Pelicans Get 11th Straight Victory
July 15, 2010
The Pelicans (9-0) offense remains on fire and John Alonso and Dane Devalk lead Pensacola to a win over the Fort Worth Cats (4-5) by a final score of 9-5. Pensacola has now won 11 straight games.
Pensacola jumped out in front early in the top of the first inning. John Alonso lined a sharp single to right center to score Carlos Leon from third base to give the Pels an early 1-0 lead.
In the bottom of the second inning, Jeremy Sauceda launched a hanging curveball from Dane Devalk well over the left field wall to give the Cats a 2-1 lead. The homerun was Sauceda’s first of the season.
The Pelicans battled back in the top of the third inning when they loaded the bases with one out. Adolfo Gonzalez drew a bases loaded walk to score John Alonso and tie the game up at 2. Marcos Rodriguez followed with an RBI groundout to second scoring Lou Palmisano and giving Pensacola the lead back at 3-2.
In the top of the fourth inning with Javier Brito on base, John Alonso continued his hot ways with his bat. Alonso belted a hanging slider deep into left center which hit high up on the scoreboard for a two run homerun giving the Pels a 5-2 advantage. The majestic homer was Alono’s sixth of the season.
With score 6-2 in the top of the seventh inning, Lou Palmisano lined a two out double just fair down the third base line scoring Francisco Leandro and John Alonso all the way from first base to extend the lead for the Pels to 8-2.
John Alonso led the Pelicans offense tonight going for 4 for 6 with 3 runs batted in.
Dane Devalk (5-4) gets the win as he goes 6 1/3 innings and gives up five runs-four earned off ten hits on the night.
Please join us for the final game of this three game series with the Fort Worth Cats tomorrow night. First pitch is at 7:05pm with the pregame show at 6:55pm live via sportsjuice on pensacolapelicans.com. You can also watch the game as well on our watch live link via ustream.tv.
‘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.
Severe Thunderstorm Warning
July 14, 2010
Severe Thunderstorm Warning
Statement as of 8:41 PM CDT on July 14, 2010
The National Weather Service in Mobile has issued a
* Severe Thunderstorm Warning for…
northwestern Escambia County in northwest Florida…
* until 915 PM CDT
* National Weather Service radar indicated a severe
thunderstorm capable of producing quarter size hail…and damaging
winds over 60 mph.
Frequent cloud to ground lightning is occurring with this storm. Move
indoors immediately! Lightning is one of natures number one killers.
Remember…if you can hear thunder…you are close enough to be
struck by lightning.
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.
Rickey Van Hughes
July 14, 2010
Rickey Van Hughes, 56, of Atmore died Tuesday, July 13, 2010, in Atmore.
Hughes was a manager with Swift Supply, born on July 31, 1953, in Monroe County to Charles Edward and Juanita Evelyn Stacey Hughes.
Hughes was a member and a deacon at First Assembly of Atmore. He enjoyed participating in many mission trips with First Assembly’s Mission Team.
Survivors include, his wife, Anita D. Hughes; his mother, Juanita English; three sons, Rickey Van Hughes Jr. (Caroline), William Marcus Hughes (Angel) and Christopher Allen Hughes (Ashley), all of Atmore; seven grandchildren, Hannah, Cole, Jacob, Mary Catherine, Caden, Taegan and Lilly Kate; two brothers, Ronnie Hughes and Mark Hughes and three sisters, Gloria Smith, Kathy Darby and Ladonna Cawthorne.
Services will be held at 11 a.m. on Thursday, July 15, 2010 from First Assembly of Atmore with the Rev. Don Davis officiating. Interment will follow in Oak Hill Cemetery.
Active pallbearers include, Danny Guy, Wayne Harris, Rick Hetrick, Kelvin Diller, Johnny Harrell and Frankie Baggett. Honorary pallbearers include the Mission Team and Seven Johnson.
Family will receive friends from 5 p.m. until 8 p.m. this evening, July 14, 2010 at First Assembly of Atmore.
Johnson-Quimby Funeral Home, Inc. is in charge of all arrangements.
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.
Pensacola NAS Plans Free Concert: FFH, Big Daddy Weave
July 14, 2010
There will be a free Christian concert open to the public Friday afternoon on Pensacola Naval Air Station.
The “Stir It Up” Contemporary Christian Concert will feature Big Daddy Weave, FFH and Meridith Andrews. It will take place at 5:30 p.m. on Friday aboard Pensacola NAS on the PortsideLawn at Saufley Street and East Avenue. Gates will open at 4:30 p.m.
Groups arriving via buses are welcome. For driving instructions and bus parking, contact Liv Tande at (850) 452-8285or email liv.tande@navy.mil.
No ticket is required for the free concert. Food and beverages will be available. Chairs and blankets are welcome. For more information, click here.
The following artist biographies were provided by Morale, Welfare & Recreation at Pensacola NAS:
Big Daddy Weave entered the studio for the fifth time in their decade long career with a singular mission – to create a collection of songs that might somehow communicate the word placed on their hearts to the hearts of those who hear it. It might have been easier to simply try to recreate the success of their previous hit songs, such as “Every Time I Breathe” or “Audience of One.” Instead, the band set out to craft the most ambitious and varied album of their career by doing what they’ve been doing all along – refusing to compromise while stretching the artistic boundaries of what a Big Daddy Weave record is supposed to sound like.
FFH was originally formed by Jeromy Deibler and Brian Smith in 1991, soon settling into its final configuration when Michael Boggs and Jennifer Deibler, Jeromy’s new bride, joined the band. Working independently, FFH produced and released six albums, while maintaining a productive touring schedule. But when its radio single cracked the Top 20 at Christian Adult Contemporary radio, eventually moving on to become the highest charting single by an independent artist in CCM history, major labels started taking notice. Essential Records signed the band, and multiple No.1 radio hits, Dove Award nominations, and approximately 2 million career album sales followed, giving rise to the ‘overnight success’ myth.
Meredith Andrews has seen the impact music can have on people’s lives, but it’s not her agenda she wants to share. Her songs are laced with scripture because of her passion for sharing the word of God. “I never want to write songs just to write songs. I always want them to be about conveying the heart of God to people, whether they are people who walk with the Lord or people who don’t walk with the Lord,” she says. “I think the best way to do that is to do it through His word. I always want my songs to be infused with the word of God because if it’s my words, it’s null and void. What do I have to say to people that is going to change their lives? Nothing! But if it comes from the Lord, it’s that’s what’s going to change them.”