Search Warrant In Molino Turns Up Drugs, Guns; One Arrested
July 27, 2011
A search warrant served in Molino turned up guns and drugs, and landed a Molino man behind bars.
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office Special Investigations/Narcotics Unit executed a search warrant at the residence of 26-year old Thomas Sheffield in the 9000 block of Gibson Road.
Sheffield told deputies that all of his drugs were on the back porch. That’s were deputies found over 20 grams of marijuana and a 9mm Glock handgun, according to the arrest report. Inside the house, deputies reported finding more marijuana, questionable prescription medication, a .22 caliber handgun, a SKS rifle and $1,725 in cash located on the top of the fireplace.
Sheffield was charged a felony count of marijuana possession with intent to sell and felony possession of a controlled substance without a prescription. He was released from the Escambia County Jail on a $10,000 bond.
In Depth: State Corrections Boss On Prison Privatization
July 27, 2011
The mass privatization of prisons in the southern third of the state should at least temporarily stop the drive to hand prisons over to corporations, the head of the Department of Corrections said Tuesday.
“I think in terms of private prisons, this is as far as Florida should go,” Corrections Secretary Ed Buss said in an interview. “This wasn’t my decision, this wasn’t Gov. Scott’s decision, this was the Legislature’s decision.”
Buss talked about the privatization drive a day after the state released a request for proposals calling for a five-year contract with a single bidder to run 29 facilities associated with 11 South Florida correctional institutes. The privatization proposals are in line with the budget approved by the Legislature during its spring session, though one of the state’s main law enforcement unions has sued to try to block the move.
That contract should allow the state to assess how a widespread system of private prisons would work in comparison to public facilities, Buss said. That would include a look at how well private prisons work to reduce recidivism, one of Buss’ top goals as corrections secretary.
“This will provide some competition so that the public and private sector can go head-to-head,” he said. “But until — and it takes three to five years to get any meaningful data on recidivism — I wouldn’t recommend any future private prisons until we get the data and we see if it does actually work.”
Under the budget approved by lawmakers, Buss’ agency could have bid out the privatization contract in several pieces. But the secretary said he believes taxpayers will get a better deal if corporations like the GEO Group, Utah-based Management & Training Corporation and Tennessee-based Corrections Corporation of America are forced to strive for a single deal.
“It’ll make for fierce competition,” he said. “You get nothing for second place.”
Buss also said giving the contract to a single company will make it easier to measure a company’s performance, since inmates often move from prison to prison, and help corrections employees who decide to stay in South Florida an easier time finding jobs and earning promotions.
As for employees who want to remain in the state system, Buss said they could move to a job in other parts of the state. About 3,000 positions are open, he said, part of an effort by the agency to make sure it could accommodate employees who are willing to move. That should alleviate some concerns about whether privatization will result in mass layoffs, Buss said.
“I think that we’ll be able to take the majority of staff who want to move,” he said. “The other staff that want to stay, I think they’re going to have ample opportunity to move on with the company.”
The Florida Police Benevolent Association has filed suit in Leon County Circuit Court, looking to block the changes and saying they “would result in the loss of jobs, job security and job benefits for numerous state correctional officers who are members of the … PBA.”
Buss also explained an order cracking down on pornographic materials in state prisons. Buss, who until coming to Florida oversaw state prisons in Indiana, said the Sunshine State was not alone in allowing inmates access to the materials, but that he wanted to put an end to it.
“I don’t think sex offenders, rapists, child molesters should have access to pornography,” Buss said.
He also suggested that even some inmates are likely uncomfortable about seeing sex offenders look at explicit materials.
“It would give them a lot of pause to know that they were viewing materials like this,” Buss said. “I don’t think my female staff working the prisons should be subjected to those type of materials, as well.”
By Brandon Larrabee
The News Service of Florida
Pictured: Century Correctional Institution. NorthEscambia.com file photos.
Postal Service Studies Closing Local Offices
July 27, 2011
The U.S. Postal Service has released a list of retail outlets that could be closed, but North Escambia area post offices appear to be spared.
The Postal Service said it will consider the fate of about 3,700 local offices, branches and stations around the country. There are no post offices on the list in Escambia or Santa Rosa counties in Florida, or in Escambia County, Alabama.
There are 34 post offices in Florida and 52 in Alabama on the possible closure list released Tuesday. But not all of those on the list will close, according to officials.
Many of the post offices are in rural areas and have a very low volume of business.
County Worker Trapped Under Mower In Ditch
July 27, 2011
An Escambia County employee was seriously injured Tuesday when a mower overturned on him, trapping him in a deep ditch.
Jerry W. Milam was mowing high grass and weeds on the shoulder of Olive Road about 9 a.m. when he did not see a ditch. The mower fell about 15 feet into the ditch, struck a culvert and trapped the 64-year old underneath.
A pedestrian discovered the accident early Tuesday afternoon, several hours after Milam became trapped. It took rescue workers several minutes to free Milam from the ditch. He was transported to Sacred Heart Hospital where he was listed in serious condition.
Mom Charged With Beating Sex Abuse Suspect Son
July 27, 2011
A Century mom has been charged with beating her 17-year son with an extension cord after learning he allegedly sexually abused a young boy.
Kassedra Dubose, 38, was charged with cruelty towards a child. She was released from the Escambia County Jail on a $25,000 bond.
She is accused of “whipping” her son after learning that he allegedly had sexual relations with a young boy over a one year period at two different units at Century Woods Apartments.
The 17-year old son, Michael Alexander Dubose, suffered numerous cuts and bruises all over his body, according to an Escambia County Sheriff’s Office report. Michael Dubose is currently awaiting trial as an adult on two felony counts of sexual battery on victim under 12.
Alabama Prison Escapee Captured
July 27, 2011
A state prisoner that stole a pickup truck after escaping from a prison work detail Monday near Brewton is back behind bars.
William Paul Riley, 38, was taken into custody Tuesday night in Homewood, Alabama. When the Homewood Police Department initiated a traffic stop on the stolen truck occupied by Riley, he tried to flee down a dead end street before jumping out of the vehicle and falling into a creek bed. A K-9 unit was called in an attempt to locate Riley but did not make contact with him.
Riley, who was not armed, later surrendered nearby to Homewood Police.
He was taken into custody along with 43-year old Roosevelt Humphrey. According to the Alabama Department of Corrections, Humphrey was a convicted felon released from prison in 2003 after service time for burglary and theft of property.
Riley was being held Wednesday morning at the Homewood Police Department as arrangements were being made to transport him back to the Atmore Community Work Center near the Fountain Correctional Facility in Atmore. He is expected to face charges including escape and receiving stolen property, according to Brian Corbett, spokesperson for the Alabama Department of Corrections.
Riley was reported missing about 8:05 a.m. Monday from a work crew in the area of Ridge Road in Brewton. He fled the area in the stolen red 1993 Nissan pickup that was recovered in Homewood.
Riley was serving a 15-year prison sentence for theft and dealing stolen property. Riley was convicted on the charges in Jefferson County, Alabama (the Birmingham area). He was due to be released in March 2015 and set for a possible parole hearing in March 2013.
There were unconfirmed reports to the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office Monday morning that Riley and the stolen Nissan truck were spotted near Jay.
State Gives Up Oversight On Your Landline Phone As Wireless World Grows
July 27, 2011
The state’s utility watchdog on Tuesday continued the inevitable march toward a wireless world by relinquishing much of its authority over traditional landline telephone service.
Responding to legislation passed earlier this year, the Florida Public Service Commission on Tuesday, without discussion, withdrew a number of regulations targeting traditional wired communication services, a move sought by companies like AT&T and other landline providers that face increasing competition from cable and wireless providers.
The bill removed the PSC’s regulatory oversight of basic local telecommunications service and additional services and price regulation. The bill also removed the agency’s oversight of intrastate interexchange services, operator services, and shared tenant services.
“By embracing the regulatory reform approved by our Legislature and governor, we expand customer choice, allow pricing flexibility, and spur market expansion for Florida’s economic and technological growth,” PSC Chairman Art Graham, said in a statement.
The move away from telecommunication regulation has been a long steady migration since 1995, when lawmakers first opened up local markets to competition.
The PSC is scheduled to come out with its annual telecommunications report that among other things lists the number of landline customers, a group increasingly dominated by older Floridians.
Charles Millstead, associate state director for AARP, said the organization is asking members to keep track of telephone bills in the months to come to see if fees or charges go up unexpectedly.
“There is very little to do right now,” Millstead said. “We’ve asked our members to look at their telephone bills.”
Tuesday’s vote is the latest chapter in a long-standing effort by landline companies to compete in an increasingly wireless world. The number of landline customers have dropped dramatically over the years, plummeting 38 percent between 2001 and the end of 2009.
In 2010, longstanding carriers such as AT&T, Verizon and CenturyLink, saw a 20 percent drop in residential and business “access” lines, an industry measurement of the wire line market.
As of June 30, 2010, about 16.9 million wireless handsets were in use in Florida — nearly one for each person in the state. About 27 percent of Florida adults lived in wireless-only households during the year-long period ending June 30, 2010, up 22.9 percent from the previous year.
Traditional telecommunication companies are also getting increased competition from cable television companies that are now allowed to provide voice over Internet services.
“Consumers are making choices that utilize new and innovative technologies that were not even dreamed of when most of the current laws were put into effect,” said AT&T spokeswoman Stephanie Smith. “Florida’s telecommunications laws now reflect the reality of the current competitive marketplace.”
An updated report is scheduled to be released in August. Though it won’t show the impact of the deregulation bill, Millstead said it will act as a baseline for future comparison.
“We will certainly keep a copy of that and compare a year from now,” he said.
By Michael Peltier
The News Service of Florida
ACLU Calls For End To Selling Florida Driver’s License Info
July 27, 2011
In the wake of newspaper reports about Florida selling driver license information to private companies, the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida is calling on Gov. Rick Scott to end the contract.
The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles said it made $73 million in the fiscal year that ended June 30 from the sale of driver license information, which has been allowed by state law for decades, and is done by other states.
The information is public record, so vendors could get it for free if they wanted, but the state makes it easier for them and sells it.
The St. Petersburg Times reported Tuesday on a letter sent by ACLU Florida Director Howard Simon to Gov. Rick Scott urging the state to end the contract, saying it lacks oversight and violates expectations of privacy.
Robert Floyd Sentenced To 30 Years For Shooting Brewton Teen
July 26, 2011
A Jay man was sentenced this morning to 30 years in prison for the shooting death of a Brewton teen at a 2010 party. He faced a maximum of life in prison.
Robert Franklin Floyd, 22, was found guilty of second degree murder and discharging a firearm into a moving vehicle in May. Floyd shot into a vehicle occupied by four people on February 27, 2010, killing 18-year old Getyron Lopez Benjamin of Brewton.
Floyd’s 30 year prison sentence, handed down by Circuit Judge Gary Bergosh, includes a 25 year minimum mandatory term. He was also placed on 10 years probation upon his release.
During a bonfire party, a vehicle occupied by four people — Benjamin, Gerald Banton, Timothy Smith and Tiffanie Pate — arrived Floyd’s home on Country Mill Road.
The four people exited the vehicle and got into a verbal altercation with Floyd, according to a statement released by the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office the day following the incident.
“Floyd stated that the subjects were there uninvited. Floyd requested that the subjects leave the premises, and words were exchanged between Floyd and the subjects from Brewton. The subjects refused to leave, at which time Floyd allegedly pushed one of the…males and told them once again to leave,” according to Sgt. Scott Haines, spokesperson for the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office.
Floyd told Santa Rosa deputies that the male subject he pushed pulled out a handgun. Floyd he said he retrieved a .243 caliber rifle from his truck, and then he heard gunshots in the direction of the vehicle from Brewton. He also said he saw a muzzle flash coming from their direction.
Banton testified that he revealed a revolver for which he holds a concealed weapons permit. Testimony indicated that he fired the revolver into the air, but not in the direction of Floyd, as they were leaving the party. There were, according to testimony, six shots fired from the vehicle while Floyd fired five.
There were two shots that hit the vehicle, one striking Benjamin in the back seat. He was driven to D.W. McMillan Hospital in Brewton where he was pronounced dead.
Man Arrested For Assaulting His Pregnant Wife In Local Street
July 26, 2011
A Century man has been arrested for allegedly assaulting his pregnant wife in the middle of a local street because she was seeing another man.
Terrance Terell Grice, 26, was charged with domestic violence related aggravated battery. He was later released from the Escambia County Jail on a $7,500 bond.
According to the arrest report, Grice has recently been released from jail, returning home to find out his pregnant wife was involved with another man.
The wife said Grice had followed and harassed her all day before attacking her and pushing her to the ground in the intersection of Pond and George streets in Century. She told deputies she grabbed a glass gin bottle and fought back, leaving Grice with lacerations on his back and shoulder.
Grice, who smelled of alcohol, taunted and cursed deputies that responded to the incident, according to their report. Grice’s wife stated he had consumed alcohol throughout the day.
According to the arrest report, Grice told his pregnant wife, “If I can’t have you no one can”.
The wife suffered minor scratches during the incident. She refused treatment by Escambia County EMS.