Woman Sentenced To House Arrest In 85-Count Drug Case
July 30, 2011
A former Cantonment resident has been sentenced in an 85-count count drug case in which she purchased large amounts of pseudoephedrine destined for a clandestine meth lab.
Prosecutors dropped 60 of the felony drug distribution counts against Tammy Marie Sheffield before she was sentenced by Judge Nicholas Geeker. She was found guilty on the remaining 25 counts and sentenced to 12 months community control followed by 36 months probation.
As part of her sentence, Sheffield agreed to testify truthfully against other suspects in any state or federal cases in which she has any information.
According to an Escambia County Sheriff’s Office arrest report, Sheffield purchased an excessive and illegal quantity of pseudoephedrine over about a one year period.
The investigation also revealed that several persons conspired be traveling to together to area pharmacies to purchase large quantities of pseudoephedrine. And, according to the Sheriff’s office, Sheffield should have known that the pseudoephedrine products she purchased were being used to manufacture methamphetamines in a clandestine laboratory.
According to court and Escambia County Jail records, Sheffield is a former resident of Eden Lane in Cantonment.
Man Caught At Traffic Stop Swallows Cocaine, Pot
July 30, 2011
An Escambia County man was hospitalized Friday after deputies said he tried to hide bags of cocaine and marijuana by swallowing them.
Kenya Parker, 34, is charged with possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, possession of marijuana, tampering with evidence and traffic charges including driving without a driver’s license.
Around 2:10 a.m., Escambia County Deputy Chad Roop observed a silver Toyota Corolla traveling on I-110 near Airport Blvd. Roop reported that the driver was weaving in and out of traffic lanes.
Roop initiated a traffic stop to investigate for impaired driving. During the stop Roop noticed an odor of marijuana coming from the stopped vehicle.
“Deputy Roop had Mr. Parker exit the vehicle during this investigation,” said Sheriff’s Office spokesman Deputy Chris Welborn. “As Mr. Parker was standing near the deputy’s cruiser, he began to regurgitate bags of cocaine and marijuana he had swallowed earlier.”
Deputies said that Parker regurgitated four plastic bags of cocaine, one bag of marijuana and an empty bag that appeared to have ruptured.
Upon seeing the ruptured bag deputies called EMS to respond and transport Parker to Sacred Heart Hospital for observation.
“The ingestion of the amount of cocaine contained in that bag can be lethal,” said Welborn.
Parker will be held on a $22,000 bond once he is released from the hospital.
Hightower Prefiles For Escambia School Board
July 30, 2011
Incumbent Escambia County School Board member Patty Hightower prefiled Friday for re-election in 2012.
“Escambia County Schools have shown tremendous improvement in the past few years. While the credit goes to our great teachers, I hope I have contributed as a school board member to higher standards and higher goals during my time on the board,” Hightower said. “Experience counts in education – not only in the classroom but also on the school board.”
She said that she and the current school board work well together as a team with the superintendent.
“I believe during my next term I can continue to contribute my time and effort toward the goal of insuring our schools provide the best possible learning opportunities for our children,” Hightower said.
Hightower will appear on the August 28, 2012, ballot. She is the only candidate so far to prefile for the seat that she has held for term terms.
Governor: Make Currently Required PIP Auto Insurance Optional
July 30, 2011
Gov. Rick Scott said Friday that he would support making personal injury protection auto insurance coverage, or PIP, optional.
Scott made the remarks during a radio interview Friday, and a spokesman confirmed that Scott would support doing away with Florida’s requirement that motorists carry PIP coverage.
“He said he supports the idea of making PIP an option,” said the spokesman, Lane Wright. “Gov. Scott has always stressed the importance of having choice, when it comes to insurance.”
Wright said the administration hadn’t drafted any legislation, that Scott was merely stating a position on the requirement.
PIP has been a subject of ire for insurers for years because of heavy amounts of fraud. Florida law currently requires every motorist to carry $10,000 worth of PIP coverage to cover their medical costs if they’re in an accident. A motorist’s insurance company pays the medical bills for that motorist out of the PIP coverage no matter who is at fault in the accident, an arrangement known as a no-fault law.
Sam Miller, a spokesman for the industry group Florida Insurance Council, said he couldn’t comment in detail without a detailed proposal, but that in general insurers would welcome changes.
“We have to do something, because the fraud is out of control,” Miller said. “If the governor wants that to be part of the mix, we would look at the details. It’s good that the governor is getting involved in the debate.”
Insurers expect that auto insurance is likely to be a major issue for legislators in the coming year after a few years of focus on property insurance reforms.
By The News Service of Florida
Weekend Gardening: Distinctly Southern Hydrangeas
July 30, 2011
Photo by Mandy Fails of Atmore for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Nothing defines a southern landscape more than hydrangeas.
These beautiful, large flowering shrubs fill gardens with their green, leafy foliage and incredible blooms during the warm months.
In order to ensure consistent and reliable blooms, these shrubs must be cared for correctly. In addition to proper site location, fertilizer and moisture conditions, hydrangeas may require pruning. Proper pruning includes correct timing.
Hydrangea aficionados are constantly debating pruning techniques. There are many different types of hydrangeas and pruning differs according to the type. It is a big genus of plants and so it’s important to know what type of hydrangeas you may have and on what type of wood they bloom on.
Blooms on old wood, prune after flowering
The bigleaf hydrangeas, known scientifically as Hydrangea macrophylla, are what most people think of when you mention hydrangeas. Most gardeners will know these as mopheads (also called hortensias) and lacecaps. Many of these blooms will be blue or pink although other colors now are available.
Many large colonies of bigleaf hydrangeas have existed around old homes for decades, surviving and blooming in spite of neglect. This tells us that it is not necessary to prune bigleaf hydrangeas.
However, if you want to keep these shrubs within a defined boundary, control their height or rejuvenate old shrubs, it will be necessary to prune them.
Bigleaf hydrangeas can be reduced in size immediately after flowering. A general rule of thumb is that you may remove up to a third of the shrub’s height. Be sure to complete your pruning before August. This is critical because next year flower blooms start to form in August. Pruning after August will remove next year’s blooms.
There now is a small group of bigleaf hydrangeas that are everblooming or remontant. Endless Summer® is one well-known brand. According to the developers of these reblooming hydrangeas, remove spent flowers to encourage rebloom. They are quite forgiving and will not suffer if left unpruned or pruned at the wrong time because these cultivars bloom on both old and new growth.
Our native oakleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia) is a large, deciduous shrub that can grow up to six feet tall. It has deeply lobed, oak-like leaves which turn bronze in the fall. This plant does not usually need pruning. If reshaping or size-reduction is necessary, prune after blooms begin to fade.
Article Continues Below Photo
Lacecap hydrangea Photo credit: Theresa Friday
Blooms on new wood, prune in early spring
Smooth hydrangea (H. arborescens) is the other U.S. native. The most common cultivar, ‘Annabelle’, produces rounded inflorescences that may reach up to a foot in diameter.
The panicle hydrangea (H. paniculata) is more of an upright type. It is typically a 10 to 15-foot large shrub or low-branched tree.
Panicle and smooth hydrangeas flower on current year’s growth and can be pruned anytime from late summer until early spring. If pruning these two species in the spring, try to prune before leaves appear.
Winter pruning
Established bigleaf, panicle, oakleaf and smooth hydrangea plants can often benefit from rejuvenation pruning. Remove about one-third of the oldest stems each year. The result is a fuller, healthier plant. This type of pruning is easiest to do in winter, since the absence of leaves makes it easier to see and reach inside plants.
Hydrangeas offer a wide variety of plants which can make the timing of pruning difficult to remember. Just keep in mind, if in doubt, either don’t prune at all or prune after flowering.
Theresa Friday is the Residential Horticulture Extension Agent for Santa Rosa County.
Learn To Preserve Fresh Fruits And Vegetables At Workshop
July 30, 2011
Due to an overwhelming response, Escambia County Extension and the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences present another “Preserving the Essence of Summer Food Preservation Workshop.”
The workshop is on Saturday, August 20, 10 a.m. until noon, at the Langley Bell 4-H Center, 4810 W. Nine Mile Road.
Organizers say it is easy to preserve your juicy, ripe, fresh fruits and vegetables, and home canning is a wonderful way to preserve fresh fruits and vegetables from your garden or the local farmers’ market.
The workshop will teach the simple ways to save the season’s bountiful harvest and capture the fresh flavors of summer. The cost is only $5, but you must pre-register to ensure adequate supplies.
To register or get more information, please contact Colethia Lewis, Escambia Extension, at (850) 475-5230 or colethia@ufl.edu.
Nitric Acid Spill In Cantonment
July 29, 2011
Emergency crews responded to a hazardous materials spill on Old Chemstrand Road this afternoon.
A tanker truck on Old Chemstrand Road near Pauline Street was apparently spilling nitric acid on the roadway as it traveled eastbound toward Ascend Performance Materials.
Firefighters on the scene said the spill did not pose any threat to nearby residents. A fire crew on the scene said the acid will be cleaned up by diluting it with water.
Family Says Men Wrongly Attempt To Pick Up Child In Molino
July 29, 2011
A Molino family says someone wrongly claiming to be from a local church tried to pick up a 5-year old child today on Chance Road.
Family members said that three men in an older gold-colored car asked for the 5-year old by name, saying that they were there to give him a ride to Vacation Bible School at Highland Baptist Church. They vehicle was reportedly in their driveway when the family arrived home.
But the family said they were aware that Vacation Bible School is not going on this week at Highland Baptist. Before leaving the area, the boy’s family said the men went to four different houses in the neighborhood.
Brian Calhoun, pastor at Highland Baptist Church, confirmed that the church does not have any children’s activities going on Friday and that no one from the church tried to pick up the child.
“We don’t just stop by houses and pick up children without the parents knowing in advance,” he said.
There was no further description available of the vehicle or the three men.
State, Federal Raid At Jay Medical Clinic; 2 Doctors Surrender DEA Licenses
July 29, 2011
(Updated 9 a.m.) A Jay medical practice is the focus of a federal and state investigation involving several agencies, and two physicians have surrendered their license to prescribe narcotics.
The FBI, federal Drug Enforcement Agency, the Attorney General’s Office, the Florida Department of Health and Florida Department of Law Enforcement spent hours inside the Jay Medical Clinic Thursday as Florida Highway Patrol troopers stood guard outside the complex, which is located next to Jay Hospital. Federal and state agents could be seen inside the building, looking through patient files and other records.
Several items were removed from the doctors’ offices, including computer hard drives and many patient records from Dr. C. David Smith and his son Dr. J. S. Michael Smith. Both doctors were forced to surrender their DEA licenses to write prescriptions for narcotics.
The other two physicians in the practice, Dr. Marian B. Stewart and Dr. Jeffery S. Kelley still hold their DEA licenses and are able to issue all prescriptions, including narcotics.
There were no immediate arrests. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement would not comment on the raid on Thursday.
For more photos, including photos from inside the building, click here.
Patients streamed into the parking lot throughout the day Thursday, turned away by the FHP trooper at the door. Many seemed bewildered, unable to comprehend what was taking place inside their doctor’s office.
“I need to see Dr. Smith,” a patient that declined to give his name said. “I need my medicine. He was suppose to give me some samples. I can’t afford to go to the emergency room; I don’t have insurance.”
“This is surprising to me,” Joanne Harrison, a patient of Dr. David Smith, said. “I like doctor Smith; he’s a good doctor.”
“The FBI served Jay Hospital with two subpoenas for records of two independent physicians who are on the medical staff,” said Liz Adams, spokesperson for Baptist Hospital, which operates Jay Hospital, located next to the Jay Medical Center. She said Jay Hospital is not the target of the investigation, and the hospital continues to operate with business as usual.
She declined to name the two physicians listed on the subpoenas served on Baptist, other than to say they were independent doctors that are on the medical staff at Jay Hospital.
“We do not know a whole lot of what is going on. FBI agent Victoria Harker has informed me that the Pediatric department of Jay Medical is not involved,” Dr. Marion Stewart, a pediatrician located in the complex, said Thursday afternoon. Stewart said her office will be open as usualFriday and encouraged her patients to contact the office to reschedule appointments.
“Unfortunately, because they are still in the office, we cannot see patients today. We regret that we cannot contact the families that have appointments today. We will work overtime as needed tomorrow and next week to see these patients,” Stewart said Thursday.
The Jay Medical Clinic is operated by Dr. C. David Smith, a family practitioner. Others in the clinic include Smith’s son, Dr. J. S. Michael Smith, also a family practitioner; Dr. Marian B. Stewart, a pediatrician; Dr. Jeffery S. Kelley, an internist; and Twyla H. Cotton, a nurse practitioner.
They Jay Medical Complex also houses the Jay Vision Center and Jay Pharmacy. Both of those businesses remained open on Thursday.
For more photos, including photos from inside the building, click here.
Pictured top: Federal and state agents were conducting a search Thursday at the Jay Medical Center. Pictured top inset: A Florida Department of Law Enforcement officer questions a patient outside the complex. Pictured bottom inset: A patient is turned away from the closed clinic. Pictured below: Florida State Trooper Todd St. Clair turns away a Jay Medical Center patient Thursday morning. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Getaway Driver: Woman Gets 25 Years For Molino Pharmacy Robbery
July 29, 2011
The getaway driver in the September 2010 armed robbery of a Molino pharmacy has been sentenced to prison.
Krystal Lynn Collins, 24, was sentenced by Judge Terry Terrell to a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years state prison for the armed robbery of Scott’s Pharmacy. Collins was convicted in May 2011 by an Escambia County jury of robbery with a firearm, three counts of trafficking in illegal drugs, and three counts of possession of controlled substances.
Collins drove the getaway car for Joseph Daniel Flowers during the holdup. Flowers remains in the Escambia County Jail awaiting trail after the results of a competency evaluation is completed.
For a photo gallery from the robbery scene and one suspect’s home, click here.
About 1:15 the afternoon of September 20, 2010, the Escambia County Sheriff’s Department said Flowers robbed the pharmacy at Highway 29 and Molino Road at gunpoint while wearing boxer shorts on his head.
The bandit was described by witnesses as a white male in a navy blue bathrobe, blue jeans, black house slippers, yellow kitchen-type gloves, and with boxer shorts on his head. He entered the store and announced that he was robbing the business. Employees said he was armed with a revolver that was wrapped in a plastic bag and pointed at a store employee as he demanded prescription narcotics. Flowers threatened to kill witnesses if the police responded, the report states.
Flowers fled the store with a large quantity of narcotics worth several thousand dollars in two plastic bags, according to the ECSO report.
A witness saw Flowers get into a silver, mid-size vehicle parked behind the pharmacy after the robbery. He was unable to get the tag number from the car, but he did note two stickers, one red and one white, on the on the vehicle.
Scott’s Pharmacy personnel told deputies that they believed Flowers, a pharmacy customer, was the robbery suspect, based upon recognizing his voice and a unique gait due to a back injury. Deputies found a silver Honda Civic at Flowers’ residence in the 400 block of Molino Road that matched the description given by the witness.
Collins was present at the home on Molino Road, according to the Sheriff’s Office. She told deputies that she had driven Flowers to a Dollar General Store near the pharmacy prior to 11:00 that morning and she had not gone anywhere else. Surveillance video from the Dollar General placed Collins in the store between 1:06 and 1:08 p.m. — just prior to the pharmacy robbery.
She purchased a bottle of Coca-Cola and a Mountain Dew at the Dollar General, according to deputies. Flowers dropped the red cap from a bottle of Coca-Cola inside the pharmacy during the robbery, deputies said. A Coca-Cola bottle without a cap was discovered in the vehicle at Flowers’ residence.
Inside the home, deputies recovered a .38 caliber Smith and Wesson revolver matching the description of the one given by store employees, according to the report.
Pictured top: Krystal Lynn Collins’ mugshot from the Escambia County Jail. Pictured middle inset: Collins (then with blond hair) was briefly taken into custody after the robbery before being released. Pictured bottom inset: The getaway car with two stickers as noted by a witness. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
