Cantonment Man Is One Of America’s Most Wanted
December 3, 2011
A former Cantonment resident that was the suspected triggerman in the shooting a death of a Pensacola toddler over two months ago is being named one of America’s Most Wanted.
The America’s Most Wanted television program is filming a segment this weekend about 19-year old Dwayne “Money” Pinestraw. He’s wanted on an open count of murder for the shooting death of Ty’Quarius Moultrie, 19 months old; aggravated battery for the shooting of Vincent Dennis, 23; and firing a weapon into an occupied building for the incident that occurred in July at Pensacola Village, 500 East Fairfield Drive.
Multiple shots were fired into the apartment back on July 15, according to Pensacola Police, shortly after several people were involved in a drug transaction nearby.
Pinestraw’s last known address was on Lake Drive in Cantonment. Pinestraw is a black male, approximately 5-feet 6-inches tall and approximately 130 pounds. He should be considered armed and dangerous, according to Pensacola Police.
Anyone having information on the Pinestraw’s location or the shooting is asked to contact Lt. Doug Baldwin at (850) 435-1908, Detective James Reese at (850) 435-1976, or the Desk Sergeant’s Office at (850) 435-1900.
Pinestaw is expected to be featured on America’s Most Wanted with John Walsh on December 17 as part of a special two hour primetime special.
Man Arrested In Early Morning Murder Of Escambia Teen
December 2, 2011
An arrest has been made in the early morning murder of an Escambia County teen.
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office charged Michael Palmer Davis, 25, with second degree murder for the shooting death of Alonzo Dewayne Knight.
Deputies responded to the 7100 block of Princess Lane near Fairfield Drive and Patricia Drive just after 2 a.m. Friday for a shooting victim. Upon arrival, Knight was
pronounced dead at the scene from a gunshot wound.
Davis is being held in the Escambia County Jail without bond.
Chipley High Bus Burns On The Way To Northview
December 2, 2011
A bus transporting Chipley High School’s football team to Friday night’s semifinal game at Northview High School burned on the interstate.
There were no injuries and the team was able to save all of the equipment, Mike Morrison, public information officer for the Walton County Sheriff’s Office told NorthEscambia.com. The bus fire began during the 4:00 hour on I-10 at the 74 mile marker near Defuniak Springs.
The photograph on this page was taken as the fire was starting; it engulfed and destroyed the bus, according to Tracy Hinote, mother of Chipley player Kyle Hinote. She confirmed that there were no injuries and none of the football equipment was lost. She said that several players did lose their personal items on the bus, such as jackets
The team secured another bus to continue to Northview High School.
Pictured: Chipley High School’s bus burns Friday afternoon on I-10 near Defuniak Springs. Exclusive photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
No Serious Injuries In Highway 29 Crash
December 2, 2011
There were no serious injuries reported in a Friday morning accident in Cantonment, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. The accident happened about 11:15 a.m. on Highway 29 north of Archer Road, near St. Monica’s Episcopal Church.
The accident did cause traffic delays in the area for a short period.
Further details have not been released; the accident is under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol. The Cantonment Station of Escambia Fire Rescue, Escambia County EMS and the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office also responded to the crash.
NorthEscambia.com photo by Kristi Smith, click to enlarge.
Our View: NHS Quarterback Sheets’ Suspension Just Isn’t Right
December 2, 2011
Tonight’s the biggest football game ever in Bratt, and certainly the big one for seniors like Brandon Sheets, starting quarterback and free safety.
But Brandon won’t play tonight, his suspension upheld Thursday by the Florida High School Athletic Association for taunting. Really? This is high school football. This is a sport for young men; this is not third grade kickball.
That said, there should have never been a flag on Sheets after his short touchdown late in the third. Video from two different angles clearly shows Sheets steeping across the goal line and stopping near immediately. There’s a Freeport defender wrapped around his legs. The tackle does not bring him down, but he stops until the Freeport player turns loose. Yes, he does look down, waiting to see when Mr. Freeport is going to let go. Then within a second, he turns and walks away with another Chief.
Plenty of “smart” armchair quarterbacks have read the reports on NorthEscambia and chimed in on how immature he was, how he should be taught a lesson, how the suspension was correct and lots of other uneducated comments. Some theorized that it was what he said that irked the referee. Most probably did not even see the game, blowing hot air behind their keyboards.
The videos clearly show he did not do anything wrong. But, most importantly to me, I did not see anything wrong. I’m not playing armchair quarterback or making that call from the perspective of a fan in the stands. I’m saying that as the person standing closer to the play than anyone else in the stadium except for other players. I was just feet away on the edge of end zone, closer than any referee. If he said anything wrong, I certainly did not hear it, and it would have been impossible for any referee to hear.
I never saw a second flag against Sheets. No one caught it on video. In fact, I can’t find anyone that saw the second flag, even among us media types on the field. There was never a clear signal from a ref that Sheets was ejected.
If Brandon Sheets did run back on the field clapping, then sorry Mr. Referee, he wasn’t making fun of you (again, this is not third grade kickball and no one’s out to get you). He was encouraging his team. That’s what Brandon Sheets does play after play, game after game. That’s leadership, not taunting.
After the game, Wheatley told me, and told other reporters in separate interviews, that Sheets was not ejected. Wheatley said he pulled him from the rest of the game, allowing backup quarterback Kevin Vaughan excellent playtime in the QB slot.
But somewhere between Friday night and Monday morning, an official from the Miracle Strip Association, decided and reported to the Florida High School Athletic Association that Sheets was ejected.
That’s another interesting issue. The Miracle Strip Association that provided the officials is based in Shalimar, about 30 miles from Freeport, with officials from across that area. They are, just to make the note, the likely officials for the Northview vs. Chipley game. Chipley is a short 75 miles from Freeport.
Ejections have their place in high school sports. Throwing punches, spitting, attacking an official physically, throwing a sissy fit — those are valid reasons for ejections. Ejections have been issued overturned on appeal this year in our area for players involved in fights and players that were arrested.
But what’s done is done, as wrong as it may be. Brandon Sheets will sit out Friday night’s game. He will hold his head high knowing his team, his fans and most of Escambia County are behind him.
Junior Kevin Vaughan will step and he will lead the Chiefs on the field tonight. Rest assured, his team is behind him, and they are ready to “Do it with Dewey”, as he is called by those that know him. The fans will pack the stands; those that can’t be there will follow our score updates on their computers and smartphones. We all have your back Kevin, and we are supporting you and each of the players fully.
Win or lose, we won’t be making excuses come Saturday morning, even though we know the suspension was wrong. The entire area will stand tall behind the Boys from Bratt. Most of us are already checking the couch cushions for gas money for Orlando. (Can you say Road Trip?!?)
Go Chiefs!
William Reynolds, Publisher
NorthEscambia.com
December Begins With Three House Fires
December 2, 2011
Escambia and Santa Rosa county both kicked off their annual December fire safety campaigns Thursday. In Santa Rosa County, the month was off to a rough start, with three residential fires reported in one day.
The first Santa Rosa County fire was ported at 4:15 a.m. on Covenant Circle in Pace. Two people were displaced by the fire, which was believed to have started in the home’s heating system.
The second fire was reported about 3:15 p.m. on Whychwood Road. The home was a total loss; the cause of the blaze remains under investigation. Three people were left homeless.
The third fire was in the 8300 block of Sierra Street in Navarre, believed to have started in the trailer’s chimney, the fire left one person homeless.
For more about the “Keep the Wreath Green” program in Escambia County and the “Keep Your Holidays Bright” campaign in Santa Rosa County, click here.
Want Jobless Benefits? Undergo Mandatory Job Training?
December 2, 2011
Continuing efforts to transform the state’s unemployment office into a job training center, a Florida House panel is expected to consider a measure next week that would require low-skilled applicants to undergo job training at no expense in order to receive jobless benefits.
The measure is scheduled to be heard Tuesday in the House Business and Consumer Affairs Subcommittee. The bill also renames the Florida Unemployment Compensation Law the Reemployment Assistance Program in an apparent refocus and rebranding of agency efforts. The measure would require applicants who score low on initial job screens to undergo training.
The agency would be required to provide the Legislature with a report on program costs by Jan. 2013.
By The News Service Florida
Northview Fans Rally Behind The Chiefs, Coach Reacts To QB Suspension (With Pep Rally Photos)
December 2, 2011
Northview will be without starting quarterback Brandon Sheets tonight in a state semifinal game against Chipley, but the Chiefs are ready to earn the school’s first ever trip to a state championship game in Orlando with the help of backup quarterback Kevin Vaughan.
NorthEscambia.com will post live updates from tonight’s Chipley at Northview state semifinal game on two Facebook pages:
http://www.Facebook.com/NorthEscambia (“Like” the page for updates)
http://www.Facebook.com/NorthEscambiaWilliam (Send a Friend request)
The Florida High School Athletic Association ruled against a Northview appeal on Thursday, deciding that Sheets’ actions last Friday night were “perceived as taunting”, resulting into a one-game suspension. [Read more details on the alleged actions, see video by clicking here for an earlier story.]
“We knew it (the appeal) could go either way, and we were ready to move on if it didn’t go in our favor,” Northview coach Sid Wheatly said Thursday night. “We were disappointed obviously; I am disappointed for Brandon.”
For a photo gallery from a Thursday night Chiefs pep rally, click here.
The Chiefs are moving forward with plans to “do it with Dewey”, as backup junior QB Kevin Vaughan (#12) is known to his friends and teammates.
“Our plan has been all week to work with Kevin and he’s going to be able to do the job. We’ve got a lot of confidence in him, and we are moving forward,” Wheatley said. “The kids have a lot of confidence in him.”
In tonight’s final four state semifinal game, the Chiefs (9-3) will host Chipley (10-2), a team that beat the Chiefs in game of turnovers back on September 16. But now a more experienced Northview teams is looking for revenge.
“We are going to get out there an complete really hard,” Wheatley said, “and bring home a big win.”
Wheatley admitted that Sheets’ suspension and a Vaughan in the QB slot does give the Chiefs a rather unique advantage over Chipley….the Tigers have likely watched hours of Northview game film — mostly with Sheets at quarterback — so they have no idea how the team performs with Vaughan and what surprise plays they might pull.
While 110 percent ready to perform with Vaughan as quarterback, members of the the varsity Chiefs are standing in support of Sheets, who has thrown for over 1,100 yard and a dozen touchdowns while picking up 16 touchdowns on over 900 yards rushing this year. Their goal? To make sure Sheets has one more shot to play a high school football game. With a win tonight, the Chiefs will head to Orlando December 2 for the state championship game. And Sheets will be eligible to play.
“We are going to do everything we can to make sure that you get to see Brandon Sheets take the field on more time,” junior Chad Smith told Northview fans Thursday night.
“We are going to win and give Brandon one more game to play,” Roderick Woods, also a junior, agreed.
At a Thursday night pep rally, Wheatley and the rest of the Chiefs encouraged Northview fans to pack the Northview stadium in Bratt tonight, and, above all, make a lot of noise in support of their Chiefs.
Wheatley said three playoff games on their home field has been a tremendous advantage for Northview. But he’s ready to pile the team on a bus and get out of Bratt.
“They do want one long road trip to Orlando next week,” he joked.
Tonight semifinal game kicks off at 7:30 p.m. in Bratt. [Click here for game details you need to know.] It’s the second ever semifinal game for the Northview Chiefs, and they have big plans for a big win.
“We are going to make history,” Chief Laderious Franklin said.
For a photo gallery from a Thursday night Chiefs pep rally, click here.
Pictured above: Northview High held a community pep rally for the region champ Chiefs Thursday night. Pictured below: Team members autographed almost 100 spirit shirts. NorthEscambia.com photos, click here.
Winning $109,884 Fantasy 5 Ticket Sold In North Escambia
December 2, 2011
For the second time this week, a winning Florida Lottery Fantasy 5 ticket was sold in North Escambia. The winning ticket in Thursday night’s drawing was sold in Davisville.
The Quick Pick ticket, with numbers 5-27-28-32-33, was sold at the State Line Gift Shop, 11208 Highway 97, at the Alabama state line. The ticket was one of two winning tickets in the drawing; the second winning ticket was sold in Miami.
Each of the winning tickets is worth $109,884.61. There were also 262 tickets with four correct numbers worth $135 each, and 8,571 with three of five numbers worth $11.50 each.
The winning ticket in Tuesday night’s Fantasy 5 was sold in Molino. Read more…
Feds Looking At Psych Meds For Foster Kids
December 2, 2011
A federal study released Thursday is sparking Congressional scrutiny of the high rates at which children in state care are prescribed potent psychotropic drugs.
In Florida, one of five states examined by the U.S. Government Accountability Office, foster children were medicated at a rate of 22 percent compared to 8.2 percent for non-foster children in 2008, according to the study.
The GAO found that Florida – along with Texas, Massachusetts, Michigan and Oregon – “falls short of providing comprehensive oversight as defined by the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry” in its oversight of the use of psychotropic drugs.
Also on Thursday, U.S. Sen. Tom Carper of Delaware held a hearing into the disparate rates.
George Sheldon, formerly Florida’s child welfare chief and now a federal official, last week wrote to states, “Enhanced efforts to properly prescribe and monitor psychotropic medication among children in out-of-home care are necessary, appropriate, and urgent.”
In 2009, as secretary of the Florida Department of Children and Families, Sheldon presided over an investigation into the suicide of seven-year-old Gabriel Myers, who hanged himself from a shower in Margate; the child had been taking several “black-box” drugs whose side effects include suicidal behavior.
“I am so thankful I was taken off of these types of meds,” said Derrick Riggins, a former Florida foster child who now works at the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute in Washington, D.C. “Kids in foster care don’t need to be over-medicated. They need a loving home.”
In 2012, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will convene state directors of child welfare, Medicaid and mental health services to develop action plans for addressing the issue.
By The News Service Florida