Suspect Dead After Pursuit Ends With Crash
June 5, 2009
An predawn chase by the Escambia County Sheriff’s Department ended with the death of a suspect early Friday morning.
The sheriff’s department says John Jeffery Reed, Jr., 22, of Pensacola was killed when the stolen vehicle he was driving hit a tree during a pursuit.
At about 4:42 this morning, Escambia deputies observed a vehicle southbound on Mobile Highway matching the description of a vehicle that was reported stolen on the same shift.
Reed turned into a gas station at Mobile Highway and New Warrington Road. The vehicle tag on the 2006 Chevrolet Colorado pickup was confirmed as stolen and a traffic stop was initiated, according Sgt. Ted Roy, spokesperson for the ECSO. The stolen vehicle immediately pulled out of the parking lot and down Webb Lane.
Reed than did a u-turn running over the stop sign at Webb Lane and Dogwood Drive and headed straight at the pursuing deputy causing that deputy to take evasive action by driving completely off the road, Roy said.
Another deputy then spotted the stolen vehicle on Border Street. Reed then lost control of the stolen vehicle and crashed into a tree at the intersection of Border Street and Bobe Street. Responding deputies arriving on scene knocked the back window out of the vehicle in order to get the passenger door open to render first aid due to the deputies observing the suspect to be unresponsive, Roy said.
Reed was transported to an area hospital where he died from his injuries. There were no other vehicles involved in the crash and no other injuries to any civilians or deputies. Investigators used fingerprints to identify Reed.
Atmore, Walnut Hill Mugging Suspect Arrested
June 5, 2009
The suspect accused of stopping and robbing women Monday in Atmore and Walnut Hill has been arrested, and he has confessed to both crimes.
The Atmore Police Department says Jeffrey Daniel Gentry, 29, of Atmore was arrested and charged with robbery in the third degree in connection with a mugging in Atmore Monday afternoon. The arrest was the result of a joint investigation by the Atmore Police Department and the Escambia County (Fla.) Sheriff’s Department.
On Monday afternoon, Atmore police received a complaint that an elderly female was robbed after being flagged down by another motorist on Pensacola Avenue. Shortly after this complaint, Escambia (Fla.) County authorities received a complaint of a similar incident on Highway 97 near Highway 99 in Walnut Hill. Noting the similarities, investigators from both agencies conducted a joint investigation.
Thursday, Atmore Police investigators received an anonymous tip that a vehicle matching the description of the one used in the robbery was parked at a residence on Madison Drive in Atmore. The vehicle was reportedly a dark green Isuzu Rodeo.
During the ensuing investigation of that tip, police developed enough probable cause to obtain a search warrant for a residence on Madison Drive. That search warrant was served Thursday and some evidence was collected from the residence. Investigators from both agencies also obtained enough information for Gentry’s arrest.
Gentry, who was at the residence at the time of the search warrant, was taken into custody and questioned by investigators from Alabama and Florida. Gentry confessed to committing both robberies and led police to the location of some of the property that he had discarded after the robberies, Atmore Police investigators said. Gentry was booked into the Escambia County (Ala.) Detention Center.
Authorities tell NorthEscambia.com that the Atmore victim was able to positively identify from a lineup.
Escambia County Florida investigators are in the process of obtaining warrants on the suspect in connection with the Walnut Hill incident.
For the original story about the muggings, click here.
Giving It All Up: Molino Family Selling Everything They Own, Becoming International Missionaries
June 5, 2009
A Molino family worked to sell all of their belongings this weekend, giving up their worldly possessions to head to the mission field in a remote area of Guatemala.
Max and Julie Kent along with children Megan, 11, and Justin, 6, will begin their two year mission 1,000 miles away in a remote mountain village in a few short weeks. The couple says the Lord called them to the mission field, and they soon realized that everything they had would have to go.
From their furniture, to their house, to their car, to their household furnishings — it was all for sale this weekend. They hope that by the time they leave Molino, they will only have what they can pack in a few bags for the trip to Guatemala and family mementos stored with a relative.
“I was more selfish and money-oriented,” Max Kent said of his life in 2002, the year Julie took her first mission trip of Brazil with a group from the First Baptist Church of Cottage Hill. “I grew up in church, and I knew that I should have my kids in church. I knew that church was the right thing to do.
“God really worked on my heart. I nearly lost my wife and my job. He would become first and foremost in my life on April 25, 2005, when I was saved,” he said. After that, Max said he realized that his worldly “stuff” was worthless.
“He progressively changed my heart,” he said. “You can’t take money and stuff with you when you die. He did not put us here to have stuff. He put us hear to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ to people and share the story of salvation.”
Once all of their possessions are sold, the Kent family will head to Richmond, Virginia, on July 27 to begin training in an International Mission Board/Southern Baptist Convention program. From language to culture, they will immerse themselves in what life in Guatemala will be like.
Then on October 22, they board a plane for Guatemala and a small village near Coban. It’s small farming community, where many of the houses can be best described, Max said, as shacks like a homeless person in the states might live in.
Julie, who was a fourth grade teacher at Molino Park Elementary, will assist another missionary in Guatemala with teaching math. Max will assist with other mission work — spreading the word about Jesus in the remote mountains.
For six-year old Justin, the family’s upcoming adventure really does not seem that big. “It’s just a few inches away on the map,” dad said his son says. “He’s excited to just go anywhere. It’s a childlike faith.”
Megan, 11, understands fully what the family is about to undertake. Megan has been on two international mission trips to Honduras and Ecuador.
Megan, mom and dad said, is looking forward to the trip just as they are.
“I am looking forward to the unknown and to see what He’s got in store for us,” Max said.
“I am looking forward to our children,” Julie said, “and seeing how the Lord is going to use them.”
Pictured above: Julie and Max Kent with their carport loaded with their personal possessions that were for sale this weekend as they prepare for their new careers as missionaries in Guatemala. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Deputies Looking For Murder Suspect
June 5, 2009
Escambia County deputies are asking for you help in locating a murder suspect.
A warrant has been issued for Michael Joe Green II, 35, in connection with a May 10 shooting at the Red Roof Inn in Pensacola. The victim was shot in the head outside of the motel.
Escambia investigators say Green may be in the Ensley area.
Anyone knowing the whereabouts of Green is asked to call the Escambia Sheriff’s Office at 436-9620 or Crime Stoppers at 433-STOP.
Barrineau Park Bridge May Be Closed Due To Crime Problems
June 5, 2009
The Barrineau Park Bridge between Alabama and Florida had turned into a major problem that has Alabama officials saying they might shut down their side of the bridge.
The problem includes lots of graffiti, drugs, alcohol and fights, mostly on the Alabama side of the remote rural bridge across the Perdido River from Escambia County, Florida, to Baldwin County, Alabama. Some of the fights, according to the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Department, are staged between rival groups of teens. Baldwin deputies have responded to at least two fights in the past week, one requiring medical attention by Escambia County EMS.
The Florida side of the bridge has small “No Parking” signs posted, and it is relatively quiet and unused. Much of the river access is currently blocked by logs removed from log jams in the river. The land is privately owned on the Florida side, and the property owner has standing orders with the sheriff’s department to arrest trespassers.
But the Alabama side of the bridge is a different world with easy access to the river. Plus, the land is public, making it open to anyone. This week, Alabama officials posted large “No Parking” signs, and they plan to post more “No Trespassing” signs to forbid river access.
When NorthEscambia.com visited the bridge late Thursday afternoon, the “No Parking” signs had no vehicles parked near them. Instead, two vehicles were parked on the bridge and a third was parked on the Alabama side of the roadway, a short distance down the dirt road away from the bridge and the no parking signs. Several teens were standing peacefully on the bridge, while a few more people were swimming and wading with their dogs.
Empty beer and alcohol bottles litter the Alabama side of the bridge, and graffiti covers the bridge. The Florida side of the bridge is almost litter-free.
It is the fights, underage drinking and drugs that have Baldwin authorities the most concerned. They say they will step up patrols on their side of the bridge. If that does not work, Alabama authorities are not ruling out shutting down Duck Place Road which runs about three miles from Alabama 112 to the bridge and the Florida line. The bridge is a half mile from Highway 99 and Jacks Branch Road in Florida.
Pictured top: New “No Parking” signs were posted this week on the Alabama side of the Barrineau Park Bridge over the Perdido River. Picture below: Graffiti covers the bridge. Pictured bottom: No parking signs are also posted on the Florida side of the bridge. Two vehicles were parked on the bridge Thursday afternoon. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Chipping In: $10 Can Make A Difference
June 5, 2009
The United Way of Escambia County announced the results of its Chip in $10 Challenge Thursday, with 535 donors contributing a total of $12,438.
The $12,438 raised in the local campaign will be added to a $150,000 start-up grant provided by the J.H. Baroco Foundation that inspired the challenge for a total community investment of more than $162,000 to help Escambia County families impacted by the recession.
The first $150,000 (the Baroco gift) has been allocated by a team of United Way volunteers. Nonprofit programs that have received funding include:
- The Salvation Army
- Catholic Charities
- United Ministries
- Children’s Home Society
- FavorHouse of Northwest Florida
- United Way’s First Call For Help
- United Way’s Financial Stability Coalition
Several United Way volunteers will meet in the next week to determine how to allocate the funds raised during the Challenge portion. Donations can still be made online at www.ChipIn10.com, by phone at 444-7145 or by mail to 1301 W. Government St., Pensacola, FL 32502.
The organizations that receive grants from Chip in $10 are using the funds to help families regain stability after a sudden financial crisis such as a loss of employment, reduction in hours, or home foreclosure. In addition to providing financial help, the Chip in $10 grants are aimed at helping these families develop strategies to plan for their future. All recipients must first attend a six-hour financial literacy workshop designed to promote basic money management and understanding of basic financial principles.
In addition to helping individuals and families, the Chip in $10 program has provided the catalyst for a community database for health and human service agencies, driven by United Way’s First Call For Help. The goal of the database is to reduce duplication of services and streamline the data collection process to enhance the capacities of all agencies that work to provide health and human services for people in need.
To learn more about Chip in $10 and United Way, visit www.ChipIn10.com or www.UnitedWayEscambia.org, or call 444-7120.
Bratt Elementary Awards Kindergarten, First Grade Students
June 5, 2009
Mrs. Wendt’s Kindergarten class
Outstanding Attendance: Maggie Amerson, Jaylon North, Andrianna Cooper; Most Improved: Arrington Odom, Travis Butler; Outstanding Citizenship: Hannah Hughes; Outstanding P.E. Student: Maggie Amerson; Outstanding Art Student: Esme’ Culleton; Outstanding Music Student: Jaylon North; Book-it Awards: Travis Butler, Jaylon North, Kenna Redmond, Michael Sanders
Mrs. Killam’s Kindergarten class
Citizenship Award: Shelby Godwin; Outstanding Progress Award: Hannah Brousseau, Cody Thomas; Outstanding Attendance Award: Haleigh Dean, Libby Pugh, Jonathan Windham; Art Award: Libby Pugh; Music Award: Taviana Parker; P.E. Award: Cody Thomas Book-it Awards: Haleigh Dean, Shelby Godwin, Taviana Parker, Libby Pugh, Cody Thomas, Jonathan Windham
All Kindergarten students received a participation award.
Mrs. Gilmore’s First Grade class
A Honor Roll Award: Cierra Stabler, Bailey Van Pelt, Wyatt Windham; A/B Honor Roll Award: Sheyenne Dillon, Jakob Gibson, Lauren Sapp, Cassidy White, Ben Wilson; Citizenship Award: Bailey Van Pelt, Brianna Hall (Ms. Cobb); Most Improved: Ansleigh Maholovich, Aaliyah Pope, Brianna Hall (Ms. Cobb); Accelerated Reading Award: Bailey Van Pelt, Jakob Gibson, Cassidy White, Gracen Brook, Ben Wilson; Art Award: Cierra Stabler; P.E. Award: Ben Wilson; Music Award: Bailey Van Pelt.
Mrs. Perritt’s First Grade class
A Honor Roll Award: Christopher Nordman, Teriana Redmond, Savanah Roley; A/B Honor Roll Award: Devon Rhinehart, Anna King, Jackson Edwards, Melissa Sunday, AJ Simmons, Kelley Bradley, Makenzie Moorer; Outstanding Citizenship: Melissa Sunday; Most Improved: Jackson Edwards, Makenzie Moorer
Gas Tax Not Likely To Pass Commission, But Public Hearing Scheduled Anyway
June 5, 2009
The Escambia County Commission will hold a public hearing a 3-cent gas tax increase for mass transit, but the chances of the tax passing look very slim.
The commission will hold the public hearing on June 18 on the 3-cent gas tax for Escambia County Area Transit (ECAT). After the public hearing, it will take a super majority — four of the five commissions must vote in favor of the gas tax for it to be approved.
All of the commissioners except for District 5’s Kevin White, had said earlier in the year that they would be in favor of the gas tax. Commissioner Wilson Robertson also spoke out against the gas tax at a Thursday morning agenda review commission meeting.
“I am not going to support it with the economy like it is,” Robertson said. “It’s not just families that I got calls from. It’s people who own businesses, like one with cement trucks that get three miles to the gallon. They buy thousands and thousands of gallons of fuel.”
White suggested that the commission not even hold the public hearing since the tax increase was not likely to pass.
“If you are not going to have the votes to pass it then why waste the money to advertise it and hold a hearing?” White asked Thursday morning.
Commissioners and Gene Valentino and Grover C. Robinson said they would like to have the public hearing, with Robinson saying that ECAT needs the funding. He said the tax burden would fall on those that use the roadways, rather than a tax on property owners. He said that small business needs mass transit in order to survive.
“I support it because I don’t believe it’s an additional tax and because it would shift the burden of paying for transit off of property owners,” Valentino said. “And between 50 to 60 percent of the 3 cents per gallon will be paid by non residents who are passing through.”
Commissioner Marie Young said she has found most people in her district to be in favor of the gas tax for ECAT, and she told White that he should be in favor of it as well.
“Just because your district doesn’t have any bus routes doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be concerned about this,” Young told White. ECAT does offer bus service in North Escambia, with two trips available daily from Century to Pensacola and Pensacola to Century.
The board will debate the gas tax at a June 11 committee workshop. It will then go to a public hearing at a regular commission meeting on June 18, followed by a vote later that night.
The Century Town Council heard complete details on the gas tax Monday night and took no action to support it. Read that story here.
North Escambia Driver Involved In I-10 Bridge Wreck; One Dead
June 5, 2009
A North Escambia driver was among those involved in one of two accidents on the Escambia Bay Bridge Thursday afternoon that left one person dead and several injured.
The Florida Highway Patrol said the fatality occurred in an accident on the westbound side of the I-10 bridge over Escambia Bay about 4:51 Thursday afternoon. Troopers say Jeffrey Earl Hollis, 39, of Williams Ditch Road, Cantonment, was looking a fiery crash on the eastbound bridge when his Ford F250 slammed into two vehicles that were stopped on the bridge as drivers observed the accident on the eastbound bridge.
Troopers say Hollis braked, but struck the rear of a Dodge driven by Christopher Lee Hinson, 20, of Pace, pushing the Dodge into a GMC Yukon driven by Hao Chi Nguyen, 36 of Pensacola.
A passenger in the vehicle struck by Hollis was killed in the collision. Troopers identified the victim as Kimberly Marie Gooden, 23, of Pace. Hinson, the driver of the car, was transported to Sacred Heart Hospital with serious injuries.
Hollis suffered minor injures in the accident and was not transported to the hospital. A passenger in Hollis’ vehicle, 26-year old Curtis W. Poole, of Cantonment, was not injured.
Troopers say charges are pending in the crash.
In the fiery crash on the eastbound side of the bridge, the FHP says a tractor trailer driven by Rickey Hughes, 37, of Bainbridge, GA, slammed into a Dodge truck driven by Terry Bartlett, 48, of Pensacola. Troopers say Bartlett and other drivers had slowed to near stop on the bridge due to traffic.
The Dodge truck was shoved about 300 feet by the semi, pushing it into four other vehicles along the way. The drivers of those vehicles were indentified as Johnny Dozier, 52, of Milton; Roberta Bailey, 40, of Milton; Ryan Novak, 31, of Milton and Michael Clay, 58, of San Marcos, TX. None of the four drivers were injured.
Bartlett, the driver of the first vehicle hit by the semi, was transported to Santa Rosa Medical Center with minor injuries.
Hughes, the driver of the semi, was charged with careless driving, according to the FHP. His truck, loaded with oyster shells, caught fire in the crash, sending up a plume of smoke that was visible for miles.
Pictured top and inset: A fiery crash on the I-10 bridge over Escambia Bay Thursday afternoon. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Marine, Cop Stop Bank Robber With HisToy Gun
June 4, 2009
A man that tried to rob a Nine Mile Road bank this morning with a toy gun never had a chance thanks to the quick thinking of a United States Marine Reservist and an off duty Pensacola Police Department officer.
The suspect, later identified as William Jerry Strickland Jr. 49, was in the parking lot of the Whitney Bank at 200 East Nine Mile Road wearing a black trenchcoat, plastic gloves and a blondish wig covering his face.
Marine Reservist Jansen Smith and off duty PPD officer Jamon Johnson observed the suspect as he was approaching the bank, according to Investigator Jeff Van Camp with the Escambia County Sheriff’s Department. Bank Branch Manager Christine Coulter secured the bank, and Strickland then fled the scene with the Marine and police officer in pursuit.
Strickland was apprehended about a block away, with a black toy gun in his trench coat pocket along with a note, Van Camp said.
Strickland was arrested for attempted robbery and transported to the Escambia County Jail where he was being held on $100,000 bond. He will face a judge on June 25.