Two Injured In Escambia Shooting, One Charged
June 1, 2011
A disturbance in the Brownsville community of Escambia County ended with two men shot.
At around 5:25 p.m. Tuesday, deputies responded to the intersection of Citrus and Anthony Streets for a reported shooting. When they arrived they found that Jeremiah Dewayne Olds, 22, of Pensacola had been shot in the back and leg. They also found Jessie James Johnson, 31, of Pensacola suffering from a gunshot wound to the thigh.
According to witnesses, the two were shot after a verbal altercation between 49-year-old Larry Anthony Sims, of Pensacola (pictured), his cousin and a neighbor of Sims.
Deputies were told that Sims and his cousin walked over to his neighbor’s residence in the 4000 block of Anthony Street, where Olds and Johnson were standing. Sims reportedly screamed out, “I’ll fight anybody here.” Sims cousin then pulled out a large handgun, described as a revolver, and began shooting.
Olds and Johnson were attempting to run away from the scene when they were shot. They were transported to Baptist Hospital by ambulance, where they were treated for non-life threatening wounds.
Deputies arrested Sims and charged him with accessory to aggravated assault and two counts of accessory to aggravated battery. He was booked into the Escambia County Jail and held on a $16,000 bond.
Investigators have not been able to identify Sims’ cousin and they are seeking the public’s help in doing so.
Sims’ cousin was described by witnesses as a black male, approximately 45 years of age, five-foot-six inches tall with short hair. He was last seen wearing a blue shirt and leaving the area in a brown or gold color truck driven by a white female. The female, who was also unidentified is thought to be his girlfriend.
Anyone with information about this case is asked to call the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office at (850) 436-9620 or Gulf Coast Crime Stoppers at (850) 433-STOP.
Man Accused Of Dumbbell Attack In Store Parking Lot
June 1, 2011
A Century man is accused of beating a man with a dumbbell weight in the parking lot of a local convenience store.
Sammy Maurice Myles, 25, of old Flomaton Road, was charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon after the incident Monday night at the Century Kwick stop at 8130 North Century Boulevard.
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 and 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.
Myles was booked into the Escambia County Jail Tuesday morning. He was released Tuesday morning on a $2,500 bond.
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office arrest report does not specify how many pounds the dumbbell weight was.
McDavid Man Arrested On Assault, Battery, Weapons Charges
June 1, 2011
A McDavid man is facing domestic violence and weapons charges after a domestic dispute.
After an alleged dispute with his sister over $20, Jason Edward Potter, 31, of Purdue Road, allegedly tackled her. He also allegedly used his elbow to break the glass out of gun cabinet, taking a .22 caliber revolver, load it and threaten to kill himself and say that the police would have to kill him.
The sister, age 29, was transported by ambulance to Atmore Community Hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
Potter was charged with domestic violence aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, two counts of battery domestic violence, felony possession of weapon by a convicted felon, and criminal mischief. He was booked into the Escambia County Jail without bond late Monday night.
Scott Signs Bath Salts Drug Ban
June 1, 2011
Gov. Rick Scott on Tuesday signed legislation banning the possession of “bath salts” that are used as a drug.
Law enforcement has said the substances have become dangerously common. The drugs are added to the list of Schedule I controlled substances and their possession is a third degree felony under the new law. The law makes permanent a temporary ban put in place earlier this year by Attorney General Pam Bondi.
“Since the temporary ban in January, which made the use and sale of a new synthetic drug known as ‘bath salts’ illegal, we have seen a decrease in the number of reported medical emergencies related to this drug,” Bondi said in a statement released Tuesday.
Animals Shelters Closed
June 1, 2011
All of Escambia County, Alabama, is now without the services of an animal shelter — the Humane Society of Escambia County’s agreement to operate shelters in Atmore and Brewton ended as of Tuesday.
The humane society lost over 60 percent of their funding when the Neal Trust of Brewton came to an end. Without the commitment of adequate funding from the governments they serve — Atmore, Brewton, East Brewton, Flomaton and Escambia County (Ala.) — Director Renee Jones announced in early May that the shelters would close by May 31.
Most of the animals in the two shelters were transferred to no-kills shelters in Virginia and Florida, as well a shelter in Baldwin County. Pilot Jack Rowell of Cantonment even helped to fly some of the animal to a humane society in Virginia from the Brewton Airport through the “Pilots n Paws” program.
Human society Director Renee Jones said that talks are continuing between the various municipalities in Escambia County, Alabama, about the possibility of operating just one shelter to cut costs.
Pictured above and below: Some of the animals housed recently at the Atmore Animal Shelter. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
NHS Holds Scalpball Tourney
June 1, 2011
Team Bradley and Quarantine were the winners in the recent Northview High School Spring 2011 Scalpball Tournament.
Team Bradley was tops among five teams in the adult bracket, while Quarantine took the teen bracket which consisted of eight teams.
“As always the day was filled with action packed volleyball from all levels of play,” said Betty Heaton, Northview’s volleyball coach. All proceeds from the event benefited Northview High’s volleyball program.
The next Scalpball tournament will be in October, and Heaton said now is the time to start forming teams and get ready.
Pictured top: Team Quarantine – Dabney Langhorn, Derek Lewis, Josh Scott and Colton Sims. Pictured below: Team Bradley — Josh Bilon, Tara Bradley, Michael Bradley, Dan McDonald and Mike Dalton. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Florida To Begin Testing Welfare Recipients For Drugs
June 1, 2011
Florida will begin testing welfare recipients for illicit drug use following action Tuesday by Gov. Rick Scott that will link the state’s temporary cash assistance program to tests critics say have already been ruled unconstitutional.
Following up on a campaign promise, Scott signed the measure during a Panama City visit that makes Florida the only state in the nation to test all applicants for Temporary Assistance to Needy Families before they can collect benefits, according a Washington-based public policy group that says other states have narrower testing requirements.
The new law (HB 353) requires recipients to pay for the tests and periodically be retested at their expense to continue receiving benefits. Recipients will be reimbursed if the tests, which cost anywhere from $10 to $70, depending on who is estimating, come back negative. Backers say the law will help ensure that taxpayer money goes for helping the family get back on its feet and not used to fuel a drug habit.
“While there are certainly legitimate needs for public assistance, it is unfair for Florida taxpayers to subsidize drug addiction,” Scott said in a statement. “This new law will encourage personal accountability and will help to prevent the misuse of tax dollars.”
Beginning July 1, recipients who test positive for drugs would be denied benefits for a year. A second failed test would result in a three-year ban. Recipients who complete a drug rehab program can re-apply in six months.
In two parent households, both adults would be tested. Benefits to children could be awarded to a third party recipient, who must also pass a drug screen. The law will not affect the federal food stamp program.
Critics including the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida and Florida Legal Services, which say they will decide in the coming weeks if they plan to file suit challenging the law, a version of which was struck down in 2003 by a federal court in Michigan.
During debate, opponents pointed to a pilot testing program in Florida that was shut down in 2001 after it showed no significant difference in drug use between welfare recipients and the population at large.
“The wasteful program created by this law subjects Floridians who are impacted by the economic downturn, as well as their families, to a humiliating search of their urine and body fluids without cause or even suspicion of drug abuse,” Howard Simon, executive director of ACLU Florida in a statement Tuesday.
Federal law allows states to screen for drug use under the TANF program, which provides a maximum of $300 a month in cash assistance to needy families. The program, which replaced traditional welfare in the mid 1990s, has a 48-month lifetime cap on benefits.
Other states have studied the issue and decided that testing all recipients was not cost effective, the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Legal and Social Policy wrote in a study released in January. Most states conduct drug assessments but do not require across the board urine or blood tests. Some require drug tests from recipients who have been convicted of felony drug crimes.
By Michael Peltier
The News Service of Florida
Florida Minimum Wage Increases – By 6 Cents
June 1, 2011
If you work for minimum wage in Florida, you received a raise Wednesday — but it won’t make any real difference in your paycheck.
Florida’s minimum wage increased from $7.25 per hour to $7.31. For a 40-hour week, that means a paycheck increase of $2.40 before taxes, or about $125 per year.
The minimum wage also increases for those that make tips like waitresses, from $4.23 to $4.29 per hour.
The increase is due to a 2004 constitutional amendment that set Florida’ minimum wage to increase with inflation. But it took a lawsuit on behalf of Florida’s lowest paid workers to get the increase.
Hurricane Season: Storm Surge Evacuation Zone Map Change
June 1, 2011
New hurricane evacuation zones in Escambia County reach inland all the way to the North Escambia area. And as the 2011 storm season begins, Escambia County Emergency Management is encouraging residents to check their property on the updated storm surge evacuation zone map.
The old evacuation zones stretched as far north as just north of Nine Mile Road along the Perdido and Escambia Rivers only for category 3 or greater storms. The new evacuation zones stretch as far north as North Barth Road along the Escambia River and Vantage Road on the Perdido River — locations that are prone to flooding.
“Property owners impacted by the new storm surge maps should consider the purchase of flood insurance. Please check with your insurance agent if you are now in an evacuation zone. Staying safe from surge flooding is easy if you follow evacuation orders and don’t wait until it is too late,” said John Dosh, Escambia’s emergency management chief.
The new plans will eliminate evacuation zone references based up the category of the storm. Rather than the category evacuation zones, the county will instead identify evacuation zones with an A, B, C, D, and E reference.
While the new evacuation zones stretch further inland into North Escambia based upon storm surge date, the overall number of people that would be ordered to evacuate will be reduced — most of the included land in the North Escambia area is along the Perdido or Escambia River and very sparsely populated.
To view the new evacuation zones, visit click here.
New Principal Named For Jay High School
June 1, 2011
The Santa Rosa County School Board has named a new principal for Jay High School.
Brad Marcilliat will transition into the principal’s job on July1. He has served as assistant principal at the grade 7-12 school since late 2009. Principal Dale Westmoreland is retiring after five years at Jay High School’s principal.