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.
White, Robertson Earn Advanced Commissioner Designation
July 6, 2011
The Florida Association of Counties (FAC) has presented Escambia County commissioners Kevin White and Wilson Robertson with their Advanced County Commissioner (ACC) designation following their completion of a comprehensive study program developed by the association.
“The Advanced County Commissioner designation is something every commissioner throughout the state should strive to achieve,” White said. “It shows a commitment not only to your constituents but to all the citizens of the county that you are attempting to do the best possible job you can.”
The ACC program is organized as a series of three seminars with 27 hours of course work. The course content focuses on leadership with an overarching theme of growth and development in Florida.
White and Robertson received the designation along with 28 other county commissioners during an awards ceremony held at the FAC Annual Conference in Orange County, Florida.
In The Shadows: Children Enjoy Century Library Reading Program
July 6, 2011
Children enjoyed an award winning Red String Wayang shadow puppet show Tuesday afternoon at the Century Branch Library
The event was part of the West Florida Library’s summer reading program. During the next Century Branch Library summer reading program July 12 at noon, children of all ages can enjoy another puppet show. Australian puppeteer Bob Parsons will perform a variety of shows using marionettes.
Other Area Summer Reading Programs
The summer reading program continues Thursday at the Flomaton Public Library. Programs will be held each Thursday through August 4 from 10-11 am.
The Molino Park Elementary School Library will be open Wednesday, July 13, from 9 a.m. until noon for students and their parents. There will be guest readers along with activities related to the stories that are read. Parents and students can check out books, and students can take Accelerated Reader tests. Parents are required to stay with their children during the event.
Unharmed: Authorities Locate Young Woman Missing From Century
July 5, 2011
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A young Century woman reported missing Tuesday morning in North Escambia was located unharmed and returned home to her family.
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office located Ashley Grace Nix, 19, about 12:30 p.m. at the Food Giant in Century.
Deputies searched throughout the morning for Nix after she was reported missing by her family. She was seen in the area of Whataburger on North Century Boulevard about 4:50 a.m. Tuesday with purple backpack and pulling a white clothes basket or hamper.
A passerby reported seeing a white female matching Nix’s description alongside Highway 29 at Cox Road at about 8:45 and a K-9 unit was called in to search. Deputies later determined that the female seen on Highway 29 at Cox Road was not Nix.
Deputies described Nix as suffering from mental handicap, prompting their full-fledged search due to concerns for her safety.
Pictured top: A missing Century woman was located unharmed early Tuesday afternoon at the Food Giant on North Century Boulevard. Pictured below: Based upon a tip, deputies searched for Nix along Highway 29 near Cox Road in McDavid. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
