Competency Hearing Set For Molino Pharmacy ‘Underwear Bandit’ Suspect
September 7, 2011
A competency hearing has been set for a Molino man accused of robbing a local pharmacy last year while wearing underwear on his head. Joseph Daniel Flowers, now 57, will appear in court October 27 to learn if he is mentally competent to stand trial.
Flowers is facing multiple charges for the September 20, 2010, robbery of Scott’s Pharmacy, including robbery with a firearm, possession of a firearm in a pharmacy, aggravated battery and wearing a mask while committing a felony. Multiple drug possession charges were later filed against Flowers in connection with the case.
Flowers allegedly robbed the pharmacy while wearing a bathrobe, slippers, yellow kitchen gloves and underwear on his head. He has remained in the Escambia County Jail after a November 2010 arrest for failing to appear in court.
For a photo gallery from the robbery scene and Flower’s home, click here.
The getaway car driver in the robbery, 24-year old Krystal Lynn Collins, was found guilty of armed robbery with a firearm and a half dozen felony drug charges. She was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
Pictured top: Joseph Daniel Flowers is detained by an Escambia County Sheriff’s Office deputy last year. Pictured inset: Deputies investigate the September 20, 2010, robbery of Scott’s Pharmacy in Molino. NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.
Commissioner Jumps To GOP
September 7, 2011
An Escambia County (Ala.) commissioner has announced that he’s abandoning the Democratic party and joining the Republicans. The move made District 4 Commissioner Brandon Smith the only Republican on the five-member commission.
“My decision to switch to the Republican Party came about through the support of my family and my constituents, and through a lot of prayer,” Smith said. “I have been extremely concerned with the direction our country has taken in the last few years. As a Christian, family man and business owner, I feel that my decision is morally right and I look forward to being on the Republican ticket in the 2012 elections.”
“I applaud Commissioner Smith’s decision to join the Republican Party. His action today is just another sign that the liberal agenda being pursued by the Democratic Party is out of touch with the conservative values of Escambia County voters,” said Jeff Peacock, chairman of the Escambia County (Ala.) Republican Party. “2012 is going to be a great year for the Republican Party here in Escambia County. As we build upon our successes in 2010, we are very excited to welcome a public servant of Brandon Smith’s character into our ranks.”
As the District 4 commissioner, Smith represents portions of Atmore and Canoe.
Three Charged In Fatal Football Team Bus Accident
September 7, 2011
Three men have been charged in connection with an early Saturday morning accident that killed a football team member and left dozens injured hours after they left a high school game in Flomaton.
Wayland Cartez Moore, 21, of Mobile; Brandon Randolph Jackson, 21, and Terrick Lashaun McDonald, 18, both of Jackson, Ala., are charged with first-degree hindering prosecution in Clarke County, Ala.
Alabama troopers said team manager Otties William Brewer III, 15, of Silias, Alabama, died when the car and Southern Choctaw High School team bus collided just after midnight in Coffeeville, Ala. The bus came to rest on its roof, injuring 34 others.
The three men facing charges, all of which were in the 1999 Nissan Maxima that collided with the bus, all fled the scene on foot. A Choctaw County deputy escorting the team took McDonald into custody. Tracking dogs from Atmore’s Holman Correctional Facility were called in to hunt for the other two men. They were taken into custody at a night club about two miles away, according to the Mobile Press Register.
A fourth person in the car, whose name has not yet been released, was airlifted to a Montgomery hospital. Authorities have not yet determined which man was driving the car.
The accident happened just after 12:07 in Coffeeville, about 20 miles from Southern Choctaw High in Gilbertown, Ala. The driver of the Maxima ran a stop sign at the intersection of U.S. Hwy. 84 and Alabama Hwy. 69 hitting the bus. The bus was being escorted by an Alabama State Trooper and a Choctaw County Sheriff’s deputy at the time of the crash, according to troopers.
Further details about the crash have not been released by Alabama State Troopers and the Alabama Bureau of investigation. There has been no determination if alcohol or drugs played any part in the crash.
Authorities have obtained a video of the accident from a nearby gas station, but that video has not been made public.
The Clarke County Sheriff said more charges could be forthcoming against the men.
The Southern Choctaw High School team had played Flomaton Friday night at Flomaton’s Hurricane Field before heading back to the small community of Gilbertown, about 115 miles away.
Pictured top: One Southern Choctaw High football team member was killed and 34 other people were injured during this crash at 12:07 a.m. Saturday in Coffeeville, Alabama. Photos courtesy WALA-TV Fox 10 for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge. Pictured bottom of page: The Southern Choctaw High School football team. Courtesy photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Edna Earl Allen Bell
September 7, 2011
Mrs. Edna Earl Allen Bell, 79, passed away on Sunday, September 4, 2011 in Flomaton.
Mrs. Bell was a native of Milligan, FL, a resident of Flomaton for the past 59 years and was a loving wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. She loved homemaking, was an avid fisherman and attended the Pleasant Home Holiness Church.
She was preceded in death by a granddaughter, Cecilia Fuqua, her parents, Henry and Louise Allen and two brothers, Lamont Allen and Jimmy Allen.
She is survived by her husband of 59 years, William Kilby Bell of Flomaton; two sons, James Randolph and Kristy Bell of Pollard, and Brian Keith and Sandy Bell of Jay; two daughters, Cynthia “Cindy” Bell and Robert Martin of Range, AL, and Polly Ann Fuqua of Kirksville, MO; six grandchildren, Jennifer Merchant, Josh Martin, John Fuqua, Jeremy Martin, Matthew Bell and Risa Bolivar; seven great-grandchildren; four brothers, John Allen of Bonifay, Bobby Allen of Bonifay, Billy and Phyllis Allen of Palaska, TN, and Larry Allen of Pensacola; and four sisters, Hazel Gibbs of Pensacola, Barbara Raughton of Pensacola, Linda and Jimmy Baker of Pensacola, and Sherry and Tony Kutch of NC.
Funeral services will be held Friday, September 9, 2011, at 2 p.m.. at the Petty-Eastside Chapel Funeral Home in Atmore with the Rev. G.W. Birdsong officiating.
Burial will follow at Rock Cemetery.
Visitation will be held Thursday, September 8, 2011, from 6-9 p.m. at the Petty-Eastside Chapel Funeral Home.
Man Busted After Labor Day Convenience Store Robbery
September 6, 2011
An Atmore man is charged with the Labor Day robbery of a local convenience store.
Atmore Police say Byron Gray, 33, entered the Fast Lane # 2 (formerly Mom & Pops) on South Main Street about 12:40 Monday afternoon armed with weapon. They say he reached over the counter and took an undisclosed amount of cash from the store clerk, who was not injured.
Gray fled the store north on Main Street in a Dodge Intrepid. He wrecked the vehicle in downtown Atmore at Main and Church streets, running up on a sidewalk and hitting a trash can. He fled on foot, but was captured after a short foot pursuit by police.
The cash and a knife were recovered on Gray’s person at the time of the arrest, Atmore Police said. He was booked into the Escambia County Detention Center in Brewton on a charge of first degree robbery.
Cantonment Woman Charged After Hitting School Bus
September 6, 2011
A Cantonment woman was charged with careless driving after rear-ending a loaded school bus this morning.
Cheaki Larkins, 22, was following a Pensacola Christian Academy bus on Chemstrand Road when the bus driven by 46-year old Laurie Vincent of Cantonment stopped to pick up a passenger at Crooked Oak Drive. Larkins failed to stop for the bus and collided with it, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
Vincent and the 29 passengers on the bus were not injured, and the bus sustained on minor damage. Larkins and her passenger, 6-year old Robert Brooks were also uninjured.
Larkins was charged with careless driving and no proof of insurance, according to the FHP.
Powered Restored To All Gulf Power Customers
September 6, 2011
According to Gulf Power, power was restored to all customers as of 5 p.m. Tuesday.
About 1,100 Gulf Power customers were still without power at of 7:00 Tuesday morning, mostly in North Escambia.
Gulf Power Company crews worked through the night to restore power to more than 20,000 customers across Northwest Florida after heavy winds from Tropical Storm Lee battered the area all day long.
The utility responded to most of the outages with its own crews over the weekend, but crews from Mississippi Power as well as contractors from Chipley are also helped.
Lights Out For Lee; Little Damage Reported
September 6, 2011
Tropical Storm Lee wasn’t much more than a nuisance in North Escambia, while the southern part of the county did see damage.
Wind And Rain
Most of northern Escambia and Santa Rosa counties received about six inches of rain or less over the Labor Day weekend, causing very few problems. Strong wind gusts were reported Monday afternoon as the center of the remains of Lee moved closer to North Escambia. A wind gust of 48 mph was recorded in Walnut Hill at 12:09 p.m., while a wind gust of 57 mph was recorded in Jay at 12:16 Monday afternoon. The highest official wind gust on Dauphin Island, Alabama, was 55 mph at 7:13 Monday morning.
There were several tornado warnings issued for the area, but no actual twisters spotted.
Local Damage
The only damage reported in North Escambia or northern Santa Rosa County was minor — mostly downed trees, tree limbs and power lines. There were no reports received of structural damage.
Power Outages
Over 10,000 Gulf Power customers in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties lost power at some part of the day Monday as Lee moved through the area At 7 p.m. Monday, 7,000 in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties were still in the dark. By 6 a.m. Tuesday, that number was down to about 1,100 without power, mostly in North Escambia. Gulf Power said all customers were restored by 5 p.m. (Read more…)
Escambia River Electric Cooperative reported power was restored to all of their customers before 10 p.m. Monday.
Escambia County Fire Rescue responded to over a dozen calls of downed power lines, some arcing or sparking, during the day on Monday. There were no injuries reported as a result of the downed power lines.
An unknown number of Escambia River Electric Cooperative customers also lost power during the high winds.
Crews were expected to have the power restored to all customers by this morning.
Escambia And Santa Rosa Damage
On Innerarity Point, an apparent tornado destroyed one home and about a half dozen others were damaged in the early morning hours Sunday. Numerous trees were downed, and a sailboat was flipped upside down. Just minutes earlier, the same apparent tornado damaged about 20 homes in Lillian, Ala.
Two businesses received broken windows on Perdido Key Sunday morning, and a house was damaged by a possible tornado.
Trees and power lines were reported downed across Escambia and Santa Rosa counties. There was no other damage in Santa Rosa County reported to the National Weather Service.
For a photo gallery from Pensacola Beach on Saturday, click here.
Pictured top: Heavy surf Saturday at Pensacola Beach. Pictured inset: A large tree limb downed on Highway 97 in Davisville. NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.
Great Almost Fall Weather
September 6, 2011
We will have an early taste of almost-fall in North Escambia for the next couple of days. Here is your official forecast:
- Tonight: Partly cloudy, with a low around 53. North wind between 5 and 10 mph.
- Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 81. North wind between 5 and 10 mph.
- Wednesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 57. North wind around 5 mph.
- Thursday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 83. North wind around 5 mph.
- Thursday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 56. North wind around 5 mph.
- Friday: Sunny, with a high near 85. North wind around 5 mph.
- Friday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 61. North wind around 5 mph.
- Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 86. North wind around 5 mph.
- Saturday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 61.
- Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 87.
- Sunday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 63.
- Monday: Sunny, with a high near 89.
District Attorney’s Office Employee Charged With Theft, Forgery
September 6, 2011
A former employee of the Escambia County (Ala.) District Attorney’s Office has been charged with stealing from her employer.
Monica Lynn Watson was indicted on two counts of theft of property, three counts of forgery and one count of using her official position for personal gain.
Watson was accused of mishandling checks in the DA’s Worthless Check Unit for personal gain, then filing motions to dismiss with the court in connection with the bad check cases.
She was released from the Escambia County Detention Center in Brewton on a $100,000 bond.