Mistrial Declared In Case Of Molino ‘Underwear Robber’
May 2, 2012
A mistrial was declared due to a deadlocked jury in the trial of a Molino man accused of robbing a local pharmacy in 2010 while wearing underwear on his head.
The jury trial of Joseph Daniel Flowers, now 58, got underway Thursday on multiple charges including robbery with a firearm and several drug possession charges for the September 20, 2010, holdup of Scott’s Pharmacy on Highway 29.
The jury deliberations in the case began at 12:25 p.m. The jury was polled and found to be deadlocked at 5:15 p.m., and Judge Gary Bergosh declared a mistrial with the jury still deadlocked at 5:45 p.m.
The state will try to prove their case again in a new trail. Flowers is scheduled to be back in court May 24 for a docket hearing to set a trial date. in the meantime, Flowers remains in the Escambia County Jail without bond.
Flowers allegedly robbed Scott’s Pharmacy while wearing a bathrobe, slippers, yellow kitchen gloves and underwear on his head. His trial was delayed for months before he was declared competent to stand trial.
Pictured top: Joseph Daniel Flowers is detained by an Escambia County Sheriff’s Office shortly after the robbery of Scott’s Pharmacy in Molino. Pictured below: Scott’s Pharmacy in Molino was robbed September 20, 2010. NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.
Jay Lady Royals Win Regionals, Setting Up Historic Trip To State
May 2, 2012
The Jay Lady Royals won the Class 1A Softball Regional Championship at home Tuesday night 7-6 over the Holmes County Lady Blue Devils.
The game was tied 6-6 in the sixth when senior Tessa Hendricks powered a double to right field. With a double from Camille Driver, the Royals claimed a historic victory; it’s the first trip ever to the state finals in fast pitch softball for the Lady Royals.
The win means a final four road trip for Jay (20-3) for the state finals May 7-8 at the National Training Center Softball Complex in Clermont, Fla.
The Jay Lady Royals will face Port St. Joe Jr-Sr High at 11 a.m. (CDT) on Monday, May 7. Port St. Joe is coming off a 5-4 regional win over Liberty County.
The 1A final game will then be played Tuesday, May 8 at 4 p.m. (CDT). Admission will be $9 per game, with no passes.
WP—Sydney Lowery (17-3; 7 IP, 6 R, 7 H, 6 ER, 4 K, HB, BB)
Jay— Tessa Hendricks 3-4, 3 R, 2 2B, RBI; Olivia Wright 1-2, 2 R, 2 BB; Camille Driver 2-4, 2 RBI, 2B; Ashlyn Geck 1-4, R; Becca Calloway 2-3, 3B, 4 RBI, BB
Shots Fired At Repo Man
May 2, 2012
Authorities in Escambia County, Ala., are searching for the person that allegedly opened fire as a repo man attempted to find and reclaim a white Cadillac.
The incident happened about noon on Goldenrod Lane, near the intersection of East Sunset and Martin Luther King drives just outside the Atmore city limits. An employee of an repossession company was searching for the vehicle when it pulled up. A short time later, the repo man reported hearing shots fired.
There were no injuries reported in the incident.
Authorities are asking that anyone with information about the incident call the Escambia County (Ala.) Sheriff’s Office at (251) 867-0304 or the Atmore Police Department at (251) 368-9141.
Wahoos Win 5-4 Over Jackson Generals
May 2, 2012
Blue Wahoos left fielder Cody Puckett drove in three runs, including the tying run on a solo home run in the sixth and a walk-off single in the tenth, to give Pensacola a 5-4 extra-inning victory over the Jackson Generals on Tuesday night at Pensacola’s bay-front stadium.
The win gives Pensacola a 1-0 advantage in the five-game series with the Generals, who entered tonight’s contest with the Southern League’s best record at 17-8.
With two outs in the extra frame, C Koyie Hill reached base on an infield single and went to second on an error by Jackson reliever Brian Moran to set the stage for Puckett. The left fielder drove the 1-2 pitch over the head of Generals left fielder Chris Pettit to end the game and cue the celebration.
Puckett (3-4, 2 R, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 1 BB) also led off the sixth inning with a solo blast to left to tie the game at 4-4 and drove in another run on a run-scoring single in the fourth as part of his three-hit day. Hill (2-5, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 RBI) along with 3B Henry Rodriguez (2-4, 1 BB) also recorded multi-hit efforts for the Blue Wahoos in the contest.
Jackson got off to an early 4-0 lead after three innings courtesy in part to RBI doubles from SS Nick Franklin and 1B Rich Poythress in the opening inning. After an RBI groundout in the third, Pettit increased the margin to 4-0 with an RBI double in the fourth.
Pensacola reliever Donnie Joseph (2.0 IP, 2 H, 1 SO) earned his third victory of the season as part of a Blue Wahoos relief corps that yielded just three hits and no walks in the final six frames. Moran (0.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER) suffered the loss to fall to 0-1 after pitching the tenth frame.
The Blue Wahoos and Generals will meet again Wednesday night for the second game of the series, with first pitch set for 7:00 pm from Pensacola’s multi-use stadium. RHP Pedro Villarreal is expected to get the nod for Pensacola, while LHP James Paxton, the third-best prospect in the Seattle Mariners organization according to Baseball America is slated to start for Jackson.
By Andrew Green
Pictured top: Cody Puckett’s walk-off single in the bottom of the tenth gave Pensacola a 5-4 win over the Jackson Generals Tuesday night in Pensacola. Photo by Chris Nelson for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Getting Ready: Gulf Power Holds Hurricane Drill
May 2, 2012
Gulf Power held their annual hurricane drill Tuesday, just a month before the official start of hurricane season.
Even though our area of the Gulf Coast might be spared from a storm, the electric utility’s employees know they are likely to go somewhere in the Southeast to help restore power after a major storm.
“We prepare year-round for storm restoration,” said Natalie Smith, Gulf Power Media Relations, “and, because of our training and the assistance we offer to other regions every year, our crews are among the best in the nation at emergency restoration. We are glad to help others because we know we can count on them to help us if a hurricane hits here.”
The company follows a detailed plan to rebuild the electrical system following a hurricane and works closely with county emergency management personnel. Every Gulf Power employee has a storm assignment and if needed, the company brings in thousands of outside utility workers to help.
The drill included scenarios that tested the company’s comprehensive plan to restore electric service and to handle the logistics of feeding, housing and supplying thousands of workers for more than two weeks.
“After Hurricane Ivan we had more than 5,000 workers who came to Northwest Florida to help us,” Smith said. “That means we have to have thousands of meals prepared, thousands of clean beds and be prepared to provide bathroom facilities, medical treatment, clothes-washing facilities, diesel fuel for the trucks, ice, water — not to mention miles of wire, hundreds of new poles and transformers and other equipment. The logistics are extremely important to ensuring a safe, orderly and swift restoration of power. That’s why drills and planning are so important.”
The utility said planning is also important for Gulf Power’s 431,000 customers. Gulf Power’s storm center website offers comprehensive preparation and safety information, as well as general storm tips and directions on how to report outages.
“Providing assistance to other utilities every year gives us a chance to test our logistics and help others in need,” Smith said. “The work is long and hard, but we are prepared and willing to help if needed. Everyone knows their assignments and our employees really come together to not only restore power, but also restore hope for our
customers and our communities.”
Pictured top: Gulf Power workers help with power restoration near Baltimore last year following Hurricane Irene. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
Deputy’s House Burglarized, Set On Fire; Weapons, Ammo, Badges Stolen
May 2, 2012
The Santa Rosa Sheriff’s Office is investigating the targeted attack upon the home of one of their own — an attack that ended with the theft of guns, ammunition, bulletproof vests and badges, spray painted his patrol car and attempted to burn his house to the ground.
The incident occurred Saturday, April 21 at the officer’s residence in Milton, the SRSO announced on Monday. The officer, Lt. Chris Watson, and his wife, Bonita Watson (a Santa Rosa County probation officer) were away for the weekend. While they were away, an unknown suspect or suspects came to their residence and burglarized it, along with his county vehicle.
Numerous firearms, ammunition, bullet proof vests, badges, and other law enforcement items were stolen from the home and vehicle. A large amount of electronics and jewelry was also taken. The suspect then vandalized his county patrol vehicle with spray paint, stole his personal pickup truck (a 2005 dark blue Chevy Avalanche), and then set fire to the home after dousing the master bedroom with gasoline. The fire did not destroy the entire house; however, it caused extensive damage.
The Chevy Avalanche was recovered three days later along Scenic Highway in Pensacola.
The Santa Rosa Sheriff’s Office believes this was a targeted attack on the lieutenant or his wife because some of the graffiti on the patrol vehicle state “You can get 1 but you cant get m all (expletive)”.
“This incident is being investigated and every available resource is being utilized to identify, capture, arrest, and convict the person or persons responsible for these criminal acts. The
nature and severity of this case should be of substantial concern to the public, as well as to the law enforcement community as a whole. Those responsible for this crime already have a bold and dangerous mindset in order to commit this type of crime; now they are armed with weapons, badges, and body armor,” said Scott Haines, spokesperson for the Santa Rosa Sheriff’s Office.
Anyone with information on the crime or who may have seen Watson’s 2005 Chevy Avalanche during the time period is asked to call Santa Rosa Crime Stoppers at (850) 437-STOP. Santa Rosa County Crime Stoppers is providing a cash reward of $5000.00 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for this crime.
Pictured top: The Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office patrol vehicle belonging to Lt. Chris Watson. Pictured below: Someone torched Watson’s bedroom on April 21, according to information released May 1. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Thousands Of Students Attend SkillsUSA Events
May 2, 2012
More than 5,000 students are gathering this week in Pensacola for the 2012 Worlds of Possibilities Career Expo and Florida SkillsUSA State Competition.
Florida SkillsUSA competitors will face off to showcase their technical trade talents and leadership abilities at the Florida SkillsUSA State Competition, which will be held conjunction with the Worlds of Possibilities Career Expo. The event started Sunday and continues through today.
The Worlds of Possibilities Career Expo is showcasing businesses and vendors in technical and vocational career fields by engaging more than 3,000 local seventh- and eighth-grade students, and more than 2,000 high school and college students from throughout the state of Florida. Many of the students are from the North Escambia area.
The expo is featuring exciting hands-on and interactive experiences in 16 “worlds” and “industry sectors” ranging from the “World of Energy” to the “World of Finance.”
“We are so excited to participate in the ‘World of Energy’ again this year,” said Jennifer Grove, Gulf Power’s Workforce Development coordinator. “We’re hopeful this expo will help spark the interest of many students to carefully consider their education so they can begin preparing for a career.”
The four-day event is estimated to have a $2.5 million economic impact on the local community,
Lt. Gov: Stand Your Ground Task Force Will Be Unbiased
May 2, 2012
Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll, chair of a public safety task force charged with reviewing Florida’s “stand your ground” law, moved quickly at the group’s first meeting Tuesday to dispel criticism that it was stacked with pro-gun members.
Critics have charged that the panel – appointed by Gov. Rick Scott to review the law that has figured prominently in the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin – includes members who helped pass the law in 2005, but no known opponents.
“Before the task force had even convened its first meeting, the press had already speculated what we will and will not do,” Carroll said. “They have already discounted this task force as politically unbalanced.”
She said that aside from four current or former lawmakers who voted for “stand your ground” – Carroll, House sponsor Dennis Baxley, R-Ocala, Sen. David Simmons, R-Maitland and a co-sponsor, and Sen. Gary Siplin, D-Orlando – she had no idea how the other 15 members of the Citizen Safety and Protection Task Force felt about the controversial statute.
“So it’s a mischaracterization to assume that this task force is not balanced,” Carroll said.
She asked members to approach their task “with an unbiased mind.”
Scott formed the panel after the Feb. 26 shooting of Martin by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman, 28, attracted national attention, including sparking marches as far away as New York and California. Zimmerman claimed he shot the unarmed Martin, an African American, in self-defense and cited the “stand your ground” law allowing individuals to use deadly force if they feel threatened.
Most of the panel’s first meeting was devoted to housekeeping – introductions, a review of Florida’s Sunshine Law, the history of the “stand your ground” law and the development of a mission statement and work plan.
The panel will take public testimony at future meetings. The next will be June 12 in Sanford.
Other dates and locations: July 10 in Desoto County; Sept. 12 in Miami, with an effort to meet in Martin’s hometown of Miami Gardens; and Sept. 13 in Palm Beach County. The panel agreed to hold its October meeting in Pensacola and its November meeting in Jacksonville, but did not set specific dates.
Carroll said no changes could be made to a meeting agenda once that meeting had been publicly noticed. She said that was why she had declined Sen. Chris Smith’s April 26 request to speak to the task force at its inaugural meeting.
Smith, who was in the audience, released the recommendations of his own “stand your ground” task force on Monday. It was started, he said, because the governor had waited too long to convene the public safety panel, and its recommendations included revisions to the law but not its outright repeal.
Despite his concerns, Smith, D-Fort Lauderdale, said he had confidence in the “legal minds” on Scott’s panel, particularly Katherine Fernandez Rundle of Miami, the state attorney for the Eleventh Judicial Circuit.
“They have some political appointees on there, and people that may have a political agenda,” he said. “But I hope that they take a legal agenda and really look at the law from a legal standpoint and how it’s being used and misused in the state of Florida.”
Smith will present his panel’s recommendations at the next meeting in Sanford.
On Tuesday, the task force spent most of its time debating its mission, work plan and meeting locations.
Baxley, referring to himself as “the father of the Castle Doctrine” on which the “stand your ground” law is based, argued against a mission statement narrowly focused on revising that statute.
“I understood the task to be much broader,” Baxley said. “We’re not talking about one case. This is about the safety of our citizens.”
Carroll responded that with more than 170 public safety laws in Florida, the panel doesn’t have time to examine them all.
“Other public safety laws may pop up,” she said. “It may be beyond our scope, but it’s our responsibility to bring to the Legislature any recommendations” about other laws to examine.
As the work plan unfolded, it became clear that the task force likely would meet until the 2013 legislative session starts in March – although Smith has been calling for a special session to revise “stand your ground.”
“We’re not going to rush this process,” said Rev. R.B. Holmes, the vice chair. “We laid out a clear road map to get us to March to bring before the governor. With all due respect to my good friend Sen. Smith, this is not a South Florida task force. This is a state of Florida task force that is very, very inclusive.”
Smith said he wanted a special session as soon as possible due to continued misunderstanding of the law.
“I think it’s still urgent,” he said. “Because of the Trayvon Martin case and all the publicity it’s gotten, you’ve got people around the state that still believe that they have the right to have a gun and go out and kill someone, and then you stand your ground, be the aggressor, or patrol your neighborhoods and confront anyone and use this.”
The public is encouraged to email the task force at CitizenSafety@eog.myflorida.com. John Konkus, Carroll’s chief of staff, said 700 emails had already come in. The meetings will be streamed live on the site, and minutes will be posted there as well.
By The News Service of Florida
Traffic Delays: Work Begins On Highway 97 To Highway 29 Turn Lane
May 1, 2012
A construction project is now underway to add new turn lane at the intersection of Highway 97 and Highway 29 in Molino.
Anderson Columbia will construct a right turn lane from southbound Highway 97 to southbound Highway 29. For the next three months, drivers can expect delays, intermittent lane shifts and closures, according to the Florida Department of Transportation. However, no lane closures will be permitted between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m.
“Drivers are reminded to pay attention to the speed limit when traveling through the construction area, and to use caution, especially at night when driving in work zones,” according to Tanya Sanders Branton, public information specialist for FDOT.
Pictured top: A right turn lane will be constructed here from Highway 97 to southbound Highway 29 in Molino. Pictured below: A contractor unloads drainage pipe for the project Monday morning. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Century Employee Fired For Mishandling Cash
May 1, 2012
A Town of Century employee was fired Monday after allegedly mishandling cash.
Angel Mitchell, who had worked for the town about six years as an office assistant, was terminated during a special meeting of the Century Town Council. Mitchell was not accused of stealing any funds whatsoever. Rather, she was accused of not properly crediting and depositing customer payments, instead keeping hundreds of dollars that could not immediately be accounted for in her cash drawer.
“Even though there is not any money missing or stolen,” council member Gary Riley said, “it was not where it was suppose to be over a period of time.”
Town officials discovered Mitchell had retained over $900 in cash and checks in her cash drawer that was not deposited over a period of several days or even weeks. The funds included water deposits and customer payments to the town’s gas and water departments. According to Mayor Freddie McCall, Mitchell should have deposited the funds on a daily basis.
On April 13, 2012, town officials discovered undeposited items that included a check dated November 25, 2011; a handwritten receipt for $41.77 dated October 27, 2011, but cash from the transaction was not deposited until December 7, 2011; a March 5, 2012, meter deposit of $50 cash; and several other items that, according to town procedures, should have deposited on a daily basis.
“We had lots of irritated people coming in here after us cutting them off when they had paid their bill,” McCall said. “This is a critical business. We are suppose to be good stewards of money.”
McCall said Mitchell had been advised of town procedures for handling money, including in a written July, 2011 memo following a similar incident.
A few town residents spoke out at Monday’s special council meeting against firing Mitchell, including resident Alfonzie Cottrell. “Why does this punishment have to be so hard?” he asked.
“Can we find 60 more days?”, resident Leola Robinson asked. “I believe we can work with her and bring her around..I personally will work with her.”
“Regardless of how we feel about a person personally, this is a business thing,” Riley said.
McCall said the town had recently offered Mitchell a $1 an hour raise to move to a vacant position in the back office which would require only limited customer contact. He said Mitchell did not accept the position, instead advising that she was looking to leave the town’s employ.
Despite the termination, McCall said he would provide a positive employment reference for Mitchell, if asked.
Mitchell did not attend Monday’s special council meeting on her termination.
Pictured top: Century Mayor Freddie McCall (left) explains why he recommended the termination of employee Angel Mitchell as council member Gary Riley and Ann Brooks listen. Pictured inset: A memorandum from Town Clerk Leslie Gonzalez to Mayor Freddie McCall spells out the allegations against Mitchell. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.