Embattled Contractor Jesse LaCoste Wants To Pull Building Permits Again
January 12, 2023
An embattled local contractor asked a county board to allow him to once again pull building permits.
Jesse LaCoste and his brother-in-law Matthew Banks have been accused of taking money from people but never completing, or even starting, their jobs. Both have been arrested, and both counties have suspended their licenses while ordering large sums of restitution.
Both were scheduled to appear before the Escambia County Contractor Competency Board Wednesday, but only LaCoste was present.
He told the board he wants his privilege to pull building permits reinstated so that he can get back to work .
“I’ve been called a lot of things this year,” LaCoste said, adding that he has been a builder for 11 years as of this month. “I had nothing but beautiful relationships all along the Gulf Coast, and was touted as something pretty good to work with for a long time. And had nothing but positive interactions.”
“This year, I’ve had my entire life stripped from me,” an emotional LaCoste said. “I’ve continued to be the same person I am, while being called everything you can imagine, receiving death threats and all of those things.”
The Contractor Competency Board told him they would revisit the reinstatement request in the future after fines and restitution are paid.
Northview Softball’s Emma Gilmore Signs With Bishop State
January 12, 2023
Northview High School softball senior Emma Gilmore signed Wednesday to play for Bishop State Community College.
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NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Two New Flomaton Police Officers Sworn In
January 12, 2023
Two new Flomaton Police Department officers were sworn in Wednesday.
Officer Clay Smith will be assigned to the FPD traffic division and Investigator Ashley Wood will be assigned to the criminal investigation division. Wood currently holds a master’s degree in criminal justice and is currently seeking a doctorate degree.
The Flomaton Police Department is currently seeking non-sworn applicants to attend the police academy in May 2023. Applications can be submitted in person at the Flomaton Police Department on Ringold Street.
Pictured: Judge Jo Whitt swore in new Flomaton Police Department officers Ashley Wood and Clay Smith on Wednesday at the Escambia County Courthouse in Brewton. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Parole Denied For Two Nokomis Brothers In 1993 Murder
January 11, 2023
Wednesday morning, the Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Paroles denied parole for two Nokomis men behind bars for the 1993 murders of a woman and 12-year old girl.
Shannon Dean Barlow and Franklin Lee Barlow, Jr. are both serving life sentences with the possibility of parole for the murders of Kathy Victor Hall Barlow and Angel Marie Hall.
They will be eligible for parole again in five years.
A large number of North Escambia area residents wrote letters and emails opposing the brothers’ release following a NorthEscambia.com story last week.
On October 10, 1993, the Barlow brothers went out with Albert Ganoe “Rocky” Beasley, consuming alcohol and smoking marijuana. They then went to the home of Kathy Barlow in Perdido, Ala., shooting her in the head with a .410-gauge shotgun when she opened the door. According to testimony, he then went to the room of Angel Hall, 12, raped her and shot her in the face.
“They were shot, stabbed, raped, beaten, strangled, buried in the sand at the gravel lakes near our home, then urinated on,” said Marsha Maher, Kathy Barlow’s niece and a North Escambia resident. “They surely do not need to be paroled and pose a threat to myself, my family and to our community. So for the sake of our family’s sanity and security and also for our community.”
Shannon Barlow was sentenced to three consecutive life terms, and Franklin Barlow was sentenced to two life sentences. Both were now eligible for parole from prison in Alabama. Beasley remains behind bars, sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.
Beulah Man Charged With Child Porn Last Month Arrested On New Sex Offender Count
January 11, 2023
A Beulah man was arrested this week on a sex offender violation stemming from a child pornography investigation.
David Joe Gomez, age 44 of Patrick Lane, was charged this week with felony failure to register an email address or internet identifiers.
The charged was filed following Gomez’s arrest December 7 on of two counts of possession of child pornography. As NorthEscambia.com first reported last month, the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office received a tip that a child porn file depicting two female children about 6-8 years old exposing themselves in a lewd or lascivious manner had been uploaded to the cloud. When a search warrant was served at Gomez’s home, authorities found the image file on his cell phone, a report states.
As a registered sex offender, Gomez was required to register with the Florida Sex Offender Database and report any email or internet account that he uses.
Authorities later located Facebook, TikTok, Tumblr, Reddit, and Pinterest accounts being used by Gomez, according to the ECSO.
According to Florida Department of Law Enforcement records, Gomez was designated as a sex offender in a 2012 providing obscene material to a minor case in which adjudication was withheld.
Gomez remained in the Escambia County Jail with bond set at $120,000.
Century Man Charged With Stealing Semi Truck And Its $80,000 Cargo
January 11, 2023
A Century man is accused of stealing a semi truck and its cargo of $80,000 worth of rolled steel.
Cecil Devon Brown, 41, was charged with grand theft of a motor vehicle, first degree felony grand theft of cargo valued at $50,000 or more in interstate commerce, criminal mischief with property damage, and larceny.
The victim told investigators that she hired Brown to drive her 2007 Volvo semi and the rolled steel cargo from Mobile to Pensacola to Birmingham before making a return delivery to Milton. She said he did pick up the truck and cargo and drove it to Pensacola, but then she lost contact with Brown. She stated that she texted him and told him there was a tracking device on the truck, then the GPS device went offline.
Another of the victim’s drivers spotted the truck in Flomaton. The victim found the trailer and rolled steel parked next to the Dollar General at 9410 North Century Boulevard, but the truck was missing. While she was there, Brown pulled up in her Volvo semi truck and ran away, according to an arrest report.
Deputies located Brown nearby at his residence on Ivey Street.
According to the report, Brown was suspected in the theft of a Garmin truck GPS and $520 he received to purchase diesel fuel. The truck’s radio was also ripped from the dash, causing about $300 in damage.
The truck, trailer and $80,000 worth of rolled steel were released to the owner.
Brown remained in the Escambia County Jail with bond set at $37,000.
Northview, Tate, Escambia High Softball Fields To Get New Lighting
January 11, 2023
The Escambia County District is planning to upgrade the softball field lighting at Northview, Tate and Escambia high schools.
The school district is accepting sealed bids through January 26, and interested contractors are required to attend a pre-bid conference on January 17 at Tate High School.
The winning bid and total cost will be approved by the school board at a later date.
Pictured: Lights shine above the Northview High School softball field as the sun sets on March 10, 2022. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Get Free Reblended Paint From Escambia County On Thursdays
January 11, 2023
Escambia County offers free reblended paint in five gallon buckets.
The paint is available every Thursday from 8 a.m. until 3 p.m. at the Perdido Landfill. It is offered to the public for free in exchange for a new five gallon bucket with a lid (available at local hardware stores). Available colors may include beige, black, blue, brown, green, gray, orange, pink, purple, red, yellow and white.
Citizens can also dispose of up to 20 gallons of latex and oil-based paint at a time at the landfill at no charge. Latex paint is screened twice, reblended and put into new five-gallon buckets.
Call (850) 937-2160 for additional information and color availability.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Ransom Middle School’s Teacher Of The Year Is Chris Norris
January 11, 2023
Chris Norris was named the Ransom Middle School Teacher of the Year. He teaches science.
NorthEscambia.com spotlighting Teachers of the Year from the North Escambia area. The county’s overall teacher of the year will be named in late January.
Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Local Pearl Harbor Survivor Frank Emond Passes Away At 104
January 10, 2023
Pearl Harbor survivor Frank Emond of Cantonment has passed away at age 104.
Last May, Emond broke his own world record when he led the Pensacola Civic Band in the seventh annual Pensacola Memorial Day Concert at the Community Maritime Park amphitheater.
He held the Guinness World Record as “World’s Oldest Conductor” for leading the U.S. Air Force Band’s Airmen of Note in Glenn Miller’s iconic “In the Mood” at the American Veteran Center’s “America Valor: A Salute to our Heroes”. He set the previous record at age 103 last November in Washington, D.C.
“I’m so happy that I’m still able to do this. It was my life’s work conducting, so once or twice a year when I get a chance, it’s always good,” Emond said. “I’m real happy I still have the physical strength to do this.”
Originally from Rhode Island, Emond enlisted in the Navy in 1938 as a musician. He played the French horn for the ship’s band and even got to perform at the 1939 World’s Fair in New York before he was assigned to the USS Emond, CWO4 USN (RET.), spent his naval career as a musician and band director. He was on the stern of the USS Pennsylvania (BB-38) getting ready to play morning “Colors” on his French horn when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Emond then walked to the conductor’s stand, picked up the baton and proceeded to direct the band in “Stars and Stripes”.
After seven years of playing horn, he became a Navy bandleader, retiring in 1968.
He remained a music man; sometimes leading the music at Gonzalez Methodist and performing with the Pensacola Civic Band.