Bond Set At $250,000 For Day; Sheriff Says He Knows Where Body Is
October 10, 2009
Escambia County (Ala.) authorities say they know where to find the body of Woodrow “Token” Allen, the man Bruce Edward Day is accused of killing.
Day’s bond was set at $250,000 Friday by an Escambia County (Ala.) judge. He is charged with an open count of murder for the death of Allen, who was last seen in December of 2001.
Escambia County (Ala.) Sheriff Grover Smith has said that new information has given his department the location of Allen’s body, and an attempt to recover it will be made soon.
A murder warrant for Day’s arrest was issued Monday, accusing him of killing Allen, 25, of Nokomis in 2001. Allen was last seen alive just a short time before he was scheduled to testify against Day in an attempted murder case.
Day was arrested on an attempted murder charge for shooting three times into a vehicle on James Road in Nokomis on October 28, 2001. The vehicle was occupied at the time by Allen, 25, and his juvenile niece. Allen’s mother reported him missing on December 17, 2001, claiming that she has last seen her son on December 13, 2001.
When U.S. Marshals attempted to arrest Day Tuesday, he fled into the woods near the University of West Florida, prompting the first lockdown in the school’s history. He surrendered to Smith in Atmore Thursday night.
For more on Day and his arrest, click here.
Tough Homecoming Loss For Jay
October 10, 2009
The Jay Royals suffered a tough homecoming district loss Friday to Vernon, 20-13.
Vernon jumped out to an early 7-0 lead, but the Royals answered. Rush Hendricks gained yardage for the Royals inside the five, but Hendricks went down hard. The Royals’ star running back suffered a serious knee injury and might be out of the rest of the season. Steven James drove the pigskin in from inside the five to complete the scoring drive for the Royals, tying the game at 7-7.
Vernon regained the lead 13-7 until Steven Brabham picked up another TD for the Royals. A missed kick, and the game was tied 13-13 in Jay. In the fourth, Vernon added the game winning touchdown and a good point after for the final, 20-13.
The Royals are now 1-3, 0-3 in district play. It’s a road trip next week for Jay, as they travel to take on South Walton. The following week, the Royals will play host to the Northview Chiefs.
Tate Falls To Pine Forest
October 10, 2009
The Tate Aggies fell to the Pine Forest Eagles Friday night, 49-21.
The Eagles had the only points on the board in the first quarter with a touchdown and a good kick with 7:22 remaining in the quarter.
The Eagles and Aggies split the second quarter, with both adding seven. Joey Harmon added the touchdown for Tate with a 9-yard pass from senior quarterback Edwin Richburg. A good kick from senior Blake Cicheskie with 2:18 in the half, and the Aggies were down 14-7.
PFHS and THS had a total of six touchdowns in the third quarter — four for the Eagles and two for the Aggies. A Richburg to Harmon 4-yard pass and Jamarian Bonner returned a fumble 79 yards for Aggie TDs. By the end of the third, Pine Forest was ahead 42-21.
The Eagles added a 2-yard TD in the fourth for the final, Pine Forest 49, Tate 21.
The Aggies have next week off to regroup before an away district game against Milton.
Losses For Flomaton, ECHS; Escambia Academy Wins
October 10, 2009
Excel 39 Flomaton 6
It was a rough night for Flomaton Friday night in Monroe County as the Hurricanes lost to Excel 39-6.
The ‘Canes will be on the road again next week against Millry.
Gulf Shores 42 Escambia County 6
The road trip to Gulf Shores was not a good one Friday night for the Escambia County High School Blue Devils.
The Blue Devils were up against Gulf Shores QB Logal Paul who threw for 347 yards and five touchdown in just three quarters.
Escambia County will be at home against Citronelle next week.
Escambia Academy 30 Clarke Prep 24
It was a happy homecoming for the Escambia Academy Cougars Friday night in Canoe.
EA beat Clarke Prep by a half dozen, 30-24. Escambia Academy will play their final home game of the season next Friday night against Meadowview.
Annual Fall Festival Held At Bratt Elementary
October 10, 2009
Bratt Elementary School held its annual Fall Festival Friday afternoon at the school, with hundreds of students and area residents attending despite a wet and soggy start.
The festival featured a variety of games, a hulu hoop contest, and plenty of food. A mid-afternoon storm dampened the beginning of the festival, but bright and sunny skies prevailed by the end of the annual event.
For a photo gallery from the Bratt Elementary Fall Festival, click here.
Pictured top: The “Go Fishing” game was popular Friday afternoon at the Bratt Fall Festival. Pictured left inset: It was hard to resist some of the tasty goodies available at the annual event. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Ernest Ward’s Got Talent
October 10, 2009
Seventh grader Morgan Ward received top honors Friday night in Ernest Ward Middle School’s Got Talent program.
Fourteen acts, ranging from singing to comedy routines to human video, participated in the program.
Morgan performed a human video to the song “Mighty to Save”. This year’s EWMS talent show featured an opportunity for the audience to purchase votes; the top audience vote getter was Miranda Bailey who danced as Michael Jackson.
For a NorthEscambia.com photo gallery with all of the entertainers, click here.
Performers in the talent show were:
- Lorri Harrell, 6th grade, singing “In Better Hands”
- Danielle Steadham, Taylor Brook, Mason Solchenberger, 8th grade, The Ventrilaquist
- Morgan Ward, 7th grade, human video to “Mighty to Save”
- Reagan Bell, 7th grade, singing “All in All”
- Morgan Wiggins, 6th grade, twirl routine to “Route 66″
- Amy Murph, 7th grade, piano “Pachelbel’s Canon in D”
- D.J. Hadley, 8th grade, playing guitar “Smells Like Teen Spirit”
- Shalmali Bhadkamkar, 7th grade, singing “The Climb”
- Lauryn Walker and Rachel Presley, 8th grade, comedy routine “The Blondes”
- Miranda Bailey, 8th grade, dancing to “Billy Jean”
- Harmoni Till, 6th grade, singing “Fearless”
- Kaityln Abbot, 6th grade, twirl routine to “Footloose”
- Danielle Scott, 8th grade, singing “There Will Come A Day”
- Cory Hester, 8th grade, playing guitar “Evil Angel”
Pictured top: Morgan Ward’s dramatic human video to the song “Mighty to Save” took top honors at Ernest Ward Middle School’s Got Talent program Friday night. Pictured below: Amy Murph, seventh grade, performs “Pachelbel’s Canon in D”. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Small Electrical Fire Reported At Molino Home
October 9, 2009
A small electrical fire caused minor damage to a Molino home Friday afternoon.
A homeowner on Pilgrim Trail West reported a small fire at an electrical outlet on a garage attached to the two story home. The fire was out by the time the first units from the Molino Station of Escambia Fire Rescue arrived on the scene. Firefighters used a thermal imaging camera to make sure the fire was not burning in a wall of the home.
Pictured: Firefighters responded to a small electrical fire at this Molino home Friday afternoon. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Power Pole Fire Leaves Customers Without Power
October 9, 2009
A pole and transformer fire caused dozens of Escambia River Electric Cooperative customers to lose power Friday afternoon. The fire, reported about 2 p.m., was on a pole on Highway 164 between Highway 97 and Green Village Road. Once EREC arrived and determined there was no power at the pole, the Walnut Hill Station of Escambia Fire Rescue quickly extinguished the small fire at the top of the pole. EREC then went to work to repair the damage. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Murder Suspect Arrested In Atmore Without Incident
October 9, 2009
Murder suspect Bruce Edward Day surrendered peacefully to authorities in Atmore Thursday night, ending a two day manhunt across two states.
Day’s father, William Fore, called Escambia County (Ala.) Sheriff Grover Smith about 8:30 Thursday night and told the sheriff that he wanted to talk to him “now” at his Atmore residence, according to Chief Deputy Mike Lambert. When the sheriff arrived about 8:45 p.m., Day surrendered without incident.
“He was then cuffed and transported by Sheriff Smith to the Escambia County (Ala.) Detention Center in Brewton,” Lambert said. He was reportedly covered in scratches from running in the woods after fleeing U.S. Marshals Tuesday at the Gulf Power Crist Plant in Pensacola.
Day, 42, is being held in the Brewton jail on an open count of murder. He will have a bond hearing before Judge David Jordon as early as this morning.
A murder warrant for Day’s arrest was issued Monday, accusing him of killing Woodrow “Token” Allen, 25, of Nokomis in 2001. Allen was last seen alive in December 2001, just a short time before he was scheduled to testify against Day in an attempted murder case.
When U.S. Marshals tried to serve the warrant on him Tuesday at the Crist Plant, he took off, prompting a massive manhunt and a campus lockdown of the University of West Florida.
Day was arrested on attempted murder charge for shooting three times into a vehicle on James Road in Nokomis on October 28, 2001. The vehicle was occupied at the time by Allen, 25, and his juvenile niece. Allen’s mother reported him missing on December 17, 2001, claiming that she has last seen her son on December 13, 2001.
Lambert would not say exactly what evidence prompted the Escambia County district attorney to issue the murder warrant on Monday, other than the sheriff’s department presented the DA with “solid evidence”.
“We recently received information that supported that Day committed the murder,” Lambert said. “We presented it to the DA, who felt like it was sold enough to obtain the warrant.” Authorities have not located Allen’s body, Lambert said.
The entire 2001 incident took place in the area of James Road and a trailer park on Nathan Road — the location of another murder on September 24. Two suspects, Clarence Luker, 37, and Lorraine Gray, 50, were arrested within hours of the shooting death of Kenneth Porter, 32. Both are being held in the Escambia County (Ala.) Detention Center on open counts of murder in that case.
Day and at least one of the suspects were known to be acquainted with each other in 2001, but the recent murder and arrests in no way led to the warrants being issued Monday for Day, Lambert said. “It was just the luck of the draw,” he said, that arrests came within two weeks of each other the 2001 and 2009 murders in the same area.
Click here for the related story “Where was murder suspect Bruce Day for the past two days”.
Click here for more details on the 2001 case.
Where Was Murder Suspect Bruce Day For Two Days?
October 9, 2009
(EXCLUSIVE) NorthEscambia.com has learned murder suspect Bruce Day traveled an area spanning over 100 miles during the time period between when he ran from U.S. Marshals in Pensacola Tuesday afternoon and his arrest Thursday night in Atmore.
When U.S. Marshals tried to serve the warrant on him Monday at the Crist Plant, he took off, prompting a massive manhunt and a campus lockdown of the University of West Florida.
Since that time, Escambia County (Ala.) Chief Deputy Mike Lambert said authorities in Alabama and Florida have followed up on dozens of leads and tips from the public. Authorities know of two locations were Day was definitively at over the past two days, Lambert said.
He said security footage from the Tom Thumb at Scenic Highway and Nine Mile Road in Pensacola shows Day buying cigarettes at 5:15 Wednesday morning. He was wearing short pants and leather boots, and he was soaking wet, Lambert said.
“He told the clerk that he had ‘one hell of a night’ in the swamp,” Lambert said. The store is located about a mile and a half from the Crist Plant, almost directly across Nine Mile Road from the Campus Drive entrance to UWF. The area between the Crist Plant and the store is a marshy swamp along the Escambia River.
Day’s next known location was in Alabama, over 100 miles away from that Tom Thumb.
Sheriff’s deputies from Monroe, Conecuh and Butler counties converged on an area near were the three Alabama counties intersect late Thursday after Day was spotted in a pickup truck with another man. Escambia County (Ala.) deputies were en route to that location Thursday night when Day surrendered at his father’s house in Atmore to Escambia County (Ala.) Sheriff Grover Smith.
Authorities were unsure how Day got from Pensacola to Monroe County, Ala. — a distance of about 100 miles. They were also not immediately sure how he made it to Atmore from Monroe County.
Sheriff’s deputies and U.S. Marshals worked almost non-stop over the two days that Day was on the run, following up a large number of leads from the public, Lambert said.
One such lead called into Escambia County (Ala.) authorities was from someone that though they spotted Day in North Escambia. The person saw someone entering the woods on Rockaway Creek Road just south of the Alabama state line. When an Atmore Police officer found the man, he was fishing. “He looked a lot like Day,” Lambert said, “but it wasn’t him.”
“The very lead that didn’t follow up on would be the one were we missed him; so we checked them all,” Lambert said. “The public’s help can be very important in a case like this.”