible voters were showing up in the rolls.
To find out, the state began comparing voting rolls with drivers-license data, coming up with an initial list of 2,600 names it sent to local officials earlier this year. Election supervisors suspended the purge after it became clear that eligible voters were incorrectly included in the non-voter list.
At the center of the controversy was a request by Florida officials to access a federal Department of Homeland Security database that tracks the status of non-citizens. State election officials filed suit to use the system to more accurately determine the status of registered voters.
Under the agreement penned Wednesday, state officials will advise local election supervisors to return to the rolls voters who were removed earlier but can’t be confirmed as non-citizens. Voters who were incorrectly removed from the rolls will receive letters telling them they are indeed eligible to vote.
Also, voters whose names turned up on earlier lists would not be required to vote by provisional ballot.
“Any number of people who are registered to vote and who are not eligible is a serious problem, whether that number is two or 207,” said Howard Simon, executive director of ACLU of Florida, in a statement. “But given the less-than-competent record of state officials in voter purging over the years, Floridians would be right to be skeptical of anything coming from this current purge.”
By The News Service of Florida
Baby Shower Saturday For Wife Of Late Paramedic
September 13, 2012
A baby shower will be held this Saturday at the Century Fire Station for the wife of a paramedic and fire department member killed recently in a traffic crash.
Lt. Nathan Berry was a member of the Century Fire Department and the Friendship Fire Department, and he was a paramedic supervisor with Lifeguard EMS in Santa Rosa County and a former paramedic with Atmore Ambulance. Berry, 22, was killed in an off-duty traffic accident south of Jay in June.
The baby shower for Tiffany (Hanks) Berry will be held from 2-4 p.m. at the Century Fire Station, 10 Tedder Road, just off Highway 29, for the Berry’s unborn son Mason.
Mason will need any and all baby items, including clothing for 0-12 months, according to event organizers. Gifts are also welcome for Mason’s big sister, Anna Claire. Her clothing size is 18-24 months and her shoe size is 5.
Gifts from those unable to attend can be dropped off at the Lifeguard EMS office at 4340 Avalon Boulevard in Milton from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. through Friday or the Century Fire Station from 7 a.m. until 4 p.m. through Friday, or the Flomaton City Hall at 2125 Ringold Street from 7:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. through Friday.
Those attending are asked to call (850) 619-0729 or email shaunmoye@att.net in advance so that an accurate count can be obtained for food.
Sheriff Releases More Info On Fatal Deputy-Involved Pedestrian Accident
September 13, 2012
New information was released Wednesday about a deadly accident Monday in which an Escambia County deputy struck two pedestrians, killing a 16-year old girl.
Deputy Ty Brewton, 41, was westbound on Mobile Highway at the New Warrington Road overpass at 4:10 a.m. when he hit 16-year old Aaliyah S. Howard and 16-year old Louise Johnson. Howard was pronounced dead at the scene; Johnson was treated and released at Sacred Heart Hospital for minor injuries.
A report released Monday by the Florida Highway Patrol said the girls were walking side-by-side in the inside westbound lane with their backs facing traffic. But in interviews with local television stations, Johnson and family members claimed the girls were walking in the median when Brewton hit them.
Sheriff David Morgan said Wednesday that an investigation by his department also determined the teens were walking in the roadway when they were hit.
“This fact was determined through the evidence at the scene to include the in-car camera in Deputy Brewton’s patrol vehicle,” Morgan said, adding that the FHP determined that Brewton’s vehicle was in proper working condition, including headlights that were on at the time of the crash.
Deputy Brewton remains on paid administrative leave pending a final outcome of the investigation.
It’s Going To Look A Lot Like Christmas In Century
September 13, 2012
The Town of Century is making plans for Christmas, ordering new decorations for utility poles along North Century Boulevard.
The town has ordered 42, 50-inch Christmas wreaths with energy saving LED bulbs and 24-inch nylon bows. The wreaths were ordered from Dixie Decorations in Montavello, Ala., for $15,047 — an amount reflecting a 17 percent discount received for placing an order prior to Monday.
The wreaths were chosen by council President Ann Brooks, who was appointed by the council as a one-person committee to choose the decorations. They will replace aging decorations donated to the town about five years ago when the City of Pensacola upgraded their Christmas decor.
The town is still waiting to hear back from Gulf Power on the cost to wire the poles as needed for the new decorations, according to Town Clerk Leslie Gonzalez. Twenty-six utility poles in the town are already wired, but 16 will need wiring installed.
Pictured top: Century Town Council President Ann Brooks (left) shows a municipal Christmas decoration catalog to council members Sandra McMurray Jackson (center) and Jacke Johnston during a meeting earlier this year. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
Legislative Committe Approves Prison Health Privatization Amendment
September 13, 2012
A budget amendment that would allow the Department of Corrections to move forward with a plan to private health-care services for its inmates passed the Legislative Budget Commission on a party-line vote Wednesday.
The action almost guarantees a lawsuit, with unions representing affected workers vowing that they will move to block the privatization drive. Earlier efforts to privatize prison functions have also gotten tied up in court.
The 6-4 vote by the panel technically just shifts money around in the department’s budget to provide the funding for pushing ahead with the initiative. But Democratic lawmakers said the move was a de facto change in policy that was far beyond the authority of the commission, which was created to handle midyear adjustments to the state spending plan.
Department officials say they have the authority to carry out the privatization, something expected to save $56 million, under a provision of law that says the agency “may contract for the provision of services by counties, municipalities, nonprofit corporations, and other entities capable of providing needed services” if it will save money.
“We’re not enacting a policy,” Senate Budget Chairman JD Alexander, R-Lake Wales, told reporters after the meeting. “The executive branch is operating within its established legal authority.”
But Rep. Darryl Rouson, D-St. Petersburg, said the department’s reading of the law was a stretch.
“Why then would you ever need to come to the Legislature for any appropriation or permission or authorization if you have the unbridled authority under ‘other entities’ to contract anywhere?” he asked.
Critics also worried about the impact of the potential move on state workers who would possibly lose their job if a private company took over health care.
“They may be offered a job with the private firm, but most likely at a lower salary with much lower benefits,” said Chris Snow of the Florida Nurses Association. The group represents 850 workers in state prisons, Snow said.
Democrats and opponents also questioned whether private companies would provide an acceptable level of care to inmates in an effort to cut costs.
Supporters largely brushed off many of the concerns.
“There are going to be problems, either way you go,” Alexander said. “The question is, can we improve the quality and save money? And the Department of Corrections and the governor’s office have put forward a plan that they believe will do that.”
Efforts to privatize prison functions have led to lengthy court battles in recent months. A Leon County circuit judge declined to rule on a previous effort in 2011 to privatize prison health-care services through the fine print of the budget because the language expired June 30, 2012, before he could rule on it.
A separate judge blocked efforts to privatize all prisons in the southern third of the state; the 1st District Court of Appeal rejected an appeal by Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, saying she didn’t have standing to appeal the decision because she wasn’t a party to the case.
Doug Martin of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees made it clear Wednesday that his group intended to quickly challenge the newest privatization push in court.
“It could be as soon as tomorrow,” Martin said.
By The News Service of Florida
Man Charged With Attempted Steak Knife Attack On Brother
September 12, 2012
A Century man with a lengthy arrest history has been charged with coming after his brother with a steak knife.
Ronald Berlan Newton, 51, was charged with aggravated assault and released from jail on a $25,000 bond.
Newton allegedly threatened his 41-year old brother with a steak knife after the brother asked him to turn down his stereo inside their mother’s home on North Century Boulevard. As the brother was speaking with an Escambia County Sheriff’s Office deputy, an irate Newton advanced toward the brother with the knife. The Sheriff’s deputy was forced to stand between the two before taking Newton into custody, according to an arrest report.
Newton was released from state prison in April 2012 after completing a 22 month sentence for stalking after being arrested more than a dozen times in a year. Newton was first found incompetent and remanded into the custody of the Florida Department of Children and Families for evaluation, but was later found competent to stand trial.
His arrests since 2007, according to court records, included a long list of charges that were dropped or dismissed included aggravated assault, criminal mischief, battery, lewd and lascivious behavior victim under 18, indecent exposure, disorderly conduct and contempt of court.