In Depth: Feds Seize Guns From ‘Tutors’ Near School, No Charges Filed
April 27, 2012
The investigation is continuing today into two armed men stopped with multiple weapons in Flomaton, Ala. Wednesday and then again Thursday near an Escambia County, Fla., middle school. The men had raised great suspicion among law enforcement after making claims that they were on their way to offer tutoring services at the middle school, prompting a security alert at area schools.
Federal Agents Take Over
The two men were reportedly spotted by law enforcement at a motel on New Warrington Road, about a mile from Warrington Middle School. When they pulled out of the motel parking lot onto New Warrington Road just before 9 a.m. Thursday, deputies conducted an “investigative stop”, according to Sgt. Mike Ward, spokesperson for the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office. When they found multiple weapons in the vehicle, Escambia deputies called the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
ATF agents took over the investigation and seized the weapons, including four guns, from the men, ages 35 and 39. They also found computer printed maps with directions to Warrington Middle School.
After a lengthy search of their rental 2012 Chevrolet Suburban, the men were allowed to continue on their way. The names of the men were not released because they were not charged with any crime.
School District Responds
When Escambia County Superintendent Malcom Thomas learned about the Flomaton traffic stop, the weapons and the claims that the men were headed to Warrington Middle, immediate steps were taken to ensure the safety of students at Warrington and every other school in the district.
School resource officers, principals and other key district employees were quickly made aware of the situation. They were provided with information from law enforcement, as well as unpublished NorthEscambia.com photographs showing additional details about the vehicle, including a tag number, and photographs of the men.
Thomas said a school district protective services employee responded to the New Warrington Road traffic stop, and a trespass order was issued against the men forbidding them from visiting any public school in the district.
“If they so much as set foot on any one of our campuses, they will be arrested for trespassing,” he said.
There were no security incidents Thursday at any Escambia County school.
Tutoring Company CEO “Flabbergasted” By Incident
Both men were confirmed to be employees of Innovative Educational Programs (IEP) in Basking Ridge, New Jersey. One of the men, according to his business card (pictured), is the company’s “Southeast Regional Director”.
Tony O’Donell, CEO of the company, learned of the incidents involving his employees from a NorthEscambia.com phone call.
“I am just flabbergasted by the suspicions,” O’Donnell said from his New Jersey office. He said the company immediately suspended both men and launched an internal investigation. “We will be asking them a lot of questions.” He said IEP will likely terminate both men.
All IEP employees undergo background screenings, and the company does not allow employees to carry guns, the CEO said.
According to Escambia County School Superintendent Malcolm Thomas, IEP is not contracted to provide any services whatsoever in Escambia County. Thomas said IEP is not a licensed tutoring provider in Florida. NorthEscambia.com independently confirmed that IEP is not an authorized tutoring service recognized by the Florida Department of Education; however, the company is a legitimate tutoring provider in several states, including Alabama and Mississippi.
O’Donnell said the men were in the Pensacola area to “scout” schools for market research.
“We’ve never had an incident like this before,” he said. “This is just beyond belief. I regret that our company has indirectly caused so many people to be upset there (in Escambia County).”
Wednesday: Men And Vehicle Stopped In Flomaton, Ala.
Thursday was the second encounter with local law enforcement for the men, both of which claimed to be education tutors.
A traffic stop about 5 p.m. Wednesday at the Alabama/Florida line turned up an arsenal of weapons and thousands of dollars in cash.
Officer Chris Neal with the Flomaton Police Department conducted a routine traffic stop about 5 p.m. after observing the driver of a 2012 Chevrolet Suburban make an improper lane change on Highway 29. He stopped the vehicle just over the bridge between Flomaton and Century, still inside Alabama but only a few yards from Florida.
For more photos from the traffic stop, click here.
Neal asked for and was granted consent to search. After finding several guns in the vehicle, the he immediately called for backup from the Escambia County (Fla.) Sheriff’s Office.
A search of the vehicle by Neal and another officer from the Flomaton Police Department uncovered multiple handguns, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, multiple ammunition clips, tasers, police handcuffs, brass knuckles and “suspicious” solid black clothing, gloves and hoodies. The passenger claimed the guns belonged to him, and he produced a valid weapons permit.
Officers also located a paper bag containing $8,400 in $100 bills inside the vehicle. One of the men told a story about having IRS troubles and dealing in cash to avoid problems with the agency. The cash was not in the vehicle when it was stopped Thursday morning.
Multiple SIM cards — memory chips that allow cell phones to switch numbers and identifiable information instantly — were visible in the vehicle Wednesday afternoon, along with a laptop computer and multiple wireless internet modems.
The vehicle was also searched for drugs by an Escambia County (Fla.) K-9, but no illegal drugs were located.
The driver and passenger, both adult males, said they were on their way from the Birmingham area to tutor students Thursday at Warrington Middle School. One of the men was dressed in a t-shirt with a tutoring company’s logo on the front and the words “Free Tutoring” on the back. They produced business cards and other items from a tutoring company in New Jersey.
The men said they had the arsenal of weapons for their own protection because they sometimes tutor students in “bad areas”.
Officers spent about two hours searching the vehicle, questioning the men as they stood handcuffed by a police car and running various computer records checks on the vehicle, the firearms and the men. All of the weapons were legally possessed, according to officers. Both men were released Wednesday without any criminal charges or traffic citations.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Fire Rips Through Molino Mobile Home; Woman, 84, Sent To Hospital
April 27, 2012
An 84-year old woman was transported to an area hospital following a Thursday afternoon fire near Molino.
Fire ripped through the roof of the home, causing extensive roof and smoke damage to the double wide mobile home in the 4000 block of White Ash Road just after 4 p.m.
A female occupant was able to escape the fire, which appeared to start in the kitchen of the home. She was transported by Escambia County EMS to Atmore Community Hospital with breathing difficulties, possible due to an underlying medical condition aggravated by the fire, authorities said.
The exact cause of the blaze is under investigation by the Florida State Fire Marshal’s Office.
The Molino, Century, McDavid and Walnut Hill stations of Escambia Fire Rescue responded to the fire.
Pictured above and inset: Fire ripped through the roof of this mobile home on White Ash Road near Molino Thursday afternoon. Submitted photos by Sabrena Padgett for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge. Pictured below: The mobile home following the fire. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
FDLE Releases Report On Fiery I-75 Crash That Killed Tate Grad And Family
April 27, 2012
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement has released its findings on a fiery January crash in Gainesville on I-75 that claimed the lives of 11 people, including a Tate High School graduate, his 17-year old daughter and his wife.
No one acted with any criminal intent, but better communication, fixed signs and more attention to a trooper who warned that smoke could quickly roll back on to the interstate might have prevented a massive fatal crash on smoky I-75 in January, the FDLE said Thursday.
In a major review of crashes on the morning of January 29 involving 25 vehicles that killed 11 people, the FDLE said personnel at the Florida Highway Patrol and several other agencies “acted in a manner which they believed was appropriate and in the best interest of restoring the safe and orderly flow of traffic to the roadways.”
The bodies of Tate graduate Michael Hughes, his daughter Sabryna Dawn Louise Hughes and Sabryna’s stepmother Lori Hughes were found two days after the crash in a badly burned pickup truck. The truck was incinerated when it collided with a semi-truck that had stopped on I-75 due to fog and smoke conditions. The family had traveled from Pensacola to the Gainesville area to attend a funeral.
Friends said Michael Hughes grew up in the Jacks Branch Road area and was a 1990 graduate of Tate High School.
Gov. Rick Scott ordered the review after the crash, in the Paynes Prairie section of Alachua County, south of Gainesville.
But FDLE found several things that it said the Highway Patrol should change, some of them immediately to avoid a repeat of the early morning crash.
Some of its main findings were that the FHP doesn’t have specific protocols on when and how to re-open roadways when visibility is low. The review recounts officers discussing the visibility and whether they think it’s OK to drive, but there’s nothing in their procedures spelling out when safety experts say it is OK, for example. FDLE also found that the Highway Patrol did little in the way of improving its smoke-and-fog procedures after a similar fatal crash on Interstate 4 in Polk County in 2008.
“The specific changes to FHP’s policies and procedures were limited, and subsequent training provided to command personnel was ineffective and poorly memorialized,” FDLE said of changes that were supposed to have been put in place after the 2008 crash.
There were several breakdowns in the early morning hours of January 29, the review found.
One of the biggest problems that appears to have contributed to the disaster was a breakdown in human communications between officers – and a failure to heed the warning of one trooper in particular, FHP Sgt. Bruce Simmons, who advised against re-opening I-75.
The review also noted that Simmons – the trooper who had suggested keeping the roadway closed – expressed anger about the ultimate decision to open it in a conversation with an Alachua deputy later that morning that was captured on his in-car video.
“I tried to tell them to leave that ’sum-buck’ closed and they wouldn’t listen to me. I said it’s going to roll in again,” Simmons can be heard saying. “….They wouldn’t freaking listen earlier….I said that it will roll in faster than you can shut it down. This crap wouldn’t have happened if he’d have listened.”
The News Service of Florida contributed to this report.
Escambia, Santa Rosa And 45 Other Counties Sue Over Medicaid Law
April 27, 2012
Arguing they are being hit with an “unfunded mandate,” 47 counties — including Escambia and Santa Rosa — filed a lawsuit Thursday that challenges the constitutionality of a new state Medicaid law that could cost them hundreds of millions of dollars.
The local governments, joined by the Florida Association of Counties, indicated they will seek an injunction to try to quickly block parts of the law. The association announced earlier this month that it would file the lawsuit in Leon County circuit court.
The case centers on a dispute about whether counties have fully reimbursed the state for certain hospital and nursing-home costs related to residents who are Medicaid beneficiaries. Legislative leaders contend that many counties have not paid the full amounts owed in recent years, but county officials argue the state’s billing system is badly flawed.
Under the new law, which Gov. Rick Scott signed March 29, the state could recoup the money by withholding tax dollars that would otherwise go to counties. As of December 31, the uncollected billings totaled as much as $325.5 million.
Under the law, Santa Rosa owes an estimated $1.5 million, while Escambia County owes about $6.2 million to the state for disputed Medicaid bills that have been adding up for about a decade.
Counties argue the Legislature violated part of the Florida Constitution that is aimed at making it harder for the state to pass along what are known as “unfunded mandates,” which increase costs for local governments. The constitution requires unfunded mandates to be approved by two-thirds of the House and the Senate — a threshold that was not met with the new Medicaid law.
Though he signed the law, Scott ordered the Agency for Health Care Administration to meet with county officials across the state to try to resolve billing disputes. But a key part of the lawsuit alleges that counties commonly have received incorrect bills for such things as people who live in other areas of Florida or even out of state.
“Although counties are willing to pay their fair share for Medicaid services received by their residents, they cannot in good faith make payments for bills that are clearly erroneous and lacking support,” the lawsuit says.
The plaintiffs in the lawsuit include counties from all regions of Florida. Most of the counties that did not join the lawsuit are relatively rural, though they also include Duval, Orange and Palm Beach counties.
The News Service Florida contributed to this report.
Cub Scouts Holding Molino Yard Sale; Friends Of The Library Book Sale This Weekend
April 27, 2012
Looking for a bargain, or a book at a bargain? A local cub scout pack will host a big yard sale this weekend, and it’s also time for the annual Friends of the Library book sale to benefit local libraries.
Cub Scout Yard Sale
Cub Scout Pack 430 will hold their second annual yard sale on Saturday from 7 a.m. until 1 p.m. The sale will will take place rain or shine indoors at Aldersgate United Methodist Church, 6915 Highway 29 North in Molino.
The sale will feature all the clothes that can be stuffed in a plastic grocery type bag for $5 or a garbage bag full of clothes for $10.
Saturday, there will be hamburgers and hot dogs for sale by Aldersgate Men’s Ministry.
Friends of the Library Book Sale
It’s time to stock up on summer reading material, and the Friends of the Pensacola Public Library Spring Book Sale is the place to do so at a reasonable price.
The Book Sale will be through Sunday at First United Methodist Church Wright Place, 80 E. Wright St., and will offer thousands of gently used hardcover and paperback books, CDs and DVDs. Most range in price from 25 cents to $3. It also will feature a “Collectors’ Corner” and silent auction to showcase the more valuable books, Chairwoman Meredith McCarthy said.
On Saturday, hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Sunday hours are noon to 3 p.m. Admission is free. On Sunday, a bag of books can be purchased for $5.
All proceeds from the sale go to support the West Florida Public Library system.
Pictured top: Members of Cub Scout Pack 430 unload items for today’s yard sale at Aldersgate United Methodist Church in Molino. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Tate And Jay Fall In District Championship Games
April 27, 2012
Pace 4 — Tate 2
The Tate High School Aggies dropped to Pace 4-2 Thursday night in the district championship game
Tate hitters included: Hunter Black 1-3, 2B, run, RBI; Austin Quina 1-3, 2B, RBI; David Moorhead 1-3; Cody Palmer 1-3, 2B.
The Aggies (22-5) will advance as runner-ups in a Region 1-6A semifinal game next Thursday at 7 p.m. on the road against Panama City Mosley.
Holmes County 8 — Jay 5
Holmes county claimed the District 2-1A championship Thursday night with 8-5 win over the Jay Royals (9-13)
Sammy James took the loss on the mound for the Royals. Jay hitters included: Sammy James 1-3, 1 2B, 3 RBI; Conner Weeks 2-3, 1 3B, 1 RBI; Hunter Vaughn 1-3, Chandler Burgess 1-3, 1 3B.
Follow Congressman Jeff Miller Live All Day On Twitter
April 27, 2012
Florida Congressman Jeff Miller will live-tweet his day, and he’s inviting local residents to join in the conversation.
Miller said he will tweet his day on Twitter, giving constituents a chance to find out what a day in Congress is like.
To follow Miller on Twitter, click here.
Tate FFA Rodeo Next Weekend
April 27, 2012
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The 21st Annual Tate FFA Alumni Foundation Rodeo will be held next weekend.
The rodeo will be held at the Escambia County Equestrian Center at 7750 Mobile Highway in Beulah on May 4 and 5 at 7:30 nightly. Advance tickets are available at Hill Kelly Dodge and Farm and Nursery Mart. Advanced tickets are $8 for adults, $3 for children. At the gates, tickets will be $10 for adults and $5 for children.
A free hands-on rodeo will be held for special needs persons Saturday morning, May 5 beginning with breakfast at 7:00 followed by safe rodeo events about 8:00. There will be bull (barrel) riding, barrel racing (stick horses), calf roping (hay bales with cow head), photos with rodeo queens, a petting zoo, wagon rides, beanie bag toss and more.
Scott Random Drug Testing For State Employees Ruled Unconstitutional
April 27, 2012
A Miami federal judge has ruled that Gov. Rick Scott’s attempt to require random drug testing for tens of thousands of state workers is unconstitutional, saying Scott did not show a “compelling need” for the controversial plan.
After U.S. District Judge Ursula Ungaro’s ruling became public Thursday, Scott immediately said he would appeal to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Ungaro’s 37-page ruling found that Scott’s issuance last year of an executive order requiring drug tests violates the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which protects against unreasonable searches. The judge also wrote that Scott did not justify a need for the tests.
“In the present case, the court searches in vain for any … compelling need for testing,” said the ruling, which was dated Wednesday. “The (executive order) does not identify a concrete danger that must be addressed by suspicionless drug testing of state employees, and the governor shows no evidence of a drug use problem at the covered agencies.”
Scott issued a written statement reiterating his longstanding position that drug tests will improve the state workforce, and he compared the situation to private employers who have more freedom to require such tests.
“As I have repeatedly explained, I believe that drug testing state employees is a common-sense means of ensuring a safe, efficient and productive workforce,” Scott said. “That is why so many private employers drug test and why the public and Florida’s taxpayers overwhelmingly support this policy.”
But the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees — a state-worker union that was the plaintiff in the case — said Ungaro’s ruling protects the privacy and constitutional rights of employees.
“The governor can’t order the state to search people’s bodily fluids for no reason – the Constitution prohibits that sort of government intrusion,” said Howard Simon, the ACLU’s executive director. “And the governor can’t demand that people surrender their constitutional rights for the privilege of working for the state or receiving some other government benefit.”
Scott issued the executive order last year to require drug testing at agencies under his control, though the plan was placed on hold because of the legal challenge, except for some workers at the Department of Corrections. Ungaro’s ruling said the Scott-controlled agencies include about 85,000 employees, or 77 percent of the state workforce.
Despite the legal uncertainty, lawmakers and Scott this year approved a bill that would allow drug testing of employees. The bill would allow, but not require, agencies to conduct random testing every three months.
But a day after signing the bill in March, Scott’s administration said it would delay moving forward with the tests until the legal battle about last year’s executive order is resolved.
While Ungaro’s ruling blocks drug testing for current state employees, she did not rule on whether tests could be required for potential new hires. She sided with an argument by Scott that AFSCME could not sue on behalf of potential state employees who do not belong to the union.
The ACLU’s Simon, however, made clear Thursday that the state would face another legal challenge if it tries to require drug testing of job applicants.
Ungaro’s ruling said the U.S. Supreme Court has differentiated between drug testing by government and private employers. She wrote that government searches “must be based on individualized suspicion of wrongdoing,” unless the government can show a special need.
“The Supreme Court maintains that the government, unlike private employers, can test its employees for illegal drug use only when the testing is consistent with the Fourth Amendment,” wrote Ungaro, who has served as federal judge since 1992 after being nominated by former President George H.W. Bush.
The ruling said Scott cited potential benefits of drug testing, such as increasing workplace health and safety, promoting greater productivity by employees and saving tax dollars. But she wrote that the governor’s office used studies that had a “high level of generality” and lacked specific evidence about issues such as drug use among state employees.
“All of the upheld drug-testing policies (in Supreme Court cases) were tailored to address a specific, serious problem,” Ungaro wrote. “In contrast, the rationale for the Governor’s policy consists of broad prognostications concerning taxpayer savings, improved public service, and reductions in health and safety risks that result from a drug-free workplace.”
By The News Service Florida
Early Morning Fire Damages Cantonment Home
April 27, 2012
Fire damaged an unoccupied wood frame home in Cantonment early Friday morning.
A passerby reported smoke and flames from the home on corner of Ellington and Lincoln streets about 12:30 a.m. Firefighters arrived to find smoke pouring from three sides of the home and flames in a front room.
According to neighbors, no one was currently living in the home. Many of the home’s exterior windows were covered by plywood.
Firefighter were unable to find anyone inside the home. The exact cause of the fire is under investigation.
Multiple fire stations including Cantonment, Molino, Ensley, Beulah and Ferry Pass responded to the blaze, along with Escambia County EMS.