Two Charged With Holding Man Hostage For $300 Drug Debt
June 15, 2012
Two Escambia County men are charged with kidnapping a man and holding him hostage for ransom to settle up a $300 drug debt.
Michael Shawn Hastings, 39, and Nathan Anton Vazques, 33, were both charged with kidnapping an adult for ransom. Both were booked into the Escambia County Jail with bond set at $50,000.
The victim’s wife told Escambia County Sheriff’s deputies that she received a call at 1:30 in the morning from a man calling himself “Slick” informing her that her husband was being held captive until she delivered $300 in cash to the Bayou Grande trailer park. She was told, according to the Sheriff’s Office, to come alone and not call the police.
As the victim’s wife was talking to a deputy, another call demanding the ransom cash came in, and the deputy was able to listen as the caller detailed where to take the cash and what the persons she needed to meet look like.
More deputies were dispatched to the Bayou Grand trailer park where Hastings and Vazques were detained.
The victim had escaped his captors and was found a short distance away. He told deputies that a guy he knew as “Nate” forced him to get money for the narcotics he had used. He drove him to an ATM, but he was unable to get the cash at which time he was beaten up and taken back to the trailer park. Then “Nate” and another male began calling his wife demanding the $300, he reported to deputies.
Tate, Army Grad Zach Price Honored By Blue Wahoos
June 15, 2012
Zach Price, an infielder who graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in May threw out a ceremonial first pitch for the Pensacola Blue Wahoos Thursday night.
Price, a graduate of Tate High School, was Army’s co-captain and helped lead his squad to a record setting 41 victories this year. He has also been honored as the Patriot League’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year and was a First Team Academic All-America selection this season.
The Cantonment native led the Patriot League this past season with 50 runs scored and ranked second all-time at West Point with 173 runs scored, as well as third in Academy history with 238 career base hits and fourth with 55 stolen bases.
Following his graduation for the United States Military Academy at West Point with a degree in Systems Engineering, Price plans on interning with the athletic department at West Point for the fall semester before heading to Oklahoma for officer training.
Two Charged With Burglaries Of 55 School District Vehicles
June 14, 2012
Two Escambia County residents were arrested this morning connection with the burglary Monday night of 55 Escambia County School District vehicles. They were busted after police tracked cell phones that were stolen from the vehicles.
Shawn Michael Jenkins, 21, and Robert Louis Lumzy, 18, were each charged with 55 counts of burglary, one count of grand theft and one count of vehicle theft by the Pensacola Police Department.
The burglaries of 55 pickup trucks and vans were discovered around 6 a.m. Tuesday when employees arrived for work at the J.E. Hall Center at 30 E. Texar Drive. Two of the vehicles had been left unlocked. Access to the remaining vehicles was made by smashing windows or breaking locks on vehicles. Among the items stolen from vehicles were multiple tools, three mobile phones and eight laptop computers. The pair is also charged with stealing a 2003 white Chevrolet Silverado pickup from the fenced-in compound.
The suspects were tracked by the cell phones that were stolen. They taken into custody Wednesday morning at Pensacola Village at 500 E. Fairfield Drive.
The vehicles were kept in the district’s maintenance compound and were used to do custodial, air conditioning, plumbing, and other repairs for the school district. Access to the compound was gained through a locked gate where the chain and lock had been cut and removed from the scene.
177 Prisoners Released Or Moved From Escambia County Jail After Flood
June 14, 2012
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office has released details on exactly how the inmate population at the Escambia County Jail was reduced after weekend flooding on the lowest level of the facility.
The Sheriff’s Office, State Attorney’s Office, Public Defender’s Office and the chief judge for the 1st Judicial Circuit are currently reviewing several inmate cases to determine if any would be eligible to be released.
The Sheriff’s Office provided the following list of inmates that were transferred to another facility or had sentences reduced following the flood:
- 50 — were eligible to be released for time served and were released
- 48 — were transferred to state prison (already sentenced to state prison and their transfers were expedited)
- 31– were bonded out by various bail bondsmen
- 4 — posted their own cash bond
- 18 — were being held for other agencies and they were transferred to those various agencies
- 15 — were federal inmates and were released to the U.S. Marshals
- 6 — were nolle pros
- 1 — was sent to work release
- 1 — was sent to Keeton Correctional Facility
- 1– was sent to Pathways for Change
- 1– was sent to probation/parole
- 1– was purged (paid monies which were owed for civil commit order)
“At no time has an inmate been released who was serving a sentence. Releasing and transferring inmates happens on a daily basis,” according to Sgt. Mike Ward, public information office for the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office. “The Sheriff’s Office does not have the authority to release inmates beyond our statutory authority.”
Three Sentenced In Massive Tax Preparer Fraud Case
June 14, 2012
Three more people have been sentenced to probation in a case that the IRS says was the biggest tax fraud case of its kind in Alabama.
Linda Thomas, 58, of Repton, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the Internal Revenue Service and was sentenced to five years probation.
Tax preparer Alice Mobley, paid $10 to $20 per person to Thomas to gather social security numbers to fraudulently use on tax returns. Those selling their information were paid $500 for adult numbers and $600 for childrens’ numbers. When Mobley’s Preyear Tax and Check Cashing in Atmore, Mobley’s home and other business locations were raided by federal agents on March 4, 2010, investigators found complete identification information on 536 people, including Social Security cards, Medicaid cards and other documents.
Mobley also “split” dependents, using the identity of some children on one return to obtain Earned Income Credit, and on other returns to obtain Child Credit and Dependent Care Credits. Mobley’s firm also prepared returns which claimed business tax deductions for business which did not exist and farm tax deductions for clients who did not have farms, the DOJ said.
Two other people that worked for Mobley, Fretizell Locke-Wiggins and Latana Locke, were sentenced to three years probation for their part in the tax scheme.
Mobley pleaded guilty last year to conspiracy, tax perjury, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft for orchestrating what was described as a systematic schedule to file thousands of false tax returns and defraud the government of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
She was sentenced to 6 years and 3 months in federal prison by Chief U.S. District Judge William Steele. She will also forfeit $593,949.77 in cash and property seized from her home and business locations in March 2010, and she was ordered to pay $720,067 in restitution to the federal government.
Federal agents raided Mobley’s Preyear’s Tax & Check Cashing, LLC on Ridgely Street in Atmore and other locations in March 2010.
Pictured above: A federal agent enters Preyear’s Tax & Check Cashing, LLC in Atmore March 4, 2010. Pictured inset: Agents search a vehicle at the business. Pictured below: A federal agent and an Atmore Police officer talk to an employee of the business during the raid. NorthEscambia.com exclusive photos, click to enlarge.
Tate’s Jacob Lasky Signs With Southeastern Lousiana University
June 14, 2012
Tate High offensive lineman Jacob Lasky has signed a letter of intent to play football at Southeastern Louisiana University.
Pictured: standing (L-R) are Coach Huggins, Head Coach Naggatz , and Coach Reyes. Picture seated are Larry Lasky, Jacob Lasky and Kathie Lasky. Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Resurfacing Begins Today On Highway 89 South Of Jay
June 14, 2012
Today, a contractor will begin resurfacing Highway 89 south of Jay. For the next two weeks, motorists can expect daily lane closures starting around 6 a.m. between County Road 178 and the city limits of Jay.
There will be no work on Father’s Day, Sunday, June 17.
A 7.5 mile stretch of Highway 89 from the Jay town limits to County Road 178 (Spanish Trail) will be resurfaced. Weather permitting, the entire project is expected to last about eight months. Access to homes and businesses will be maintained at all times, according to the Florida Department of Transportation.
The total project, which includes resurfacing, drainage improvements and the construction of paved shoulders, will cost $3.2 million.
New Jobs: Two Area Family Dollar Stores Opening This Year
June 14, 2012
Construction is continuing on new Family Dollar stores in Century and Jay, with one store set to be open with a couple of months.
The Century store is scheduled to open in early August, and the Jay store should be open in time for the holidays, according to Josh Braverman, communications director for Family Dollar.
“We look forward to opening our stores in Century and Jay,” Braverman said.
Both the Century and Jay stores will average 8-10 employees. Applications will be accepted online at www.familydollar.com.
Family Dollar currently operates 7,200 stores in 45 states with about 50,000 team members. The small format convenience and value retailer offers a mix of everyday use name brand products including food and paper products, household items, seasonal products, clothing and more.
Pictured above and below: Construction continues this week on Family Dollar on North Century Boulevard, just south of the Food Giant in Century. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Lawmakers Could OK Prison Health Privatization
June 14, 2012
With a judge still deciding whether the plan is constitutional, a legislative budget panel this month is expected to consider moving forward with the privatization of prison health services.
The Department of Corrections has requested that the Legislative Budget Commission, a joint panel of House and Senate members, take up the privatization issue June 26 and allow signing contracts with firms that would manage inmate health care.
The request comes as Leon County Circuit Judge Kevin Carroll gets ready to rule on a challenge to a legislative move last year that directed the department to go through the contracting process. The Florida Nurses Association and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees argue lawmakers violated the state constitution by putting the privatization plan in budget fine print — known as “proviso” language — instead of approving it in a more-typical bill.
Carroll heard arguments in the case May 29 but has not issued a ruling. The budget proviso calls for the department to get approval from the Legislative Budget Commission before finalizing contracts.
It was not immediately clear Wednesday what would happen if Carroll rules that the Legislature’s use of proviso language was unconstitutional. But one likely factor in taking the issue to the Legislative Budget Commission this month is that the proviso language expires with the July 1 start of the new fiscal year.
“The qualified bids received substantially meet or exceed the requirements in proviso,” the agency said in a document submitted to the Legislature. “The department is requesting Legislative Budget Commission approval of the selected health-care awards so the agency can move forward executing the health-care contracts.”
Carroll even raised questions during the May 29 hearing about what happens if the legal issues remain unresolved at the end of the current fiscal year. Regardless of when he rules, Carroll said he expects the losing party to appeal.
But Jonathan Glogau, an attorney for the state, said Carroll needed to decide whether the contracting process should go forward.
“With all due respect your honor, you’re not off the hook,” Glogau said during the hearing.
M. Stephen Turner, an attorney for the nurses association, said Wednesday that the state’s use of proviso language might leave little choice but to take the issue to the Legislative Budget Commission before July 1. But he described the way lawmakers have tried to make the privatization changes as a “mess.”
“What they’re doing doesn’t make any sense if you’re a logical person,” Turner said.
If Carroll sides with the nurses association and the employees’ union, an appeal by the state could lead to a stay of his ruling. That could give the Legislative Budget Commission a legal argument for allowing the department to sign the contracts.
Attorneys for the state and potential contractors — Corizon, Inc., and Wexford Health Sources — also have argued that the department could privatize health services without the proviso language. The opponents, meanwhile, contend that lawmakers would need to make changes to state law before privatization could take place.
The department in April recommended that Corizon receive a contract for prisons in North and Central Florida and that Wexford receive a contract in South Florida. The proviso language required cost savings of at least 7 percent compared to 2009-10 inmate-health expenses — a requirement that the department says the contracts would meet.
But privatization is a highly controversial issue, in part, because employees fear they will lose jobs or see pay or benefit cuts if the state contracts out the services. Another Leon County circuit judge, Jackie Fulford, last year blocked a legislative plan to privatize management of prisons throughout the southern half of the state, ruling that lawmakers improperly used proviso language to make the change.
By The News Service of Florida
Pensacola Reaches Labor Agreement With Union
June 14, 2012
The City of Pensacola and American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 3253 have reached an agreement on a new three-year contract, which includes a number of pension reforms expected to cut the city’s unfunded pension liability by nearly $5 million and reduce annual pension costs.
The agreement would cover the city’s 145 general service employees represented by AFSCME. Union members ratified the contract Tuesday, and Mayor Ashton Hayward plans to submit the agreement to the City Council for consideration at their July meeting.
“I want to thank Local 3253 president Kimberly Aguiar and her team for negotiating in good faith,” said Hayward. “With our unfunded pension liability and annual pension costs threatening the city’s long-term fiscal stability, I appreciate AFSCME’s engagement and willingness to help us take action on these critical issues.”
In exchange for wage considerations, the union agreed to several changes in how pension benefits are calculated, as well as to changes in the Deferred Retirement Option Program (DROP) and survivor benefits to conform to those offered by the Florida Retirement System (FRS). The pension changes will help reduce the Pensacola’s annual pension costs and unfunded pension liability, which in recent years has ballooned to more than $116 million.
In return, the city will provide a 10% wage increase for AFSCME-represented employees, to be distributed over the next three years. “When we ask our employees to accept changes to their retirement benefits, it’s only fair that we use a portion of the savings to adjust compensation packages for those affected,” said Hayward.
If approved by the City Council, the new collective bargaining agreement will take effect October 1.
Pictured: Pensacola Mayor Ashton Hayward with members of AFSCME Local 3253. Courtesy photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.