Cantonment Woman Charged With Public Assistance Fraud
October 12, 2023
A Cantonment woman has been charged with felony public assistance fraud.
Tammy Anne Wooton, 49, was charged with failure to disclose a change in circumstances or failure to disclose a material fact to the Department of Children and Families.
Wooton failed to report change in employment, reported an extra household resident and failed to report a household member’s employment, according to court documents.
Prosecutors said she received benefits totalling $17,214.22 to which she was not entitled.
She was released from jail on a $5,000 bond.
Northview High Announces Homecoming Court
October 12, 2023
Northview High School has named their 2023 homecoming court.
Court members are:
12th Grade
- Chloe Criswell
- Army Findley
- Janiyah Hooks
- Tydeasia McKenzie
- Chloe Morris
11th Grade
- Aliyah Fountain
- Lacey Sapp
- Amiyah Smith
10th Grade
- Aakira Davis
- Noel Pugh
9th Grade
- Mikayla McAnally
- Jaycee Miller
- MaKayla Plato
The homecoming queen will be named during a ceremony that begins at 6 p.m. Friday in Tommy Weaver Memorial Stadium on the Northview campus.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Flomaton Police Report Someone Is Passing Counterfeit Money
October 12, 2023
The Flomaton Police Department is warning that someone is passing or attempting to pass counterfeit money.
FPD said they received several reports. They are asking anyone that believes they are a victim to call FPD at (25) 296-5811 or their local law enforcement agency.
Further details, including a suspect description, were not provided.
Photo: Courtesy U.S. Secret Service, click to enlarge.
Woman Gets One Year For Hospital Death Of Her Special Needs Daughter
October 12, 2023
An Escambia County woman convicted of battery and child abuse for an incident that claimed her daughter’s life in 2021 has been sentenced to one year in jail.
Jessica Ann Caroline Bortle, 36, also received three years probation and will be required to attend parenting classes. Bortle was originally charged with negligent manslaughter and aggravated child abuse for the death of 14-year old Jasmine Singletary inside Sacred Heart Hospital.
In July, a jury returned a guilty verdict on lesser charges of battery and child abuse.
Pensacola Police said Singletary — described as a special needs patient with a neuromuscular disorder — was in her room at Sacred Heart with her grandmother and Bortle.
Jasmine unexpectedly lost consciousness and stopped breathing, police said. Hospital staff began life saving procedures, but those efforts were unsuccessful and Jasmine died.
The autopsy showed that Jasmine had suffered massive injuries to her ribs and her liver. Those injuries were not present when she was admitted to the hospital.
Pensacola Police investigators said they determined that the injuries were caused by Bortle. An arrest report states she told police that she “slammed the hospital table into Singletary’s abdomen and then leaned onto the table with her weight” after she became angry after Jasmine cussed at her over color crayons.
During her trial, Bortle maintained that it was all an accident.
FWC Law Enforcement Report: Pitcher Plants, Undersized Fish
October 12, 2023
The Florida FWC Division of Law Enforcement reported the following recent activity:
ESCAMBIA COUNTY
Officers Waters and Hahr responded to a complaint from the staff at Tarkiln Bayou State Park after a patron observed a subject picking protected pitcher plants. The patron advised the subject that picking the threatened plants was prohibited, but the subject responded she had permission and continued to pick them. The subject was found at her vehicle with the plants and issued a notice to appear for harvesting a threatened plant from public property without permission.
Officer Waters and Hahr were checking boats returning to the Navy Point boat ramp and located two boats in possession of undersized gray triggerfish. Both subjects responsible were charged with possession of undersized gray triggerfish. Later in the weekend, they located another boat with a four-person limit of gray triggerfish. All four of the fish were undersized, and the owner of the vessel was charged with possession of undersized gray triggerfish.
SANTA ROSA COUNTY
Officers Bower and Phillips were conducting resource inspections and located two subjects fishing from a local pier without valid saltwater fishing licenses. The officers conducted an inspection and located two flounder not in whole condition and additional undersized flounder. The flounder measured 10 inches in length. The legal size for flounder is 14 inches. A resource inspection was conducted on the second subject and two mangrove snapper filets were located at the bottom of the cooler, not in whole condition. Flounder and mangrove snapper are required to be landed in whole condition and possessing such fish not in whole condition in or on state waters or a public or private fishing pier is prohibited. Both subjects were cited appropriately for the violations.
This report represents some events the FWC handled during the time period; however, it does not include all actions taken by the Division of Law Enforcement. Information provided by FWC.
NorthEscambia.com photo.
Escambia Man Gets 30 Years For Child Porn
October 12, 2023
An Escambia County man has been sentenced to 30 years on state prison on child porn charges.
Brandon Lee Stafford pleaded to 15 counts of possession of certain images of child pornography, and he was designated a sexual offender by Circuit Judge Linda Nobles.
On February 24, 2022, the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant at the Stafford’s residence in the course of an economic crime investigation. During that investigation, it was determined that he was in possession of child sexual abuse material on his electronic devices, according to prosecutors. That investigation was then turned over to the Special Victim’s Unit at the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.
“This defendant had over 700 images of child pornography on his computer when it was seized by the Sheriff’s Department,” prosecuting attorney Carrie Gilmer said. “The child pornography found on the defendant’s devices was extremely disturbing and some of the worst that the investigator has come across in this type of case. This sentence will help protect the community and children in the future.”
Century Woman Charged With Stealing $3K In Money Orders
October 11, 2023
A Century woman is accused of printing and stealing money orders and taking scratch off lottery tickets from an Escambia County convenience store where she was employed.
Lekicia Ann Manuel, 36, was charged with grand theft. She was released from the Escambia County Jail on a $3,000 bond.
Manuel printed and stole seven Western Union money orders totalling $3,002.98 and also took $630 worth of Florida Lottery scratch off tickets, according to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office. She was working at a Cumberland Farms store on W Street, and her alleged crimes were caught on video during the early morning hours of August 16, according to an arrest report.
Management reported the incident after store reports showed the missing money orders.
Century Council Sets Off On Charter Review, Again. Last Time, They Reviewed The Wrong Version.
October 11, 2023
For the second time, the Century Town Council set off on a deep dive into a charter revision at a workshop meeting Tuesday night.
It was the second review from the beginning, because earlier this year the council accidentally reviewed the wrong version of the document, the town clerk said.
Council members Alicia Johnson and Dynette Lewis were the only members to attend in person. Shelisa Abraham joined the meeting remotely by phone as she was traveling. The town clerk said Henry Cunningham was absent due to a wedding in his immediate family, and she said Santa McMurray-Jackson had a “work emergency”. Interim mayor Luis Gomez, Jr., attended in-person.
The Century town charter is the document that establishes the town, outlines its powers and spells out how it should operate. The charter has not been updated in almost 40 years, and that often creates problems in the operation of the town.
Additional meetings will be scheduled, and any changes must be approved by voters on an upcoming ballot.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
2-Year Old Passes Away Due To Oct. 4 Crash In Escambia County
October 11, 2023
A 2-year old boy has passed away from serious injuries he received in an October 4 traffic crash in Escambia County, the Florida Highway Patrol said Tuesday.
Troopers said the crash happened when the 75-year old driver of a black Buick failed to yield the right of way and turned in front of another vehicle on Highway 98 near Fairfield Drive.
The 2-year old boy and an infant were ejected from the Buick and were not properly restrained, according to FHP.
The FHP is continuing their investigation.
File photo.
Two Men Shot Near Poarch As They Attempted To Rob Two Others, Sheriff Says
October 11, 2023
Two people were shot as they tried to rob two other people north of Atmore, according to Escambia County (AL) Sheriff Heath Jackson.
About 7 p.m. Sunday, the ECSO, Poarch Tribal Police and Atmore Police responded to a shots fired disturbance in the 7400 block of Jack Spring Road near the Poarch Creek Indian Reservation. They arrived to find two males suffering from gunshot wounds after they attempted to rob two other men, Jackson said.
“One of the victims was armed and after being threatened with a weapon, discharged his weapon at both suspects,” the sheriff said.
Both suspects were airlifted to a trauma center. An update on their conditions was not available.