Davisville Buglary Suspect Behind Bars On Unrelated Charge
July 15, 2010
The suspect in a Sunday afternoon burglary in Davisville that allegedly had a child in his car at the time of the crime is now behind bars on an unrelated charge.
However, the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office has decline to reveal the man’s identity until he is formally charged with Sunday’s burglary. That is expected to occur after a judge signs an arrest warrant against the man.
He is being held without bond on a probation violation charge.
For more information about Sunday’s burglary, click here for a story from earlier this week.
School Districts Question Validity Of FCAT Results
July 15, 2010
Several school districts in Florida are questioning the validity of recently released FCAT results.
The Florida Department of Education has secured yet another outside party to review the scores of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test after school districts complained that an independent auditor was a subcontractor of Pearson, the state contractor who administers and grades the FCAT.
Glitches in a Pearson program resulted in delays of the test results and when they were delivered, five districts still questioned their validity.
Education Commissioner Eric Smith said he was sure the results were accurate, but that a third party vendor, HumPRO would conduct another independent review of the test scores. The schools cried foul though when it was revealed that HumPro was a subcontractor for Pearson.
DOE spokesman Tom Butler said Wednesday that the department was aware of the connection. But that the department required Pearson, in its initial bid to administer the FCAT, to provide a subcontractor who would independently verify the results.
“They report their results directly to Florida DOE to ensure independence from contractor influence,” Butler said in an email. The department also has contracted with the National Center for the Improvement of Educational Assessment to provide another independent analysis of the results.
Escambia and Santa Rosa counties are not currently among the districts questioning this year’s FCAT results.
by The News Service Florida
Murzins Asks For Public Opinon On Oil Drilling
July 15, 2010
State Rep. David Murzin (R-Pensacola) wants to know how his constituents feel about a proposed constitutional amendment to ban offshore drilling in Florida recently endorsed by Gov. Charlies Crist.
“Do the citizens of Florida feel there is a need to turn this into a constitutional issue?” asked Rep Murzin. “Drilling is already illegal in Florida waters, and this oil spill is impacting us from several states away. I want to make sure I have input from the people of Florida before we proceed.”
Residents can take the survey on www.davemurzin.com. It reads, “Do you support Governor Crist’s proposal to amend the Florida Constitution to add a ban on the exploration for, drilling for, extraction of, and production of oil in Florida territorial seas?”
‘Officer-Involved’ Shooting Leaves North Escambia Man Dead
July 15, 2010
The driver killed in an officer-involved shooting Wednesday morning in Pensacola has been identified as Clifton Salter, brother of Santa Rosa County Commissioner Don Salter.
The Florida Highway Patrol has issued few details about the shooting that happened after traffic stop on Pine Forest Road. According to the FHP, a trooper initiated a traffic stop at 8:27 a.m. Wednesday on Pine Forest Road just north of Longleaf Drive, about a mile from the Pensacola Interstate Fairgrounds.
“During the course of the traffic stop a shooting occurred resulting in the death of the driver. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene,” a release from the FHP stated.
Family members said Salter, a Cottage Hill resident, was a retired BellSouth customer service supervisor and a Vietnam veteran. A Pensacola television station reported that Salter suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
The trooper involved in the shooting, who is assigned to the FHP’s Pensacola’s troop, has been placed on administrative leave under departmental policy.
It was not immediately clear if the driver was shot by the trooper of if it was a self-inflicted wound. Witnesses report hearing multiple shots. The trooper was not injured.
Southbound Pine Forest Road was closed for several hours as the investigation continues by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. All officer-involved shootings are investigated by FDLE.
Pictured above and below: Officials investigate an officer-involved shooting Wednesday morning on Pine Forest Road. NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Smith, click to enlarge.
No Injuries In Molino Crash
July 14, 2010
There were no injuries reported in a Wednesday morning traffic crash near Molino.
The accident was reported about 11:20 at Highway 29 and Barrineau Park Road. There was no road blockage, and all patients involved in the crash refused transport to the hospital.
The accident is under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol. The Molino Station of Escambia Fire Rescue and Escambia County EMS also responded to the crash.
Bank Robbery Suspect Ruled Incompetent, Could Still Face Trial
July 14, 2010
A federal judge has ruled that an Atmore bank robbery suspect that burned part of his getaway vehicle in North Escambia and tried to kill a Florida police officer is not competent to stand trial — at least for now.
Chad Floyd Jeter, now 31, was indicted on charges of bank robbery with a weapon and use of a firearm in furtherance of a crime in violence in connection with the May 19, 2009, armed robbery of the First National Bank & Trust in downtown Atmore.
The “defendant is presently suffering from a mental disease or defect rendering him mentally incompetent to the extent that he is unable to understand the nature and consequences of the proceedings against him or to assist properly in his defense,” U.S. District Judge William H. Steele wrote in his order.
Steele ordered Jeter to remain hospitalized in federal custody for up to four months to determine if he might be able to stand trial in foreseeable future.
Jeter allegedly robbed the Atmore bank using a .22 caliber rifle, taking about $6,289. If Jeter were to be convicted on the federal charges, he could face penalties up to life in prison and fines of a half million dollars.
Authorities in Levy County, Florida, dropped an attempted murder of police officer charge against Jeter after a psychological evaluation there found him to be incompetent to stand trail. Jeter was captured in Levy County after a manhunt that followed his escape from a police officer that he struck with a “ninja throwing star”.
Jeter reportedly drove up to the downtown Atmore bank in a white pickup with a camper shell, entered the bank dressed in a dark colored trench coat and the rifle. He ordered bank employees to fill a U.S. Army backpack with cash, while he stood with the rifle pointed at the floor. He reportedly threatened a teller with the rifle during the crime.
Within a few hours of the robbery, investigators identified Jeter as their suspect. Officials searched his trailer on Highway 31 near Canoe. Inside, they found troubling evidence that Jeter might be planning to attack a military base. He said in letters and notes that he was being watched by helicopters that circle his home. Police found maps with the locations of several military bases circled, including Pensacola NAS, Eglin Air Force Base, Whiting Field and Alabama’s Ft. Rucker. The notes indicated that he planned to kill military personnel and police. Military bases were alerted to the possible threat.
Jeter’s burned out camper shell was found in the woods after the McDavid Station of Escambia Fire Rescue responded to a brush fire on a secluded section of Pine Barren Road near Breastworks Road early on the morning after the robbery.
While on routine patrol at 4:15 Eastern time the Thursday morning following the Tuesday robbery, an Inglis (Fla.) Police Department officer, Tim Swigget, located a blue GMC pickup trucked parked backed into a wooded area near a Yankeetown, Florida, neighborhood. Inside the vehicle that is nearly 400 miles from Atmore, he found Jeter sleeping. After the officer determines that Jeter is wanted for the bank robbery, Jeter attacked the officer with a Ninja star.
A manhunt involving several agencies and the U.S. Coast Guard followed after Jeter fled the scene. Jeter was taken into custody in a swampy area and transported to the Levy County Jail.
Pictured top: Chad Floyd Jeter’s booking photo taken mid-January at the Baldwin County Corrections Center. Pictured middle inset: Jeter’s truck at the First National Bank & Trust in Atmore. Pictured lower inset: Surveillance video of the bank robbery in progress. Pictured bottom: Jeter after being taken into custody last year in Levy County, Florida. NorthEscambia.com files photos, click to enlarge.
Agerton Wins Escambia Runoff; Bentley Gets Republican Nod For Governor
July 14, 2010
Stephanie Agerton won the Democratic nomination for Escambia County (Ala.) School Board District 4 in Tuesday’s primary runoff elections. Agerton received 272 votes (58 percent) to Bo Brantley’s 198 votes (42 percent). She will face Republican Cindy Jackson in the November 2 general election.
In the runoff for the Republican nomination for governor, physician Robert Bentley was victorious Tuesday over Bradley Byrne. A self-described “outsider” that has promised to work without a salary until unemployment falls to normal in Alabama, Bentley was a little-known member of the legislature when he announced his gubernatorial candidacy last year.
In Escambia County, Bentley received 52 percent of the vote to Byrne’s 48 percent in the Republican runoff.
Deputies Seek Suspect In 10 Robberies
July 14, 2010
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office is looking for a suspect they believe may have been involved in as many as 10 armed robberies.
Payton Lionel Roberts Jr., 21, is wanted in connection with the June 19 robbery of the Nugget Oil Station at 8720 Pensacola Boulevard and as many as nine other robberies, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Roberts is believed to be working with Thomas Kellon Sledge and Cheraina Campbell, suspects arrested recently for armed robbery, according to Sgt. Ted Roy, spokesperson for the Sheriff’s Office. Roy said Sledge is the half-brother of Campbell, and Roberts in the “God brother” of Campbell, he said.
Roberts is described as being 5-foot, 2-inches tall, and weighing 135 pounds. He may be armed and should be considered dangerous, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Campbell, 19, was arrested June 29 and charged with armed robbery with a firearm and public order crimes for wearing a mask or hood during the commission of a felony in connection with a robbery that occurred June 28 at the TQ Mini Mart. She remains in the Escambia County Jail without bond.
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office said that while investing the June 29 robbery, they developed information that led them to issue warrants for Sledge.
Sledge, 20, is accused of robbing the TQ Mini Mart on Olive Road on May 28. He remains in the Escambia County Jail on a quarter million dollars bond.
Roy said Campbell may be the suspect in several other robberies in the north end of the county, but declined to release further information due to their ongoing investigation
During the June 28 robbery, deputies said Campbell entered the store wearing a mask and pointing a handgun at the clerk and demanded money. Deputies said she removed her mask as she fled the store and turned to look back at the store allowing the clerk to see the her face.A K-9 unit tracked the Campbell to a nearby abandoned trailer. There was no one inside the trailer, but a photo of Campbell was found inside. The store clerk positively identified Campbell from the photo as the person who robbed the store at gunpoint.
Ag Boss: Time To Vaccinate Horses After Eastern Equine Encephalitis Surge
July 14, 2010
Florida Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Charles H. Bronson is urging horse owners to get their animals vaccinated following an upsurge in the number of Eastern Equine Encephalitis cases. Sentinel chickens that serve as an early warning of the existence of the disease are also being diagnosed with EEE in areas of the state that are not usually affected.
So far this year there have been 16 confirmed cases of EEE in horses. While that is not an unusually high number, seven of the cases were reported on Wednesday, June 23, from counties scattered throughout the state.
EEE is a viral disease that affects the central nervous system and is transmitted to horses by infected mosquitoes. Signs of the virus include fever, listlessness, stumbling, circling, coma and usually death. The disease is fatal in horses in 90 percent of the cases.
Bronson says the majority of cases of EEE and other mosquito-borne diseases can be prevented through proper vaccinations. Horse owners are urged to check with their veterinarian to make sure their animals have received current vaccinations and booster shots against EEE and West Nile Virus, and that these shots are kept up to date.
Molino’s Jarrett Parker Continues Kart Wins
July 14, 2010
Molino’s Jarrett Parker continues his winning ways in the world of kart racing, continuing to lead the points chase in both Alabama and Mississippi.
Parker won the Maxxis Mississippi State Dirt Series at the Jackson Motor Speedway in Jackson, Miss. Kart drivers from all over the Southeast competed for the first time ever on the quarter mile paperclip-shaped dirt track. In the Gold FH category, Parker qualified third and finished second, missing the win by just a fraction of a second.
In the Gold Animal Division, he qualified eighth and finished first. Parker fought back from a poor starting position. Going to the white flag, Parker made his move and passed the lead kart for the win.
During the Fourth of July weekend, Parker had poor qualifying positions but strong finishes. He said he was hard to find figure out the track and starting toward the back of the pack made it difficult for that much-wanted winning finish.
At the Georgia Karting Complex in Carnsville, Georgia, he qualified 11th and finished fourth in the Junior unrestricted division. In one race, he was involved in a serious crash, but managed to get the kart back together just in time.
Then at the Dawgwood Speedway in Chatsworth, Georgia, Parker moved a division to race in the senior pro classes in “The Summer Maxxis Melt Down”. He qualified poorly at 18 of 29, but finished with a respectable 8th place.
Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.