Names Released In Deadly Atmore Wreck
June 28, 2012
A wreck north of Atmore claimed the life of an Escambia County, Ala., woman Wednesday afternoon and injured two others.
Dottie Salter Boutwell, age 73 of Atmore, was killed in the wreck on on Bell Creek Road about a mile north of Poarch Road. She was the passenger in a 2005 Chevrolet Colorado that was struck by a 1995 Chevrolet Silverado driven by James E. Popejoy of Atmore.
Alabama State Troopers said Boutwell was a passenger in the Chevrolet Colorado, which was driven by James Maron Harrelson. Harrelson was transported to Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola, while Popejoy was transported to Bapitist Hospital.
Boutwell was not wearing a seat belt, according to troopers, in the dirt road accident.
Molino Man Accidentally Shoots Himself While Trying To Kill Snake
June 28, 2012
A 55-year old Molino man accintally shot himself in the leg while attempting to a kill rattlesnake Wednesday afternoon.
The shooting happened at the man’s home in the 3000 block of Crabbtree Church Road, about a mile west of the Don Sutton Ballpark.
The victim told Escambia County Sheriff’s deputies that he was outside when he saw a rattlesnake in his yard. He retrieved a .357 loaded with bird shot in an attempt to kill the snake, but he was unable to locate the rattler.
The victim said he decided to continue to look around his yard for the snake. A short time later, he turned to walk inside….and he saw the snake slither behind his leg. The victim said he then somehow tripped and landed with the snake underneath his right leg, trapping it. He told deputies he used his hands with the gun and tried to push the snake away.
During the struggle with the snake, he accidentally discharged the firearm, hitting himself in the back of the leg near the ankle.
He was driven by family members to West Florida Hospital for treatment.
Deputies reported finding spent shell casings, live rounds of ammunition and blood on the man’s patio, all consistent with his story.
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office incident report does not detail what happened to the rattlesnake.
Charges Dropped Against Two Men Accused Of Century Food Giant Robbery
June 28, 2012
All charges have been dropped against two men arrested in connection with a December robbery at the Food Giant grocery store in Century.
Danielle Kapric Burt, age 26 of Century, and Derrick Antonio Cohen, age 23 of Pensacola, were both arrested in March on charges of felony robbery, felony larceny and battery.
“There was insufficient evidence to prosecute the case,” Assistant State Attorney Greg Marcille said. “There was no way (from the evidence) to identify the individuals who committed the crime.”
On the morning of December 23, the manager of the Food Giant was getting into a vehicle with the daily bank deposit when he was struck from behind. The deposit, containing checks and an undisclosed amount of cash was snatched by a then unknown assailant who then ran behind the store, according to an Escambia County Sheriff’s Office arrest report. The store manager was not injured.
A manhunt with a Century Correctional Institute K-9 team followed, but no suspects were located.
Multiple witnesses were able to pin the robbery on Burt and place Cohen as the driver of a getaway car, which was parked a short distance away on Henry Street, according to an Escambia County Sheriff’s Office arrest report.
But Marcille said witnesses “were unable to identify the suspects in any way, not even by gender or race,” leading the the state dropping all charges against the men. He said checks taken during the robbery were located along a path used the fleeing suspect, but fingerprints on the checks did not provide a suspect identification.
Pictured top: Deputies check a house on Henry Street in Century for a robbery suspect the morning of December 23, 2011. Pictured left insert: A Century Correctional Intitute K-9 team works to track the suspect on Henry Street. Pictured below: The manager of the Food Giant in Century was robbed outside the store in December. NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.
Two Injured In Gonzalez Wreck
June 28, 2012
Two North Escambia residents were injured in a Wednesday afternoon wreck in Gonzalez.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, 41-year old Tabitha Ann Poston of Molino was stopped at a red light at Highway 29 at Old Chemstrand Road in her 2004 Dodge Ram when she was rear-ended by 2010 Ford Fusion driven by 76-year old Juliaette Wearren Hanks of Century.
Both women were transported to Pensacola hospital with minor injuries.
Hanks was cited with careless driving, according to the FHP.
Women Facing Felony Charges For Fraudulent Returns At Walmart
June 28, 2012
An alleged attempt to return shoplifted merchandise to a Walmart store landed a young Atmore woman behind bars.
Kwantrica Lashaun Finklea, age 19 of Carver Street in Atmore, and India Helena Marcelle Thomas, age 24 of Pensacola, were both charged with felony grand theft in connection.
The women were accused of entering a Walmart store on Mobile Highway, placing a $498 vacuum cleaner in a shopping cart and proceeding to the customer service counter in an attempt to receive a refund. They were also accused of attempting to return a coffeemaker and a knife set shoplifted at an earlier time.
Thomas admitted her role in the theft to an Escambia County Sheriff’s deputy, according to an arrest report. She told deputies she attempted the fraudulent returns so that her “child would not do without”. Deputies said Thomas’ child is actually staying with her father in St. Louis.
FWC Gives Final Approval To Black Bear Plan
June 28, 2012
A plan for long-term conservation of the Florida black bear was approved Wednesday by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission,
“The Florida bear population is thriving. That is the success story, but we still have a lot of education to do,” FWC Commission Chairman Kathy Barco said. “Everyone loves bears, but not everyone wants them in their backyard. When people call to say, ‘Relocate this bear,’ we need to say to that neighborhood at some point you’ve got to live with it – take care of your garbage, dog food and bird feeders.”
The seven bear management units created in the Florida Black Bear Management Plan provide opportunities for public participation in decisions on managing local bear populations and reducing human-bear conflicts such as the one that occurred recently at a Cantonment apartment complex. That conflict ended with the FWC choosing to euthanize the bear.
“If we all work together to promote these protections, we can expand upon this great day today,” said FWC Commissioner Ron Bergeron.
Challenges addressed by the Black Bear Management Plan include:
- Maintaining wildlife habitats and corridors on public and private lands that accommodate bears’ large home ranges of up to 60,000 acres and allow bears to roam safely.
- Reducing human-bear conflicts, through use of bear-proof cans for garbage and proper storage of birdseed and pet food, which can be irresistibly mouthwatering treats for bears.
- Educating Floridians and visitors about black bear behavior and conservation, and how to remain safe if a bear comes into a yard or during a bear encounter.
The state’s largest land mammal is a subspecies of the American black bear and had been listed as a state-threatened species since 1974. Successful conservation of the Florida black bear was confirmed by the FWC’s 2011 Biological Status Review, which reported the bear to be no longer at high risk of extinction.
While Commissioners Wednesday passed a rule to remove the black bear from the list of state-threatened species, they also adopted a separate, new rule stating it is still illegal to injure or kill a bear in this state, or to possess or sell bear parts.
Pictured: A black bear wondered through a Cantonment apartment complex for days last month until it was captured and euthanized by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.
DEA Busts Escambia County ‘Pill Mill’
June 28, 2012
A Pensacola “pill mill” that used roadside signs to advertise across North Escambia was busted Wednesday by federal agents.
The JPB Medical Clinic in the 4200 block of Davis Highway, next door to a Bailey’s Farmer’s Market, was raided by the DEA along with about dozen other clinics across Florida.
Joseph Patrick Buffalino, 64, and Jeffrey Reiter were arrested at the Pensacola clinic Wednesday.
“These are drug dealers, traffickers, they are selling very, very lethal doses, very, very intense and addictive narcotics,” DEA agent Rusty Payne, told NorthEscambia.com’s news partners WEAR TV 3.
The DEA said the clinic was prescribing drugs like oxycodone to those that did not have a medical need.
“It’s going into the hands of both addicts and street level traffickers. They can easily get a prescription without having to illustrate a medical need,” said Payne.
Buffalino remains in the Escambia County Jail with bond set at $600,000, while Reiter is jailed with bond set at $560,000.
Numerous roadside signs advertising the clinic popped up across the North Escambia area earlier this year. They simply stated “Pain Management” and provided a photo number for the clinic.
The DEA is expected to release more details about the statewide operation sometime on Thursday.
Pictured top: The DEA raided this medical clinic on Davis Highway in Pensacola Wednesday morning (courtesy WEAR 3). Pictured below: Signs advertising the clinic were placed all around the North Escambia area, including the sign seen in this June 8 photo at Highway 97 and Nokomis Road in Davisville. The sign was gone by Wednesday. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Appeals Court Mulls Florida Prison Privatization
June 28, 2012
With a prison-privatization plan all but dead, an appeals court Wednesday appeared hesitant to decide a constitutional fight about whether lawmakers improperly used the state budget to approve the plan.
Jonathan Glogau, representing Attorney General Pam Bondi, acknowledged to the 1st District Court of Appeal that there is virtually no chance that the state will go ahead with the plan to contract with private companies to run prisons across the southern part of the state.
That is because lawmakers included the plan in budget fine print, known as proviso language, that expires at the June 30 end of the fiscal year.
A Leon County circuit judge ruled last year that lawmakers violated the state Constitution in using proviso language to approve the plan, prompting an appeal by Bondi.
By The News Service of Florida
U.S. Marshals Task Force Busts Two Wanted Fugitives
June 28, 2012
The U.S. Marshals Florida Regional Fugitive Task Force arrested two wanted fugitives in Escambia County Wednesday.
Willie Earl Thompson
The Task Force arrested Willie Earl Thompson, 56, on outstanding weapons charge warrants. While Task Force officers were at Thompson’s resident, deputies found 11 long guns and two handguns, all of which were possessed illegally, according to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office. The firearms were seized, and deputies say Thompson will face additional charges.
Thompson was booked into the Escambia County Jail with bond set at $13,000 on charges of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession of a short barrel gun and alter an identification number of a firearm.
Christopher T. Dasinger
U.S. Marshals Florida Regional Fugitive Task Force also arrested Christopher T. Dasinger, 29, of Pensacola Wednesday morning. Dasinger was wanted on sex offender violation charges. Dasinger is a registered sex offender and failed to register, register his new address, and report he had vacated an address after moving, all of these are required by law for anyone who is a registered sex offender, authorities said.
Dasinger was later released from the Escambia County Jail on a $30,000 bond.
He was convicted in 2008 on a charge of unlawful sexual activity with certain minors 16-17 years old, according to Florida Department of Law Enforcement records.
It’s Only Getting Hotter
June 28, 2012
It’s going to be downright hot the next few days, according to the National Weather Service. A ridge of high pressure will build over the area, pushing temperatures up near 100 and heat index values as high as 110.
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
- Friday: Sunny and hot, with a high near 98. Calm wind becoming southwest between 5 and 10 mph.
- Friday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 69. South wind between 5 and 10 mph becoming calm.
- Saturday: Isolated showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny and hot, with a high near 97. Calm wind becoming south between 5 and 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
- Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 71. South wind between 5 and 10 mph becoming calm.
- Sunday: Isolated showers and thunderstorms after 1pm. Mostly sunny and hot, with a high near 97. Calm wind becoming south between 5 and 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
- Sunday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 73. South wind between 5 and 10 mph becoming calm.
- Monday: Isolated showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 96. Calm wind becoming south between 5 and 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
- Monday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 74. Southwest wind between 5 and 10 mph.
- Tuesday: Isolated showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 96. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
- Tuesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 73.
- Independence Day: Isolated showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 96. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
- Wednesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 73.
- Thursday: Scattered showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 94. Chance of precipitation is 30%.