Blood Drive This Afternoon In Walnut Hill
July 29, 2011
The Northwest Florida Blood Services Bloodmobile will be at the Walnut Hill Volunteer Fire Department on Highway 97 from 1:00 until 6:00 this afternoon.
State, Federal Raid At Jay Medical Clinic; 2 Doctors Surrender DEA Licenses
July 29, 2011
(Updated 9 a.m.) A Jay medical practice is the focus of a federal and state investigation involving several agencies, and two physicians have surrendered their license to prescribe narcotics.
The FBI, federal Drug Enforcement Agency, the Attorney General’s Office, the Florida Department of Health and Florida Department of Law Enforcement spent hours inside the Jay Medical Clinic Thursday as Florida Highway Patrol troopers stood guard outside the complex, which is located next to Jay Hospital. Federal and state agents could be seen inside the building, looking through patient files and other records.
Several items were removed from the doctors’ offices, including computer hard drives and many patient records from Dr. C. David Smith and his son Dr. J. S. Michael Smith. Both doctors were forced to surrender their DEA licenses to write prescriptions for narcotics.
The other two physicians in the practice, Dr. Marian B. Stewart and Dr. Jeffery S. Kelley still hold their DEA licenses and are able to issue all prescriptions, including narcotics.
There were no immediate arrests. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement would not comment on the raid on Thursday.
For more photos, including photos from inside the building, click here.
Patients streamed into the parking lot throughout the day Thursday, turned away by the FHP trooper at the door. Many seemed bewildered, unable to comprehend what was taking place inside their doctor’s office.
“I need to see Dr. Smith,” a patient that declined to give his name said. “I need my medicine. He was suppose to give me some samples. I can’t afford to go to the emergency room; I don’t have insurance.”
“This is surprising to me,” Joanne Harrison, a patient of Dr. David Smith, said. “I like doctor Smith; he’s a good doctor.”
“The FBI served Jay Hospital with two subpoenas for records of two independent physicians who are on the medical staff,” said Liz Adams, spokesperson for Baptist Hospital, which operates Jay Hospital, located next to the Jay Medical Center. She said Jay Hospital is not the target of the investigation, and the hospital continues to operate with business as usual.
She declined to name the two physicians listed on the subpoenas served on Baptist, other than to say they were independent doctors that are on the medical staff at Jay Hospital.
“We do not know a whole lot of what is going on. FBI agent Victoria Harker has informed me that the Pediatric department of Jay Medical is not involved,” Dr. Marion Stewart, a pediatrician located in the complex, said Thursday afternoon. Stewart said her office will be open as usualFriday and encouraged her patients to contact the office to reschedule appointments.
“Unfortunately, because they are still in the office, we cannot see patients today. We regret that we cannot contact the families that have appointments today. We will work overtime as needed tomorrow and next week to see these patients,” Stewart said Thursday.
The Jay Medical Clinic is operated by Dr. C. David Smith, a family practitioner. Others in the clinic include Smith’s son, Dr. J. S. Michael Smith, also a family practitioner; Dr. Marian B. Stewart, a pediatrician; Dr. Jeffery S. Kelley, an internist; and Twyla H. Cotton, a nurse practitioner.
They Jay Medical Complex also houses the Jay Vision Center and Jay Pharmacy. Both of those businesses remained open on Thursday.
For more photos, including photos from inside the building, click here.
Pictured top: Federal and state agents were conducting a search Thursday at the Jay Medical Center. Pictured top inset: A Florida Department of Law Enforcement officer questions a patient outside the complex. Pictured bottom inset: A patient is turned away from the closed clinic. Pictured below: Florida State Trooper Todd St. Clair turns away a Jay Medical Center patient Thursday morning. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Getaway Driver: Woman Gets 25 Years For Molino Pharmacy Robbery
July 29, 2011
The getaway driver in the September 2010 armed robbery of a Molino pharmacy has been sentenced to prison.
Krystal Lynn Collins, 24, was sentenced by Judge Terry Terrell to a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years state prison for the armed robbery of Scott’s Pharmacy. Collins was convicted in May 2011 by an Escambia County jury of robbery with a firearm, three counts of trafficking in illegal drugs, and three counts of possession of controlled substances.
Collins drove the getaway car for Joseph Daniel Flowers during the holdup. Flowers remains in the Escambia County Jail awaiting trail after the results of a competency evaluation is completed.
For a photo gallery from the robbery scene and one suspect’s home, click here.
About 1:15 the afternoon of September 20, 2010, the Escambia County Sheriff’s Department said Flowers robbed the pharmacy at Highway 29 and Molino Road at gunpoint while wearing boxer shorts on his head.
The bandit was described by witnesses as a white male in a navy blue bathrobe, blue jeans, black house slippers, yellow kitchen-type gloves, and with boxer shorts on his head. He entered the store and announced that he was robbing the business. Employees said he was armed with a revolver that was wrapped in a plastic bag and pointed at a store employee as he demanded prescription narcotics. Flowers threatened to kill witnesses if the police responded, the report states.
Flowers fled the store with a large quantity of narcotics worth several thousand dollars in two plastic bags, according to the ECSO report.
A witness saw Flowers get into a silver, mid-size vehicle parked behind the pharmacy after the robbery. He was unable to get the tag number from the car, but he did note two stickers, one red and one white, on the on the vehicle.
Scott’s Pharmacy personnel told deputies that they believed Flowers, a pharmacy customer, was the robbery suspect, based upon recognizing his voice and a unique gait due to a back injury. Deputies found a silver Honda Civic at Flowers’ residence in the 400 block of Molino Road that matched the description given by the witness.
Collins was present at the home on Molino Road, according to the Sheriff’s Office. She told deputies that she had driven Flowers to a Dollar General Store near the pharmacy prior to 11:00 that morning and she had not gone anywhere else. Surveillance video from the Dollar General placed Collins in the store between 1:06 and 1:08 p.m. — just prior to the pharmacy robbery.
She purchased a bottle of Coca-Cola and a Mountain Dew at the Dollar General, according to deputies. Flowers dropped the red cap from a bottle of Coca-Cola inside the pharmacy during the robbery, deputies said. A Coca-Cola bottle without a cap was discovered in the vehicle at Flowers’ residence.
Inside the home, deputies recovered a .38 caliber Smith and Wesson revolver matching the description of the one given by store employees, according to the report.
Pictured top: Krystal Lynn Collins’ mugshot from the Escambia County Jail. Pictured middle inset: Collins (then with blond hair) was briefly taken into custody after the robbery before being released. Pictured bottom inset: The getaway car with two stickers as noted by a witness. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Victim’s Mom Charged With Beating Sex Abuse Suspect With Extension Cord
July 29, 2011
The mother of a young child sex abuse victim has become the second person charged with allegedly beating the 17-year old suspect with an extension cord.
Juliette H. Dubose, 42, was arrested late Wednesday night for felony cruelty towards a child and later released on$1,000 bond.
She is accused of “whipping” Michael Alexander Dubose after learning that he allegedly had sexual relations with her 6-year son over a one year period at two different units at Century Woods Apartments.
After the beating, Juliette Dubose allegedly instructed the mother of Michael Dubose, Kassedra Dubose, to also beat him with the extension cord. Kassedra Dubose, 38, was previously arrested for felony cruelty towards a child and released from the Escambia County Jail on a $25,000 bond.
The 17-year old Michael Dubose suffered numerous cuts and bruises all over his body, according to an Escambia County Sheriff’s Office report. Michael Dubose is currently awaiting trial as an adult on two felony counts of sexual battery on victim under 12.
Here Comes The Sun
July 29, 2011
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
- Friday: Isolated showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 95. Calm wind becoming south between 5 and 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
- Friday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 73. South wind between 5 and 10 mph becoming calm.
- Saturday: Isolated showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny and hot, with a high near 97. Heat index values as high as 105. Calm wind becoming northwest around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
- Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 74. Southwest wind between 5 and 10 mph becoming calm.
- Sunday: Scattered showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 96. Calm wind becoming north around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%.
- Sunday Night: Isolated showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 74. South wind around 5 mph becoming west. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
- Monday: Scattered showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 95. Calm wind becoming west around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%.
- Monday Night: Scattered showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 76. West wind around 5 mph becoming calm. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
- Tuesday: Scattered showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 96. Chance of precipitation is 40%.
- Tuesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 77.
- Wednesday: Isolated showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 96. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
- Wednesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 76.
- Thursday: Scattered showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 96. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
Casey Anthony Judge Wants Law Protecting Juror Names
July 29, 2011
The judge in the Casey Anthony murder trial is urging the Legislature to pass a law protecting juror names from open records law in high-profile cases.
“The Legislature must examine whether an exemption barring release of jurors’ names, albeit limited to specific, rare cases, is needed in order to protect the safety and well-being of those citizens willing to serve,” Judge Belvin Perry with the Ninth Judicial Circuit Court wrote in an opinion released Wednesday responding to a request from the media for jurors names.
Perry said he is going to release juror names after October 25, but expressed his concern for the safety of the jurors, citing angry protesters and the fate of one juror who had to flee the state and retire early due to animosity from co-workers.
The jury voted to acquit Anthony, which led to considerable public outcry.
Perry isn’t the only one wanting the Legislature to respond to the Anthony case.
Many lawmakers have already filed bills related to the case, including one (HB 51) by Rep. Scott Randolph, D-Orlando, that would prevent jurors from profiting from a case for a certain amount of time afterward. Other proposed laws deal with making it a felony for a parent or guardian not to report a child missing or a child’s death promptly.
By The News Service of Florida
New Unemployment Rules Take Effect Next Week
July 29, 2011
Beginning August 1, several changes to Florida’s Unemployment Compensation program that became law last month will take effect. The states says the reforms will save money, reduce taxes on employers and help get Floridians back to work.
Changes taking effect August 1 include:
- Internet Filing and Certification of Weeks – Initial and continued claims must be filed over the Internet. The change will improve government efficiency and provide a projected $4.7 million savings annually in administrative costs. AWI’s unemployment compensation hotline will be available to answer questions about the filing process.
- Work Search – Claimants are required to contact at least five potential employers per week and provide this information over the Internet during their bi-weekly certification for benefits. A quick, efficient way to contact employers is by using the Employ Florida Marketplace at employflorida.com, the state’s online job matching system where you can search thousands of job postings and apply for jobs.
If a claimant is not able to make at least five employer contacts in a week, meeting with a representative at a local One-Stop Career Center for reemployment services will satisfy this requirement for that week. - Skills Review – In order to receive benefits, claimants filing new claims must complete an initial skills review over the Internet. The results of the review will be used by local One-Stop Career Centers to assist claimants with job searches.
- Severance Pay – If a claimant’s severance pay per week is equal to or greater than the claimant’s weekly benefit amount, the claimant is not entitled to benefits for that week. Severance pay does not impact the total amount of benefits that can be paid on the claim.
For more information, visit www.floridajobs.org.
Pamela Long Wiggins Guilty In Billings Murder Case
July 29, 2011
Pamela Long Wiggins was found guilty Thursday in connection with the 2009 murders of Byrd and Melanie Billings.
It took an Escambia County Jury about eight hours over two days to find Long-Wiggins guilty of accessory to murder after the fact and home invasion after the fact. She faces up to 45 years in prison when she is sentenced September 2. She was accused of helping to hide a safe that was taken from the Billings home in her backyard and taking guns to Mississippi that were used in the murders.
“I feel a sense of relief knowing that those involved in all aspects of the murder of my parents are now being held responsible,” Ashley Markham, the Billings’ daughter, said in a statement released following Thursday morning’s verdict.
Sen. Evers Town Hall Tonight
July 29, 2011
Senator Greg Evers will host the last of his district town hall tour meetings Friday night in Pensacola.
The meeting will take place from 6-8 p.m. at the Hadji Shrine Temple at 800 West Nine Mile Road.
The purpose of the town hall meetings is to provide the district with information on recent legislative changes, and discuss key issues facing Northwest Florida communities and the state going into the 2012 Legislative Session.
A similar meeting was held earlier this month in Jay.
Century Turns Out To Give Blood
July 29, 2011
Several Century area residents turned out at a town-sponsored blood drive Thursday afternoon.
“We always give,” said Paula Hammond as she arrived with friend Cheryl Stacey as the Northwest Florida Blood Services Bloodmobile opened for donors at the Century Town Hall.
Century Street Superintendent Larry Murphy was among those that turned out, donating in honor of his brother.
The blood drive netted 15 donors, according organizers, toward a critical need for blood in the area.
Pictured top: Kelvin “Batman” Hyman (left) and Cesar Gonzalez during a blood drive Thursday afternoon in Century. Pictured inset: Cheryl Stacey (left) and Paula Hammond were among the donors. Pictured below: Street Superintendent Larry Murphy donated in honor of his brother. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
