Teen Gets Prison For Robbery Outside Walmart
July 19, 2012
An Escambia County teen has been sentenced to state prison for two robberies, including one outside of a Walmart.
Damarius Dewayne Jordan was sentenced by Judge Frank Bell to 20 years state prison, followed by two years community control, to be followed by 10 years probation.
On June 14, Jordan pleaded no contest to burglary of a conveyance while armed with a dangerous weapon and robbery with a weapon. Jordan was 15 years old on the date of the offenses and 16 on the date of sentencing. According to the State Attorney’s Office, he demonstrated an escalating pattern of criminal behavior and had just been released from Department of Juvenile Justice commitment only one and a half months before these offenses.
Jordan, together with his two co-defendants, attempted to rob a Walmart customer as she waited in her car for her friend to exit the store. The defendants were interrupted by another patron attempting to park and fled the parking lot.
They ran a short distance to a residential area and robbed a man getting out of his car. They also made the man get in the trunk of his car and proceeded to beat him. In both cases, Jordan was armed with a handheld pellet gun that looks like a real firearm without an orange tip.
Co-defendant Tracy Newell was previously sentenced as a youthful offender to six years in a state prison with a boot camp recommendation. He had no prior record or arrests and was 16 years old on the date of offense.
Co-defendant Luther Harris is set for sentencing on August 21. He was 18 on the day of the robberies.
Argos 10U Team Wins Nations Elite World Series
July 19, 2012
The Argos, a local 10U travel baseball team, recently won the Nations Elite World Series at NEP ballpark in Pensacola.
The Argo came back from a No. 4 seed to bring home the championship. Due to weather delays, the Argos played and won five straight games on Saturday.
In the championship game, Trevor Norton pitched a no hitter as the Argos outlasted the FB Bulls from Sugar Land, TX, 8-0. From the Argos, John Pinette was named Offensive MVP.
Pictured: The Argos (front, L-R) Trevor Norton, Nathan Brewton, Hunter Smith, John Pinette, Christian Munoz, (middle) Cameron Bailey, Sam Shackle, TJ McCants, Chase Barcus, Jacob Bryant, Cole Mullins, and (top) coaches Torianno McCants, Mike Norton, Levy Bryant and Tim Mullins. NorthEscambia.com photo by Kristi Smith, click to enlarge.
Man Busted Trying To Sell Stolen Copper Wire
July 19, 2012
A man has been arrested in Escambia County, Fla., for trying to sell copper allegedly stolen from ThyssenKrupp near Mobile.
Charles Edward Hawkes, age 33 of Atmore, was charged with felony dealing in stolen property. He was later released from the Escambia County Jail on a $7,500 bond.
Hawkes allegedly tried to sell a large amount of industrial grade copper wiring to Wise Recycling on Hope Drive. Employees of the recycling company called the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office to verify that the wire was not stolen; they said that industrial grade copper wiring must be sold to them only a licensed electrician.
Hawkes told deputies he was employed by Labor Finders at a Piedmont Mechanical job site at ThyssenKrupp. He said the wiring was scrap that was left for anyone take. A Piedmont Mechanical superintendent verified that Hawkes worked on the job site, but he told deputies that no permission was given to take the wiring. A ThyssenKrupp employee also told deputies that the wiring was not free for the taking.
The Mobile County Sheriff’s Office will investigate the actual wiring theft that occurred in their county.
South Alabama Old Time Fiddler’s Convention Is Saturday
July 19, 2012
The 32nd annual South Alabama Old Time Fiddler’s Convention will be held Saturday in Atmore.
Registration will be held from 10 a.m. until 1:45 p.m., with no registration fee.
The competition categories are fiddlers, vocal groups (including a cappella), bands, dobro, banjo, guitar and mandolin. Prizes in the Fiddler’s category are $1,000 for first, $200 for second and $100 for third. All other categories have prizes of $100 for first place, $75 for second and $50 for third place.
Admission to the event beginning at 2 p.m. at Escambia County High School is $9, with children under 12 free.
Proceeds from Fiddler’s Convention funds the Atmore Rotary Academic All Star Scholarship program that awards students at Northview High, Escambia High and Escambia Academy that maintain all A’s and B’s all four years.
For a printable flyer with rules and registration information, click here.
For more information, contact Keith Castleberry at (251) 368-2106 or the Atmore Chamber of Commerce at (251) 368-3305.
Flomaton Opens New Canoe Launch
July 19, 2012
The Town of Flomaton has recently completed a new canoe launch on Big Escambia Creek. The entrance is located at the end of the guardrail on Highway 31west of the creek, across from Church’s Chicken.
Big Escambia Creek flows south into Florida and the Escambia River at Century.
Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
New Logo, Brand: Welcome To Pensacola, The Upside Of Florida
July 19, 2012
Welcome to the “Upside of Florida”.
Where’s that you say?
It’s the City of Five Flags in the Panhandle — you know, Pensacola.
For many, many years Pensacola was the City of Five Flags due to the five national governments that have been in charge at one time or another: Spain, France, Britain, the Confederacy and the United States.
But Wednesday, Pensacola Mayor Ashton Hayward introduced a new logo and the catchphrase “Pensacola: The Upside of Florida”. There’s a new logo too, with the “O” in Pensacola replace by what is described as an emerald wave.
So what’s the “Upside”? That, apparently, is the new buzzword for “Panhandle”.
“I don’t like that word: the ‘panhandle,’” Hayward told “Ricks Blog“. “You know, we are the ‘upside’ of Florida.”
The new logo will be pasted on the upside, and the backside, of water towers, city vehicles, signs, websites and more.
The logo and branding were developed by the Zimmerman Agency in Tallahassee.
Escambia Man Pleads Guilty To Abortion Clinic Arson
July 19, 2012
This morning in federal court, a Pensacola man changed his plea to guilty for an abortion clinic arson on New Year’s Day.
Bobby Joe Rogers, 41, entered the guilty plea to a federal grand jury indictment charging him with the New Year’s Day arson that destroyed the American Family Planning Clinic in Pensacola.
The two-count indictment charged Rogers with arson and damaging a reproductive health facility.
Rogers remains in federal custody and is scheduled to be sentenced by Chief United States District Judge M. Casey Rodgers on October 4. Rogers faces a sentence of 5-20 years in prison for the arson count and up to one year in prison for damaging a reproductive health clinic.
“Today’s guilty plea is the culmination of a cooperative law enforcement response committed to bringing to justice someone who used violence to target reproductive health care workers,” said Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division Thomas E. Perez. “The Justice Department will continue to vigorously prosecute acts of violence that threaten reproductive health workers and establishments.”
“I am deeply grateful for the cooperation of our federal, state, and local partners, who worked tirelessly to very quickly identify the perpetrator of this hate-motivated crime. The Department of Justice has prioritized fighting violent crime and protecting civil rights, and our Office takes both of these priorities very seriously, as demonstrated by the swift prosecution of this case, added Pamela C. Marsh, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.
Verizon Customers Experience Outage
July 18, 2012
Thousands of Verizon Wireless customers across the area experienced an outage Wednesday.
Many customers reported the inability to make or receive calls or text messages for several hours beginning just after 2 p.m. By 7 p.m., many customers were reporting that their service had returned and was working as normal.
The outage affected customers in Alabama and Florida as well as several other states.
As of Wednesday night, Verizon had offered no official explanation for the outage.
Future Of North Escambia ‘Nuclear Site’ Now Uncertain, Could Be Sold
July 18, 2012
The future is now uncertain for 2,728 acres of land in North Escambia purchased by Gulf Power following ruling Tuesday by state regulators that the utility can’t make customers pay for the land in advance of plans for power plant.
Gulf Power, for the second time, asked the Florida Public Service Commission for a rate hike equal to about 20 cents per customer per month to fund the expenses related to the $12 million worth of land purchased near McDavid. And, for the second time, the PSC shot down the plan.
It is now unclear whether Gulf Power will ever build a power plant — nuclear or otherwise on the site near as the utility has not taken a key first step in the lengthy approval process — a step known as getting a “determination of need.” Also, it would likely take at least a decade to get permits and build a nuclear plant.
“We are trying now to get a good handle for now on what is the best course for the future,” Sandy Sims, Gulf Power spokeswoman, said Tuesday afternoon.
She said Gulf Power may make a third trip back to the Public Service Commission in attempt to fund the land purchases, but other options will be considered.
“We could sell it, lease it or look at other revenue generating opportunities,” Sims said. Possibilities for the property, if it is retained by Gulf Power, include selling the timber and replanting or even hunting leases on a portion of the 2,728 acres.
The base rate paid by Gulf Power customers already includes pennies each month for property purchased by Gulf Power years ago near Caryville for a power plant that has never been constructed. Part of that property is now leased for hunting.
“We’ve done all kinds of things in the past to generate revenue,” she said. “We even had a sod farm one time years ago under high voltage transmission lines.”
In an April filing with the Public Service Commission, Gulf Power suggested that it might sell all or part of the property if the PSC did not approve its rate increase request.
“The commission’s decision to exclude the North Escambia site from rate base … leaves open the very real possibility that the company, in the exercise of good business judgment, will divest itself of some or all the property constituting the North Escambia site,” the filing said. “The notion that the company will, or must, retain the property at its shareholders’ expense for the future benefit of its customers ignores economic reality, the regulatory compact, commission precedent and the fundamental nature of the utility business.”
In early 2009, Gulf Power quietly purchased just over 100 acres in the 200 block of Roach Road with no public announcement. The utility’s plans for a power plant, particularly the possibility of a nuclear power plant, in McDavid were not made public until NorthEscambia.com uncovered the land purchases in March 2009. The plans were revealed in an exclusive NorthEscambia.com article on March 14, 2009.
But now Gulf Power’s immediate needs have changed, adding to the uncertainty of the North Escambia site.
Gulf Power’s need for excessive power is now satisfied by a non-utility power plant in central Alabama. Gulf Power, according to PSC documents, has a 14-year contract that ends in 2023 to purchase 885 megawatts of electricity from the Tenaska Central Alabama natural gas-fired electric generating plant near Montgomery through a contract with Shell Energy North America.
“That has bee a great advantage to our customers,” Sims said. “Purchasing from the natural gas plant has reduced our costs and allowed us to lower rates.”
Pictured above: Property purchased by Gulf Power near McDavid for a possible nuclear power plant.Pictured below: One of the first parcels of land purchased by Gulf Power in 2009 in the 200 block of Roach Road. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Open House Set For New Molino Tax Collector, Property Appraiser Offices
July 18, 2012
An open house is planned for the new Escambia County Tax Collector and Property Appraiser offices in Molino.
The event will be held on Tuesday, July 24 from 9 a.m. until noon.
The offices have been open since July 2 at 6440 Highway 95A, next to the old Molino School.
Pictured: Escambia County Tax Collector Janet Holley outside her new office in Molino just prior to its opening on July 2. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.