Former Pensacola FDLE Special Agent In Charge Arrested
August 17, 2013
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s former top agent in Pensacola was arrested Friday on petit theft charges.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement Office of Executive Investigations received a complaint in June of 2013 regarding former FDLE Pensacola Regional Operations Center Special Agent in Charge Steve Desposito, 48, of Pensacola The complainant alleged that Desposito had appropriated FDLE property for personal use, and the FDLE Office of Executive Investigations, subsequently initiated an investigation.
The investigation revealed that Desposito took fence posts that were the property of the State of Florida and appropriated them for his personal use. Inspectors presented their findings to the Office of the State Attorney, 1st Judicial Circuit, and Desposito was charged with one count of petit theft.
“This is a sad day for FDLE,” said FDLE Commissioner Gerald Bailey. “We hold our members to the highest standard of integrity and unfortunately, Mr. Desposito breached that trust.”
Desposito surrendered himself at the Escambia County Jail at approximately 1 p.m. Friday. He was released from jail on a $1,000 bond.
Desposito was promoted to Special Agent in Charge in September 2010. He was placed on leave in June pending the outcome of this investigation and resigned in July. He had been a member of FDLE since 1993.
The case will be prosecuted by the Office of the State Attorney, 1st Judicial Circuit.
Work Release Inmate Charged With Car Lot Murder
August 17, 2013
A work release inmate has been charged with a murder last Wednesday at a Pensacola car dealership.
Justin Princes Taylor, 24, was charged with first degree murder and possession of weapon in connection with the August 14 murder of 53-year old Adnan Mohamed Dali Glelati in his office at 7 Stars Auto at 5401 North W Street, next door to the Fast Eddies Fun Center on Michigan Avenue.
Taylor is being held without bond. He was currently assigned to the Escambia County Work Release program, according to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office. His arrest history includes grand theft auto, grand theft, burglary and battery.
Further details, including a possible motive for the crime, have not yet been released. The Sheriff’s Office said Saturday morning that no additional information will be made available until Monday.
Pictured: A man was found dead at 7 Starts Auto on W Street in Pensacola Wednesday morning. Photos by Amber Southard, WEAR 3, for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Florida Gov’t Weekly Roundup: Dreams And More Dreams
August 17, 2013
As summer began to wind down in Tallahassee, at least one of the sources of inspiration or annoyance for the capital’s denizens wound down as well.
The Dream Defenders, who held the longest-lasting protests in recent memory at the state Capitol, announced they would move on. None of their goals had truly been accomplished, but the protesters argued that they would push forward with enough votes to oust Gov. Rick Scott in 2014, if it came to that.
More action, though, was already in the offing in Tallahassee. Scott announced a lawsuit against the state’s neighbor to the north, the latest skirmish in a three-way “water war,” and Democrats began plotting for campaigns that will provide fodder for more than a year.
DREAMING OF AN END
“What happens to a dream deferred?” Langston Hughes wrote in the poem “Harlem.” “Does it dry up / like a raisin in the sun? / Or fester like a sore— / And then run?”
After a month-long occupation of the hallway outside Scott’s office, the Dream Defenders group decided that they had festered enough — and, if not quite run, were at least ready to leave. The last celebrity to visit them, civil-rights icon Julian Bond, applauded the group at its going-away press conference.
“It’s fitting that the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington is coming up in a few days,” he said. “That movement made this movement possible, and that movement — your movement — gave our movement its legacy.”
The sit-in protest began July 16, following the acquittal of Georgia Zimmerman in the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. The protesters asked for the state to repeal its controversial “stand your ground” self-defense law, which grants immunity to people who use deadly force if they have reason to believe their lives are in danger. Also they called for taking steps to end racial profiling and to get rid of zero-tolerance school discipline policies that the protesters said hurt children’s ability to get an education, often for trivial offenses.
While Zimmerman never used the “stand your ground” law in his defense, instead relying on a more traditional self-defense claim, the discussion of the law often dominated the early debate over the case. And it often overshadowed the other changes the Dream Defenders said they were looking for.
Ending their protest after 31 days, the demonstrators pointed to a list of what they called accomplishments, even as critics could point out that they didn’t have much to show in terms of results. The group forced a poll of lawmakers that could have resulted in a special session to deal with “stand your ground.” But it will end up well short of the 96 lawmakers needed to support a special session; by the end of the week the idea was losing by a 96-45 margin.
The protests prompted House Speaker Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, to announce a hearing on “stand your ground,” but the chairman of the subcommittee that will hold the hearing has said he’s not inclined to change “one damn comma” of the law.
One thing protesters seemed to do successfully was to discourage Scott from showing up at the Capitol. The governor rarely appeared at his office during the protests. He also seemed content to allow the protests to run out of steam on their own, even as legislative leaders ran out of patience and called for the demonstrators to leave.
After the state had spent more than $400,000 on security for the protests — some of it in the form of overtime for Capitol police — Scott thanked the Florida Department of Law Enforcement “for providing a safe environment for people to exercise their First Amendment rights. We live in a great state, in a great nation, where everyone is free to express their views.”
But the Dream Defenders also vowed to be back Sept. 23, the first committee week leading up to the 2014 regular session. So had the sit-in ended, or had it merely been deferred?
DREAMS OF MY WATER
While the protests raged on at his Tallahassee office, Scott made his way to the Panhandle on Tuesday, where he announced the latest escalation in a decades-long battle between Florida, Alabama and Georgia: a lawsuit at the U.S. Supreme Court aimed at getting more water released downstream from a lake that is used to slake the thirst of the Atlanta metropolitan complex.
For 23 years, the three states have bickered over how to divvy up the water in the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River basin. Florida has argued that water use at the top of the system has reduced the downstream flow of freshwater to the Apalachicola Bay region, damaging that area’s oyster industry. Florida and Alabama say too much water is being siphoned off for Atlanta’s drinking water.
Last year, the Apalachicola Bay collapsed. The lack of freshwater combined with a historic drought to produce the lowest flows in 89 years — since they have been recorded. That followed a series of court rulings that sent the responsibility for regulating the flows back to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
“It’s having a dramatic impact, and it’s because Georgia has taken our water,” Scott said. “The Corps of Engineers is not worried about us. That’s why Florida’s going to file suit against Georgia. Take this all this way to the Supreme Court.”
Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal slammed Scott’s move in a statement.
“Gov. Scott’s threat to sue my state in the U.S. Supreme Court greatly disappoints me after I negotiated in good faith for two years,” Deal said in a prepared statement. “More than a year ago, I offered a framework for a comprehensive agreement. Florida never responded. It’s absurd to waste taxpayers’ money and prolong this process with a court battle when I’ve proposed a workable solution.”
The Atlanta area uses 360 million gallons of water per day, according to Scott’s office, and Georgia’s consumption is expected to nearly double to 705 million gallons per day by 2035 — about the entire amount of water in the Apalachicola Bay.
Scott was able to announce less antagonistic news Friday, saying the state’s unemployment rate had held steady at 7.1 percent. In a video message, Scott chose to focus on the number of jobs created in July.
“In the month of July the private sector in Florida generated over 34,000 jobs,” Scott said. “That’s right, over 34,000 private sector jobs. That’s the biggest growth in private sector jobs in any month in the last two and half years.”
Scott also said the total number of new jobs during his time in office — 369,100 — was half of his claim that he would add 700,000 jobs to the state’s workforce in seven years.
Democrats were quick to remind voters that Scott suggested at one debate that the 700,000 would be in addition to normal economic growth, which would push the number he needs to hit much higher. They also gave credit to President Barack Obama for the job growth.
“Before Rick Scott took office, he promised Floridians 1,700,000 new jobs — he’s barely 20 percent of the way there,” Florida Democratic Party Chairwoman Allison Tant said in a written statement. “He has fallen so far short of his promises, his only choice is to take credit for jobs he didn’t create. The truth is that he’s been holding Florida back, with big tax giveaways for special interests.”
DREAMS OF THE DEMOCRATS
Meanwhile, the state party with the fewest legislative seats and just one statewide elected officeholder began dreaming up ways to overcome both problems — though at least one of those efforts seemed to end up with an early wake-up call regarding just how difficult it would be.
On Thursday, Democrats announced they had their first candidate for a Cabinet post, or at least the first candidate that the party was willing to put any weight behind. Allie Braswell, the 51-year-old head of the Central Florida Urban League, announced he would challenge Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater in 2014.
Unseating any of the three Republicans who currently hold the state’s Cabinet posts looks like a tall order; each of them won by at least 13 percentage points in 2010, and all could benefit if Obama’s sagging approval ratings and the normal six-year itch for incumbent presidents generate another GOP wave approaching the one in 2010.
But Braswell was undaunted, touting his ability to slash a $14 million budget he oversaw as a technology executive at Disney to $11 million without cutting jobs.
“We can tighten the belt, and we can also help Floridians,” Braswell said.
The next day, though, reports suggested that the new candidate had not been quite as successful with his personal finances. The Florida Times-Union reported Friday afternoon that Braswell has filed for bankruptcy three times, most recently in 2008 in Orlando.
Braswell said he “used bankruptcy as way to responsibly pay my debt” and that his financial problems would allow him to empathize with voters.
“Honestly, my story is of a regular guy,” Braswell told the Times-Union. “I’ve felt the pain that a lot of people feel.”
The only other Democrat currently on the statewide ballot is Thaddeus “Thad” Hamilton, who is taking another shot at the agriculture commissioner post after getting 2 percent of the vote as a non-partisan candidate four years ago.
Democrats also felt hopeful about their chances to claim the Pasco County seat of former GOP Rep. Mike Fasano, who left the Legislature when Scott appointed him to the vacant tax collector’s office in that county. The seat is the only one in the GOP-friendly county with more registered Democrats than Republicans.
“Republicans have failed meeting the needs of the voters in District 36,” said Lynn Lindeman, chairman of the county’s Democratic Executive Committee, in an email. “They will pay the price, they should have listened to Mr. Fasano.”
But as of Friday, the party had not announced a candidate for the seat. Three Republicans had already filed.
STORY OF THE WEEK: The Dream Defenders decide to bring an end to a month-long sit-in protest over the state’s self-defense laws, school discipline policies and the issue of racial profiling.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “Our work and our power have grown too big for these walls.”–Phillip Agnew, the Dream Defenders’ leader, on the decision to leave.
by Brandon Larrabee, The News Service of Florida
Chief Financial Officer Candidate Has Filed Bankruptcy Three Times
August 17, 2013
The newly-minted Democratic candidate for state chief financial officer has filed for bankruptcy three times, The Florida Times-Union reported on its website Friday afternoon.
According to the report, Allie Braswell most recently filed for bankruptcy in Orlando in 2008, after having done so twice in South Carolina in the 1990s.
According to the Times-Union, Braswell said the first filing in South Carolina was dismissed because of a mistake, leading to the second. Braswell said he “used bankruptcy as way to responsibly pay my debt” and that his financial problems would allow him to empathize with voters.
“Honestly, my story is of a regular guy,” Braswell told the Times-Union. “I’ve felt the pain that a lot of people feel.”
Braswell is the first high-profile Democratic candidate for a Cabinet post, though Thaddeus “Thad” Hamilton has filed for agriculture commissioner. Hamilton drew 2 percent of the vote for that office as a non-partisan candidate four years ago. Braswell is the president of the Central Florida Urban League.
Ooops! Non-Payment Put Brakes On ECAT Website
August 17, 2013
Failure to pay the required domain registration fee on time temporarily put the brakes on the Escambia County Area Transit website.
According to registrar records, the GoECAT.com domain name expired Monday, August 12 but was not renewed until Friday, August 16. After the domain expired, visitors were greeted by a page that declared “This domain has expired.”
By late Friday night, after a payment was apparently made, the GoECAT.com web site was back up and running.
Wahoos Fall To Braves
August 17, 2013
Pensacola’s Robert Stephenson fired six shutout innings before yielding a pair of runs in the seventh and eventually falling in his Double-A debut, 5-1 to the Mississippi Braves in front of the 26th sellout crowd of the year at Pensacola Bayfront Stadium.
Stephenson, touching 96 MPH with his fastball, allowed just two hits in the first six innings before walking the first two batters he faced in the seventh inning. Michael Lorenzen, the 38th overall pick in the 2013 draft, entered and gave up RBI singles to Jaime Pedroza and Barrett Kleinknecht with another run scoring on a throwing error by left fielder Josh Fellhauer turning a one-run deficit into a 3-1 lead for Mississippi.
Stephenson was charged with a pair of runs to fall to 0-1 with Pensacola. The right-hander yielded just two hits in six-plus innings with five strikeouts and three walks.
Mississippi’s Michael Lee was just as good for the Braves, limiting Pensacola to just one run on six hits in seven innings. His lone outlier was a Travis Mattair RBI single in the last of the second to give the Wahoos a 1-0. Lee improved to 8-8 on the year.
The Braves were able to put the game out of reach with a pair of runs in the top of the ninth against Drew Hayes. Mississippi strung together three hits around an error with RBI’s coming from Dan Brewer and Kleinknecht.
Pensacola will look to avoid its second series sweep of the year on Saturday night at 6:30 p.m. The Wahoos will give the ball to Carlos Contreras (1-2, 3.12) with the Braves countering with southpaw Ian Thomas (7-7, 2.62).
story by Kevin Burke
Local Jobless Rate Steady
August 17, 2013
The latest job numbers released Friday the unemployment level holding almost steady across the entire three-county North Escambia area — as Florida’s unemployment rate also held steady.
Escambia County’s unemployment held steady at 7.1 percent from June to July There were 1,047 people reported unemployed during the period. One year ago, unemployment in Escambia County was 8.9 percent.
Santa Rosa County unemployment held steady at 6.8 percent from June to July. Santa Rosa County had a total of 5,188 persons still unemployed. The year-ago unemployment rate in Santa Rosa County was 8.5 percent.
In Escambia County, Alabama, unemployment dropped from 8.0 percent in June to 7.8 percent in July. That represented 1,139 people unemployed in the county during the month.
Florida’s unemployment rate has held steady through the front part of the summer. Bolstered by private-sector job growth in the fields such as automotive sales and repair, home maintenance and garden supply, transportation and utilities, the state’s unemployment rate stood at 7.1 percent in July, the same as in May and June, the state Department of Economic Opportunity announced Friday.
Alabama’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate, at 6.3 percent in July, was down from June’s rate of 6.5 percent and was below the year-ago rate of 7.6 percent.
Thomas: Most Molino Park Stolen Tech Items Will Ultimately Be Replaced
August 16, 2013
Tens of thousands of dollars — that’s the price tag Escambia County School Superintendent Malcolm Thomas is putting on the electronic items stolen last weekend from Molino Park Elementary School. An official inventory is still underway to determine what was stolen as the school was burglarized and vandalized Friday night.
“It was a significant number of items for a school the size of Molino Park,” he said. So far, officials have said that multiple Apple computers, Macbooks, iPads and two Wii game consoles were taken.
To see the surveillance video, click here.
Thomas said Thursday that the school district will take that full inventory and decide their next step toward replacing at least most of the technology items.
“We will first give it a matter of a few weeks to see if the Sheriff’s Office might recover some or all of the items,” he said. “If not, we will find a way to make it right for the students.”
The district will first explore any insurance availability, then look at other options — including a general fund expenditure — to replace the items. The entire process to find funding and order the missing items, will be time consuming, Thomas said, and may mean Molino Park will be without the stolen technology until early next year.
Anyone with any information about the crime is asked to call Gulf Coast Crime Stoppers at (850) 433-STOP or the Escambia Sheriff’s Office at (850) 436-9620. Crime Stoppers callers can remain anonymous and did not have to give their name.
Pictured top: An empty spot marks the locations of a stolen Apple computer from a Molino Park Elementary School classroom. Pictured inset: Pictured below: Three Apple computers were stolen from this desk in a computer lab. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Blood Drive Saturday During The Market At St. Monica’s
August 16, 2013
A blood drive will be held Saturday from 8 a.m. until 1 p.m. during the Market at St. Monica’s. The event take place at St. Monica’s Episcopal Church at 699 South Highway 95A in Cantonment.
Everyone that donates blood will receive a free t-shirt and a coupon good for a free haircut at Fantastic Sam’s.
The Market at St. Monica’s is held the first and third Saturday of every month at the church and features of variety of produce, arts and crafts, and other vendors.
Requirements for giving blood are below.
- Donors must be in generally good health
- At least 17 years of age, without permission. 16-year olds are now allowed to donate with permission granted by parents or legal guardians.
- Must bring picture ID
- Weigh at least 110 lbs
- Free of infection, fever or flu symptoms, for 3 days
- No cancer within the last 5 years
- No antibiotics within the last 48 hours
- No tattoos within the past 12 months
- No chest pain, heart disease, heart surgery (Requires written physician release with diagnosis)
- No history of viral hepatitis
- Cannot have lived in France for 5 years or more between 1980 and the present
- Cannot have lived or visited in the UK for a total of 3 months or more from 1980 to 1996
- Cannot have received a blood transfusion in the UK between 1980 and the present
- Military personnel (current and former), and their dependents, who spent time in military bases in northern Europe during 1980-1990, or southern Europe during 1980-1996, for 6 months or more
- All military personnel (active & reserve) that are returning from Iraq, are deferred for a period of 1 year after the last date on location in that country.
Pictured top: Fresh flowers available during a previous Market at St Monica’s. Courtesy photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
More Florida Firefighters Headed To Fight Western Wildfires
August 16, 2013
The Florida Forest Service deployed another 20-person hand crew out West Thursday to help fight wildfires.
Two people from the local Blackwater District are on the crew, bringing the total number of Blackwater personnel to nine sent out to join another 110 from across the state.
“This is the first time ever that Florida has had four hand crews out at once,” Joe Zwierzchowski, Wildfire Mitigation Specialist for the Florida Forest Service. These firefighters will assist with front-line firefighting operations by using shovels, axes and rakes to manually create a fire break or fire line around the wildfire. Hand crews are critical to wildfire suppression in the western United States.