Lawmakers Plan Caylee Anthony Bill
July 7, 2011
Lawmakers are already planning a Caylee Anthony Bill that will make it a felony in Florida for a parent or guardian to fail to report the disappearance of a child within a “timely manner” when the parent or guardian should have known that the child was in likely danger.
Rep. Bill Hager, R-Boca Raton, issued a press release on Wednesday saying he plans to file legislation, while area House members Doug Broxson (R-Gulf Breeze), Clay Ingram (R-Pensacola) and Clay Ford (R-Gulf Breeze) all said Wednesday that they will cosponsor the bill.
Hager plans to call the bill “Caylee’s Law” — a nod to the death of two-year-old Caylee Anthony of Orlando. Caylee’s mother Casey Anthony’s trial resulted in a controversial not guilty verdict on Tuesday. Casey Anthony did not report her child missing for 30 days, one of the key pieces of evidence the prosecution team used against her.
“What we witnessed in the case of 2-year-old Caylee Anthony was truly tragic. Placing a law on the books requiring parents and guardians to report missing children who are in significant danger in a timely manner will ensure that parents are held accountable for their actions. It will also assure that we put justice on the side of those among us who are most vulnerable, and finally, it will put an end to the kind of irresponsible and outrageous behavior we observed with Caylee’s mother,” Hager said in a statement.
“It is a shame that we have to pass laws to encourage basic parental care” Broxson said. “The House of Representatives and I hold a firm commitment to continually advancing public safety and protecting our most vulnerable citizens from harm.”
“Loss of precious time immediately after the disappearance of a child, seriously and negatively impacts the ability of law enforcement to help that child and it is critical that we give them the tools to help our children,” Ford said.
“Something clearly needs to be done to hold those responsible for our children accountable for their actions. It is inexcusable to fail to report the disappearance of a child for as long a period of time as Casey Anthony did. I am proud of Representative Hager for taking the lead on this important issue,” Ingram said. “The death of Caylee Anthony was a real tragedy. Whether or not the State could prove murder, the simple fact of the matter is that Casey Anthony seriously neglected her responsibilities as a mother in not reporting her daughter’s disappearance.”
The bill has not been officially filed because what constitutes a “timely” report is still being worked out, according to an aide to Hager.
Man Accused Of Dumbbell Attack Pleads Not Guilty
July 7, 2011
A Century man accused of beating a man with a dumbbell weight in the parking lot of a local convenience store has entered a plea of not guilty.
Sammy Maurice Myles, 25, of old Flomaton Road, was charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon after the incident May 30 at the Century Kwick stop at 8130 North Century Boulevard. Myles is due to appear in court again in September; he remains free from jail on a $2,500 bond.
The victim’s wife told Escambia County Sheriff’s Office deputies that the couple was in their car outside the store when the three men approached them. One allegedly hit her twice in the head, breaking her glasses. Myles allegedly began to beat the husband in the head with the dumbbell weight. The husband claimed that he began to fight back in self defense, at which time the other two men began to hit him.
Both victims were transported to a local hospital by ambulance for treatment of their injuries.
Myles, when questioned later by deputies at the Century Sheriff’s Office precinct, was observed to have a swollen eye and busted lip. He told deputies the husband and wife had jumped him earlier in the evening on Pond Street in Century. He said he had gone to the convenience store to get ice for his eye, at which time the husband and wife jumped him.
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office arrest report does not specify how many pounds the dumbbell weight was.
County Worker Injured
July 7, 2011
An Escambia County worker was taken to the hospital after a work-related accident Wednesday morning in Cantonment.
The 55-year old man was a spotter on a tree trimming crew working on Quintette Road near the Escambia River bridge. Reportedly, a piece of equipment fell and a hit a steel cable, which then hit the worker. The man suffered neck, arm and shoulder injuries.
He was transported by ambulance to Sacred Heart Hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
Federal Jury Convicts Escambia Man In Armed Drug Conspiracy
July 7, 2011
An Escambia County man was found guilty by a federal jury Wednesday afternoon on charges relating to a conspiracy to distribute cocaine in Pensacola, according to United States Attorney Pamela C. Marsh, Northern District of Florida.
Telly Jamar Hill, 28, faces life imprisonment on the charges when he is sentenced in September by Chief United States District Judge M. Casey Rodgers.
The federal indictment alleged Hill and others were involved in the distribution of large amounts cocaine and “crack” cocaine as well as in the possession of firearms to further the drug conspiracy.
During the trial, the jury heard evidence of multiple cocaine seizures from Hill. The jury also heard testimony regarding death threats to a member of the Pensacola community who was aiding law enforcement in its investigation. These threats, as well as a drive-by shooting of this person’s residence, were linked to Hill through his cellular telephone records.
Injuries, Gas Leak When 94-Year Old’s Truck Hits Hardee’s
July 6, 2011
Two people were injured with when a truck struck an Escambia County Hardee’s restaurant Wednesday morning.
Just after 8 a.m., a pickup driven by Edith Gilliland of Pensacola hit the Hardee’s at the intersection of Wilde Lake Boulevard and Pine Forest Road, just south of I-10. The force of a collision near the restaurant’s drive-through windows also broke a gas line, creating a gas leak. Gas has since been turned off at the scene.
Gilliland was transported by ambulance to West Florida Hospital with minor injuries. A worker inside the restaurant, 50-year old Mary E. Woodard of Cantonment, was injured with the pickup partially entered the building and struck ovens and other cooking equipment.. She was transported by ambulance to Sacred Heart Hospital. Total damage to the building was estimated at $25,000.
Gilliland was charged with careless driving by the Florida Highway Patrol.
Pictured: Three people were injured when this pickup struck a Hardee’s restaurant this morning near I-10 and Pine Forest Road. Photo by Bree Sison, WEAR 3 for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Man Found Not Guilty Of Shooting Neighbor’s Dog ‘Barack’
July 6, 2011
A Cantonment man has been found not guilty in connection with shooting and killing his neighbor’s dog after it killed his goats.
Vincent Jerome Clay, 42, was charged with a weapons offense for using a firearm during a felony and animal cruelty after Clay’s neighbor on Calloway Street told Escambia County Sheriff’s deputies that Clay shot and killed a Rottweiler name Barak.
Clay claimed that the dog had killed his goats. The dog’s owner, Lula Mae Wilson, said she paid him $100 for the goats. Wilson tethered the dog in her yard, but it escaped. That’s when, according to the police report, Clay shot the dog with his shotgun. Deputies found the dog dead under his house along with freshly splattered blood.
The weapons charge was dropped against Clay, while a jury found him not guilty on the animal cruelty charge.
Century Man Held On Kidnapping, Child Abuse Charges
July 6, 2011
A Century man is behind bars facing felony kidnapping and child abuse charges. Bond for Devonick Dejon Thomas, age 20 of Freedom Road, is set at $125,000.
According to an Escambia County Sheriff’s Office arrest report, witnesses told deputies that Thomas forced the 17-year old female victim into his car and start slapping her and eventually drove away.
After being notified of the possible kidnapping, the Flomaton Police Department made contact with Thomas and the teen girl in Flomaton. According to the Florida arrest report, the girl told the Flomaton officer that she was okay, and the Flomaton Police office allowed the two to drive off together.
The victim was later located unharmed.
Deputies Seek Tips In Theft Of ZTR Mowers
July 6, 2011
The Escambia County (Ala.) Sheriff’s Office is asking for the public’s help in locating three high-value lawn mowers and arresting those responsible for stealing them.
Three John Deere Z-700 series zero-turn-radius mowers (similar to the photo) were stolen from Smith Tractor Company in Atmore sometime overnight June 29, according to Bruce Shue, an investigator for the Escambia County (Ala.) Sheriff’s Office. The mowers, he said, are valued at about $20,000 total.
Shue said the mowers were taken from outside the building and investigators have few clues.
Anyone with information on the crime is asked to contact the Escambia County (Ala.) Sheriff’s Office at (251) 368-4779 or (251) 867-0304. Smith Tractor Company is offering a $500 reward for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person(s) responsible for the theft.
NRA Loads Up For Doctor Gun Question Trial
July 6, 2011
With a federal judge ready to hear arguments next week, the National Rifle Association and doctors are feuding about the NRA’s role in a legal challenge to Florida’s new “Docs vs Glocks” law.
The NRA is seeking to formally intervene in the case, contending it was a “foremost supporter” when lawmakers approved the measure to restrict doctors from asking patients about gun ownership.
“The Firearm Owners’ privacy law protects NRA members from intrusive, irrelevant questions by health care practitioners and from discrimination on account of their exercise of Second Amendment rights,’’ the NRA said last week in a motion to intervene.
But physicians, who argue the law is a violation of their First Amendment free-speech rights, are trying to block the NRA from playing a large role in the case. In a document Friday, the doctors said the state can adequately defend the law and that the NRA “offers only inflammatory hyperbole’’.
“The interest at issue here is a doctor’s and patient’s First Amendment right to engage in an open and frank discussion free of government interference,’’ the document says.
The legal sparring follows a major lobbying fight during this year’s legislative session about the law, which Gov. Rick Scott signed June 2.
A group of physicians quickly challenged the constitutionality of the law in federal court in Miami. U.S. District Judge Marcia G. Cooke has scheduled a July 13 hearing on the doctors’ request for an injunction to block the law.
The law, which passed largely along party lines, says doctors and other health-care practitioners “shall respect a patient’s right to privacy and should refrain” from asking about gun ownership or whether people have guns in their homes. It also, however, says health providers may ask about guns if they believe in “good faith” that the information is relevant to a patient’s medical care or safety.
The issue centers, at least in part, on pediatricians who ask questions about household safety issues that could affect children. The law’s supporters point to episodes such as an Ocala couple complaining that a doctor told them to find another physician after they refused to answer questions about guns.
Former NRA President Marion Hammer, an influential Tallahassee lobbyist, played a major role in pushing the bill (HB 155) through the Legislature.
The law took effect immediately when Scott signed it. That helped prompt the plaintiffs, who include six individual doctors and three physician organizations, to seek an injunction.
The state has backed the NRA’s attempt to intervene in the case.
With no ruling on the motion to intervene — and the injunction hearing next week — the NRA filed another motion Tuesday aimed at allowing it to submit a brief and participate in the hearing.
By Jim Saunders
The News Service of Florida
Google Street View Car Spotted Again
July 6, 2011
A Google Street View car has been spotted in the North Escambia area numerous times over the past couple of months. Tuesday, the car with 15 cameras on top was seen around the streets of Atmore.
Google Maps with Street View, as well as Google Earth, allows users to explore places through 360-degree street level imagery. Most of the roadways in the area already appear on Street View, but the lower quality images are being updated with new realistic high definition photos.
For a more detailed look at the Google Street View Car and more information about how it all works, click here for a NorthEscambia.com story and photo gallery about the car in Walnut Hill last May.
There’s no word when the new images from the North Escambia area will be available on Google Street View.
Pictured top: A Google Street View car was spotted Tuesday afternoon on Craig Street in Atmore. NorthEscambia.com photos by Kim McCullough, click to enlarge.