No New Leads In Molino Man’s Murder
July 28, 2010
The murder of a Molino man in early May remains unsolved, and the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office has released few details about how the man died.
The body of Torey David Jones, 20, was found last May 4 in his vehicle while it was in the parking lot of the Food World in the 4000 block of Barrancas Avenue in Pensacola. Sheriff’s spokesperson Deputy Chris Welborn said the death appeared to be the result of foul play.
As of Tuesday, there were no new developments in the case, according to Sena Maddison, spokesperson for the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.
Anyone with information concerning this incident is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (850) 436-7867 or the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office at (850) 436-9620.
Image courtesy bing.com.
Florida Gets Second Chance For $700 Million ‘Race To The Top’ Education Funding
July 28, 2010
Florida is once again a finalist for the Race to the Top grant program administered by the U.S. Department of Education, after falling short earlier this year in its quest to bring more than $1 billion in federal education dollars to the state.
The U.S. Department of Education named Florida as one of 19 finalists in the competitive grant program that tasks schools with finding innovative ways to improve public education. Florida was considered a likely winner for the first round of competition, but finished fourth behind Delaware, Tennessee and Georgia after it failed to get local support from teacher unions and some school administrators who were uncomfortable with plans that linked teacher pay to student test scores.
The state is now competing for a slightly smaller pot of money – $700 million – for its schools. After losing out this past spring, a work group revamped the state’s application for the program in an effort to get the unions on board.
“Florida has worked diligently to bring together diverse support from superintendents, school board members, teachers and teacher associations for our Race to the Top application,” Gov. Charlie Crist said in a statement Tuesday. “I am confident our team will clearly communicate why Florida’s past and present success will ensure bold education reforms that are critical to Florida’s future.”
There’s no certainty that the state’s strong finish in round one is an indicator of a first or second place finish in this round of competition. Florida’s second round application has gotten some attention for side agreements where if unions object, districts might not impose changes to teacher pay and evaluations, something that some analysts said flew directly in the face of what Race to the Top was trying to accomplish.
U.S. Department of Education Secretary Arne Duncan has said that states should not sacrifice goals to get the unions on board, but has also said that Delaware and Tennessee received money in the first round because of widespread support for their agendas.
Patricia Levesque, executive director of the Foundation for Florida’s Future, called the announcement recognition of the state’s “commitment to bold reforms that are transforming education,” while Andy Ford, president of the Florida Education Association, the state’s largest teachers union, said the announcement was due to the “cooperation and collaboration” of the working group that revamped the state’s application for the award.
Crist, Ford, Education Commissioner Eric Smith, public schools Chancellor Dr. Frances Haithcock and Miami-Dade County Superintendent Alberto Carvalho will travel to Washington D.C. in August to present the state’s plan to the department.
10 Indicted On Federal Drug Charges
July 28, 2010
A federal indictment has been returned charging ten Escambia County residents with conspiring to obtain pseudoephedrine in order to manufacture methamphetamine, United States Attorney Pamela C. Marsh, Northern District of Florida, announced Tuesday afternoon.
The federal indictment alleges that Eric Baker, 45, Soonduk Cassels, 28, Joseph Dimonte, 40, Ginger Farias, 36, Guy Farias, 38, Patrick Frazier, 30, Kathy Grubbs, 44, Donald Harmon, 44, Kevin Harvell, 22 and Nicholas Smith, 31, were involved in a conspiracy to possess pseudoephedrine to use in manufacturing methamphetamine. Dimonte and Harmon are also charged with conspiring to manufacture the methamphetamine itself.
The charges stem from a long-term investigation involving hundreds of purchases of pseudoephedrine from area pharmacies, residential search warrants, and cooperating witnesses. In addition to the federal indictment, state drug charges were also filed today against other individuals alleged to have been involved in the organization
The defendants began to make their initial appearances Tuesday in federal court before United States Magistrate Judge Elizabeth M. Timothy. A trial date will be set in the near future. Each defendant faces up to 20 years’ imprisonment if convicted. Dimonte and Harmon, who face the separate charge of conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine, face up to life imprisonment, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.
This case was investigated by the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office and the Drug Enforcement Administration. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David L. Goldberg.
Photos: Century Care Center Babes And Beaus
July 28, 2010
Century Care Center recently held a “Babes and Beaus” photo shoot for their residents.
For a gallery of photos, click here.
Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Florida House Candidate Perritt Arrested On Drug Trafficking Charges
July 27, 2010
Florida House District 1 candidate Ricky Perritt was arrested on drug trafficking charges Monday night by the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office.
For an update on this story, click here.
Perritt, 43, is being held without bond on felony charges of withholding information from a practitioner to obtain a controlled substance, obtaining a prescription by fraud, and trafficking in hydrocodone.
On June 30, the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office received a complaint from a local physician’s office alleging that Perritt had fraudulently obtained hydrocodone through his wife, a former employee of the office, who called in several prescriptions for hydrocodone for herself and Perritt.
Florida Department of Law Enforcement agents allege that between December 2009 and July 2010, Perritt visited several physicians within the Santa Rosa county area for the purposes of obtaining hydrocodone. Agents say Perritt did not disclose to any of the physicians that he had already been prescribed hydrocodone by another physician. More than 1,200 hydrocodone pills were fraudulently obtained during this time period.
According to Perritt’s campaign website, he worked for the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office, achieving the rank of sergeant.
His arrest came after his wife Jennifer Perritt, 38, was arrested last week on the same charges. A statement issued after her arrest by Perritt’s campaign said Jennifer Perritt has suffered from a degenerative spinal condition for the past seven years, and that she became addicted to her prescribed pain medications.
In that statement, Ricky Perritt said he was “consulting with the appropriate professionals to evaluate the situation” with his wife, and he asked for prayers for her.
Perritt announced Friday that despite his wife’s arrest, he would continue his bid for the Florida House. “I am running to give the common citizens a voice in Tallahassee,” Perritt said on Friday. “We must remember that leadership is earned, not inherited.”
Perritt’s campaign had not released any statement concerning his arrest as of early Tuesday morning.
Jeniffer Perritt was released from jail last week on $31,000 bond.
Florida House District 1 includes the northern two-thirds of Escambia County, most of Santa Rosa County and a portion of Okaloosa County. The seat is being vacated by Greg Evers who is running for Florida Senate District 2.
Hawkins First Candidate To Qualify For Century Elections
July 27, 2010
Monday, Henry Hawkins became the first candidate to qualify for the upcoming Century elections.
Hawkins filed his qualification papers late Monday afternoon for the Century Town Council Seat 3 position he has held since 2006.
Council seats three, four and five are on the ballot in Century this year — the positions are currently held by Hawkins, Gary Riley and Sharon Scott. This is the official qualifying week for Century’s elections with qualifying papers due by noon Friday.
The primary election for Century’s council is scheduled for October 5. The charter states that the primary election should be 30 days prior to the November election, but that date falls on Sunday, October 10. As a result, the date was moved to October 5. Per Florida statute, registration books will close on September 7 because September 6th is Labor Day.
The general election/runoff is scheduled for November 9, the second Tuesday in November. Registration books will close on October 11.
There will be one change for candidates this year for Century’s council. The Council has approved an ordinance that will require candidates to file their campaign finance disclosure statements electronically on the Internet as is done in other races in the county — as opposed to filling out a paper form.
Pictured: Incumbent Henry Hawkins at a recent Century Town Council meeting. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
Video Allegedly Shows Candidate Stealing Opponent’s Signs
July 27, 2010
Accusations are flying between two local candidates over a video that shows one stealing his opponent’s campaign signs, and the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office is investigating.
Saturday night, Republic State Congressional District 1 candidate Greg Brown, Jr.and his wife Jennifer were videotaped as they removed campaign signs belonging to opponent Doug Broxson. The signs were removed from property near Milton belonging to Okaloosa County attorney Don Dewrell. (The complete video is at the bottom of this story.)
Brown does not deny removing his opponent’s signs, but he says he had permission from the property owner.
“The video in question was deliberately taken and distributed to appear as if I had participated in some type of juvenile campaign trick.” Brown said. “After witnessing me removing the signs, as I had permission to do, rather than call the property owner or myself, Doug Broxson’s campaign anonymously dropped off the video with press, email lists, and the Sheriff’s department to discredit me.”
The video was taken using a night-vision camera from behind a bush or tree about 8:45 Saturday night by Broxson’s son Jason Broxson. Brown and his wife are seen moving around several campaign signs, eventually removing several. Each time a car passes, the couple pauses.
The video has sound, with Brown and his wife caught speaking. The volume of the conversation is very low; however, text superimposed on the video suggest what is being said.
“Is that good?” the video alleges that Jennifer Brown said after removing signs.
“Wait…your fingerprints are still on the ones laying down,” the video claims Brown responded.
A statement released by Brown’s campaign Monday afternoon claims the signs were not stolen, and provides the following statement from Dewrell, the property owner: “Greg Brown called me several months ago for permission to place his sign on my property at State Road 87 and State Road 89 and I gave him exclusive permission to place his campaign signs there…Within that exclusive permission he had the authority to remove any of his opponents’ signs that appeared on my property. None of his opponents asked for permission.”
The Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office is reviewing the claims and the video to determine if any laws were broken.
“The worse part of it all is Doug Broxson is wasting the law enforcement’s time and using the media for political cheap shots instead of campaigning on real issues. Just this past weekend I hand delivered a letter to Mr. Broxson demanding that he stop a “push” poll by his campaign or his supporters that falsely claimed I had been arrested for drunk driving,” Brown said. “Doug Broxson will use whatever trick he can to win an election.”
Florida House District 1 includes the northern two-thirds of Escambia County, most of Santa Rosa County and a portion of Okaloosa County. The seat is being vacated by Greg Evers who is running for Florida Senate District 2.
In addition to Broxson and Brown, Republicans Ricky Perritt and Ferd Salomon and independent Mathias Venditto are seeking the House seat. Perritt was arrested Monday night; click here for that story.
Escambia Sheriff’s Office Investigates 13th Murder Of The Year
July 27, 2010
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Department is investigating the 13th murder of the year in the county.
A man was found dead at the Mayfair Motel on Mobile Highway about 11 a.m. The man’s identity has not been released.
The Sheriff’s Office has released few details, other than to say the death has been ruled a homicide.
Florida’s Citizens Insurance Rate Increase Approved
July 27, 2010
Hoping to gain ground on what critics say are actuarially unsound rates, the board of governors of the state-created property insurance pool on Monday approved rate increase requests of up to 10.2 percent for homeowners while proposing to drop rates for thousands of others in less vulnerable parts of the state.
Meeting via phone, the Citizens Property Insurance Corp. board voted unanimously to seek new rates for most of their nearly 1.2 million policyholders who get their insurance from what is now the largest property insurer in the state.
Among other large groups, the board approved rate increase requests of 7.4 percent for mobile homeowners and 2.2 percent for condominium owners. Renters would get a break, with average rates dropping 2.2 percent.
All rates must still be approved by the Office of Insurance Regulation and would begin going into effect for policies renewed early next year.
“Right now this is only a request,” said Citizens spokeswoman Christine Ashburn.
Homeowners would see a maximum increase of 10.2 percent, thanks in large part to a 10-percent cap placed on rate hikes by lawmakers in 2008. If unregulated, Citizens estimates that rates would have to rise nearly 56 percent to make the rates commensurate with the risk.
Commercial property owners will see rates going up an average of 11.6 percent, which includes a 1.6 percent increase to help build up the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund. Lawmakers are trying to shore up the fund, which is used to offset losses after private companies pay out in the event of a storm.
Some policyholders in Lee County will see rates drop by 10 percent, while others in the county will see rates climb by 10.7 percent, the highest rate allowable.
Citizens now insures most coastal residents by providing wind and multi-peril insurance to homeowners, businesses and other commercial property owners. Lawmakers have spent the past several sessions trying to bolster the private insurance market by making Citizens rates more in line with what private companies would charge to cover coastal risk.
Bratt Man Celebrates 100th Birthday
July 27, 2010
John B. Gilman of Bratt celebrated his 100th birthday Saturday, surrounded by family and friends at the First Baptist Church of Bratt.
Gilman said his secret of a long life was “always getting along well with others”. He still lives at home, and family members said he is doing quite well, has a remarkable memory and enjoys spending time with his family.
Gilman has nine children, 19 grandchildren, 35 great-grandchildren and 10 great-great-grandchildren.