Man Killed By Train
November 4, 2011
A man died Thursday night after being struck by a train in Escambia County.
Pensacola Police Department Lt. Steve Ordonia said a preliminary investigation indicates a northbound train struck the man at a time that has not yet been determined. Police were notified after an employee on a southbound train noticed the body on the tracks and called 911 around 7:45 p.m Thursday.
Ordonia said it is not known why the man may have been on the tracks. The identity of the white male have not yet been released.
The incident occurred on the railroad tracks that run parallel to Scenic Highway just south of Langley Avenue. Police are working with CSX employees on the investigation.
Child Sex Abuse Suspect’s Mom, Victim’s Mom Both Learn Fate For Beating
November 4, 2011
The mother of a young child sex abuse victim and the mother of the suspect have both learned their fate in Escambia County Circuit Court for beating the 17-year old suspect with an extension cord.
Juliette H. Dubose, 42, and Kassedra Dubose, 38, both pleaded no contest to charges of cruelty toward a child. Both women have entered into a pretrial diversion program under which charges will be dropped if they successfully complete the one year program.
Juliette Dubose was accused of “whipping” Michael Alexander Dubose with an extension cord after learning that he allegedly had sexual relations with her 6-year son over a one year period at two different units at Century Woods Apartments.
After the beating, Juliette Dubose instructed the mother of Michael Dubose, Kassedra Dubose, to also beat him with the extension cord, according to an arrest report.
The 17-year old son suffered numerous cuts and bruises all over his body, according to an Escambia County Sheriff’s Office report. Michael Dubose is currently awaiting a January trial as an adult on two felony counts of sexual battery on victim under 12.
Incumbent Bill Slayton Prefiles For School Board
November 4, 2011
Thursday, incumbent Bill Slayton became the first candidate to pre-file for the Escambia County School Board, District 5 for the 2012 general election.
Slayton, a resident of Cantonment, was first elected to the school board in 2008, following an unsuccessful bid for school superintendent in 2004.
Caylee’s Death Prompts Senate Bill
November 4, 2011
In response to the tragic death of two-year-old Caylee Anthony, a special Florida Senate committee has proposed legislation to boost penalties for those who purposely mislead police about a missing child who later turns up seriously harmed or dead.
Following sometimes emotional testimony at earlier meetings, the chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Protecting Florida’s Children proposed boosting the penalty for lying to law enforcement officers from a misdemeanor to a third degree felony, punishable by up to five years in prison.
The proposal, sponsored by Sen. Joe Negron, R-Stuart, would provide the enhanced penalties in cases in which the child was 16 years old or younger. The proposal, to be filed shortly, is the latest in a series of bills offered following the July acquittal of Caylee’s mother, Casey Anthony, 22 at the time of Caylee’s death.
Though lawmakers cannot prevent a child from being abused, Negron said they can assure that there are consequences for such behavior.
“We’re making a clear statement that every parent has an obligation to cooperate with law enforcement when their child goes missing,” he said.
Other bills are circulating, including a measure, HB 37, by Rep. Jose Diaz, R-Miami, that would require caregivers to notify police within 48 hours of a child’s disappearance.
By The News Service of Florida
State To Appeal Welfare Recipient Drug Testing Court Order
November 4, 2011
The state filed a brief on Thursday with a federal court saying it will appeal a decision temporarily setting aside a controversial law requiring drug tests for welfare recipients in the latest phase of several legal battles over Gov. Rick Scott and the GOP-dominated Legislature’s policies.
“This policy is intended to help Florida families and is an effective way to ensure that welfare dollars are used for the benefit of children and to help Floridians get back to work and off public assistance,” Scott said in a statement after the filing. “I have no doubt that the law is constitutional, and that it is supported by the great weight of judicial authority.”
But the move outraged opponents of the law, who said the injunction granted by the U.S. District Court Judge Mary Scriven clearly showed that the law crossed the U.S. Constitution’s ban on unreasonable searches. Rep. Cynthia Stafford, who has filed a bill to overturn the policy, said the tests were “mean-spirited, wasteful and unconstitutional” in a statement lambasting the decision to appeal the case.
“What Governor Scott continues to forget is that being poor is not a crime, and the state should not attempt to treat poor Floridians as though they are criminal suspects,” said Stafford, D-Miami.
But supporters of the law, including a think tank that Scriven singled out for what she regarded as flawed research buttressing the state’s claims, hailed the decision.
“Our tax dollars should not be used to fund illegal drug addiction that traps children in unsafe homes,” said Tarren Bragdon, a Scott ally and president and CEO of the Foundation for Government Accountability.
The decision in the case of Luis Lebron, a 35-year-old Orlando resident who applied for benefits in July but refused to take a drug test, fueled what has become an increasingly testy relationship between Scott and the Legislature on one side and state and federal courts on the other.
Since Scott took office in January, lawsuits have also been filed challenging his decisions or laws he signed dealing with high-speed rail, rulemaking by executive branch agencies, prison privatization, pension reform and a proposed constitutional amendment allowing state funds to flow to religious social services, as well as a policy requiring state workers to be tested for drugs.
Courts have ruled against Scott on the privatization plan and the rulemaking case. Scott suspended the drug tests for state employees in the face of that lawsuit, and a state judge hearing the case on the pension overhaul also sounded skeptical of the state’s arguments at a hearing last month. The governor won a suit challenging his ability to essentially cancel a high-speed rail project.
In recent days, Scott has sounded exasperated with the continued legal wrangling over the policies.
“I thought there were three branches of government,” the governor complained to reporters Wednesday. “I thought the legislative branch was supposed to pass the laws and the governor either sign them or not. I didn’t anticipate the judiciary would be making policy decisions, so it’s very disappointing.”
By Brandon Larrabee
The News Service of Florida
Twin Brothers Sentenced For Dog Fighting
November 4, 2011
Twin brothers facing dog fighting charges in Escambia County (Ala.) have been sentenced to prison on dog fighting convictions in Autauga County.
According to Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange, Terrell and Terrance McNeil, both age 29, were sentenced to 26 months in prison to be followed by three years probation. In addition, each brother was fined $1,000 and ordered to pay court costs.
The McNeil brothers were arrested on September 24, 2008, with 33 pit bulls at their residence in Prattville. Both were indicted and pleaded guilty to one count of felony dog fighting.
Terrance McNeil has a prior conviction for dog fighting in Escambia County, and each brother has dog fighting charges pending in Escambia County.
“This crime involves a deliberate cruelty and terrible abuse of animals that is deeply disturbing and that must not be tolerated,” said Attorney General Strange. “I am pleased that this case sends a message that in Alabama, the crime of dog fighting will be taken seriously and punished sternly.”
Terrance McNeil pleaded guilty to felony dog fighting charges that stemmed from a 2008 incident in Atmore. An anonymous tip led investigators with the Atmore Police Department and the Humane Society of Escambia County (Ala.) to North Sunset Drive where they found a makeshift dog fighting arena. According to investigators, they found several vehicles parked outside a trail that led into a thickly wooded area, ending at a “plywood pit” surrounded by floodlights powered by a portable generator. They also located an assortment of alleged dog fighting paraphernalia.
Pictured top: An alleged dog fighting arena discovered in a wooded area off North Sunset Drive in Atmore in June, 2008. Pictured below: One of the dogs allegedly involved in the incident. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Investigation Continues Into Fire That Claimed 3 Children
November 3, 2011
Friends and family gathered outside the burned out shell of home on 1st Street in Atmore Thursday, remembering three children killed in a house fire, as investigators poured over the scene for evidence.
“I’m really sad right now,” Anthony Coley, grandfather of the three children, said. “I really don’t know what to do. I lost all my grand kids.”
He identified the children as 3-year old Aniyia Abner, 3-year old Takia Abner and 22-month old Michael Coleman. He said the children belonged to two different mothers, 18-year old twins Akeivia Abner and Jekeevia Abner.
“I really miss them all,” Coley said.
Just a few feet away, investigators from the Alabama Fire Marshal’s Office and the Atmore Department worked to determine the exact cause the Wednesday night blaze. As first reported Wednesday night by NorthEscambia.com, initial reports said that an oven door was open inside the home at the time of the fire, perhaps indicating that it was being used as a heat source.
For more photos from Thursday morning’s investigation at the home, click here.
Photographs taken Thursday morning (see top of page) clearly show the oven door inside the kitchen of the home propped partially open. But it was not immediately known if that was the cause of the fire; the Alabama State Fire Marshal’s Office will continue their investigation and make a final determination.
Reports indicated that the two young mothers were at another location several blocks from the home at the time of the fire. Authorities said that, depending on the outcome of the Fire Marshal’s investigation, the two mothers could be charged in connection with the death of their children.
For an earlier story about the fire, including photos from the aftermath of the fire Wednesday night, click here.
For more photos from Thursday morning’s investigation at the home, click here.
Pictured top: This photo shows the oven door propped open inside the kitchen of a home were three children died in a house fire Wednesday night. Pictured inset: Family and friends prayed in the street in front of the home with Anthony Coley, grandfather of the three children. Pictured bottom inset: A makeshift memorial outside the home. Pictured below: The remains of a 1st Street home in Atmore. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Three Young Children Left Home Alone Killed In Fire (Updated With Names)
November 3, 2011
Three young children left home alone died when fire ripped through an Atmore residence Wednesday night.
Anthony Coley, grandfather of all three children, identified them as 3-year old Aniyia Abner, 3-year old Takia Abner and 22-month old Michael Coleman. He said the children belonged to two different mothers, 18-year old twins Akeivia Abner and Jekeevia Abner.
For an updated to this story, click here.
Alabama State Deputy Fire Marshal Mike Talley and members of the Atmore Fire Department were on scene throughout the morning carefully working to pinpoint the origin of the fire.
Reports indicated that the two young mothers were at another location several blocks from the home at the time of the fire.
The small wood frame home on 1st Street between Carver Avenue and Martin Luther King Avenue was fully engulfed when the Atmore Fire Department arrived on scene just after 8 p.m. Wednesday. First responders quickly pulled the three children from fire, but they were unable to save them.
Initial reports said that an oven door was open inside the home at the time of the fire, perhaps indicating that it was being used as a heat source. The Alabama State Fire Marshal’s Office will continue their investigation and make a final determination on the cause of the fire.
Authorities said that, depending on the outcome of the Fire Marshal’s investigation, the two mothers could be charged in connection with the death of their children.
Further information has not yet been released.
For more photos from the aftermath of the fire, click here.
Pictured: Three young children died in this house fire Wednesday night in Atmore. Pictured inset: A child’s toy sits outside the residence. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Trial Delayed For Northview Student Accused In Sister’s Murder
November 3, 2011
Trial was set to begin next week for a former Northview High School student accused in the August fatal shooting her adoptive sister, but Wednesday a judged postponed the teen’s date with a jury until January.
Elena Janelle Rendell, 17, remains in the Escambia Jail with bond set at $300,000 for the shooting death of 14-year old Christina Marie Sneary, a former Molino resident. She is charged as an adult with manslaughter by a firearm.
At the request of the State Attorney’s Office, Judge Nickolas Geeker on Wednesday set Rendell’s jury trial to begin January 3, 2012.
The two girls had recently moved with their mother from Sunset View Lane in Molino to the 7600 block of Kipling Street in the Ferry Pass community.
Rendell told deputies that she began to argue with Sneary over a cell phone. During the argument, Rendell ran into her parent’s bedroom and retrieved her father’s 9 mm handgun from the top of a television shelf that stood about 12-feet high. Rendell then pointed the handgun at her 14-year old sister and fired a single gunshot into the right side of Sneary’s neck. Sneary died a short time later at Sacred Heart Hospital.
For more details about the shooting, click here for an earlier story.
Greg Evers: Let Floridians Buy Ethanol-Free Gas
November 3, 2011
Florida senators Wednesday moved toward eliminating a 2008 law that requires gasoline to include ethanol, amid concerns that the biofuel causes problems in boats, lawn mowers and old cars.
The Senate Communications, Energy and Public Utilities Committee voted 10-1 to approve SB 238, which would repeal the so-called “Florida Renewable Fuel Standard Act.”
But it’s unclear how much of a difference the repeal would make when Floridians pull up to the pump. That is because federal law also includes ethanol requirements, though it doesn’t set specific standards for Florida.
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Bill sponsor Sen. Greg Evers, R-Baker, said repealing the state law would allow retailers to offer fuel without ethanol — if they can get it from suppliers.
“You’ve got to buy it before you sell it,” Evers said.
But Rep. Michelle Rehwinkel Vasilinda, a Democrat from Tallahassee who appeared before the Senate committee to argue against the bill, said ethanol is a way to help move away from reliance on oil.
“We need to diversify our energy mix,” Rehwinkel Vasilinda said. “Florida has gone in the right direction with this.”
The U.S. ethanol industry is dominated by producers who use corn grown in places such as Iowa. But Florida has taken steps in recent years to encourage development of ethanol, at least in part as a way to provide new markets for farmers.
Jerry Paul, a former House member who lobbies for Southeast Renewable Fuels LLC, said the firm is developing ethanol production that would use sweet sorghum grown in Florida.
The 2008 law requires gasoline to include 9 or 10 percent ethanol. Critics, however, say ethanol can damage motors used in such things as boats, lawn mowers and weed trimmers.
Also, some speakers at Wednesday’s committee meeting said it can cause problems in old cars and motorcycles. They argued that motorists should have the freedom to buy gasoline without ethanol.
Lawmakers asked repeated questions about how repealing the 2008 law would dovetail with federal ethanol requirements. In the end, only Sen. Chris Smith, D-Fort Lauderdale, voted against the repeal.
David Mica, executive director of the Florida Petroleum Council, said the federal law requires the industry to supply gradually increasing amounts of biofuels nationally. He said Florida is such a large market that the industry could not meet its requirements without selling ethanol-blended gasoline in the state.
With the federal requirements in place, Evers said repealing the state law would not hurt companies that produce ethanol in Florida.
The state law already includes some exemptions from the ethanol requirements, such as for gasoline used in aircraft and boats. But Evers said repealing the law would increase the ability of retailers to sell gasoline without ethanol and allow “supply and demand” to play a bigger role.
By Jim Saunders
The News Service of Florida