14-Month Old Drowns, Mom Jailed On Neglect Charges
August 29, 2013
A 14-month old drowned in small pond late Wednesday afternoon off 10 Mile Road, and the child’s mother is now behind bars.
Jennifer Lynn Eiland, 31, is charged with four counts of child neglect — one count for each of her surviving children — and is being held in the Escambia County Jail without bond. The investigation into the drowning is continuing, and additional charges may be filed.
According to witnesses, a neighbor discovered the lifeless body of a 14-month old girl in a landscaping pond just after 5:30 p.m. in the 10600 block of Betmark Road. He had been alerted to the child by one of the child’s siblings. First responders attempted rescue efforts, but the child was pronounced dead shortly after arrival at a local hospital.
Neighbor Larry Kruger made the discovery in his front yard after one of Eiland’s children knocked on his door. The little girl’s body was under a small bridge the crosses the pond, which is less than two feet deep.
Investigators found “unsanitary living conditions” in the Betmark Road home where Eiland and her children were living at the time of the drowning, according to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.
The child’s father, a Merchant Marine, returned home from being at sea following the incident.
Initial reports indicate that Eiland has had prior abuse allegations in Alabama. According to investigators, the children,whose ages range from three to eight,had been placed in foster care and were only returned to the care of their mother in recent months.
Pictured top and bottom: Larry Kruger (bottom photo) discovered the lifeless body of a nieghbor’s 14-month old girl in his landscaping pond about 5:30 Wednesday afternoon. Photo by Joe Douglass WEAR 3 for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Deputies: Molino Woman Used Deceased Mother’s Credit Card 64 Times
August 29, 2013
A Molino woman was charged this week with fraudulently using her deceased mother’s credit card over five dozen times.
Rhonda Renee Fillingim, 42, was charged 64 felony counts of fraudulent use of a credit card and one count of felony grand theft. She was released from the Escambia County Jail on a $69,000 bond.
Her brother, Orbin Albritton, reported to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office that Fillingim had used their deceased mother Linda Albritton’s Sears Mastercard to make no less than $6,500 worth of unauthorized purchases over a two week period that begin one day after their mother died on December 31, 2012. Credit card statements showed 64 transactions during the period totaling $8,960.32, according to an arrest report.
Investigators said Fillingim admitted to using the credit card, on which she was not an authorized user. She told deputies she had spoken with Sears and would begin to repay the credit card bill, but Sears later told deputies that no payments or arrangements had been made..
Rain Chances Increase By The Weekend
August 29, 2013
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
- Thursday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 71. West wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
- Friday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 96. West wind around 5 mph.
- Friday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 73. Southwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
- Saturday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 93. Calm wind becoming west around 5 mph in the afternoon.
- Saturday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 73. Southwest wind around 5 mph.
- Sunday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 93. Southwest wind around 5 mph.
- Sunday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 71. Southwest wind around 5 mph.
- Labor Day: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 91.
- Monday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 71.
- Tuesday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 91.
- Tuesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 72.
- Wednesday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 92.
Learn About Weather Forecasting Today At The Century And Main Libraries
August 29, 2013
Jeff Garmon of the National Weather Service Mobile office will provide “An Introduction to Weather Forecasting” at the Century Branch Library this afternoon from 3-4 p.m. followed by a repeat presentation at the Main Library from 6-7 p.m.
This free program offered by the West Florida Public Library is part of the Discover Earth: A Century of Change traveling exhibition, which is on display at the Main Library through September 27. The exhibition focuses on local earth science topics such as weather, water cycle and ecosystem changes, as well as a global view of our changing planet. Discover Earth allows library patrons to understand how Earth’s global environment changes and is affected by the local environment of all exhibition host communities.
Discover Earth is supported through a grant from the National Science Foundation.
Bratt-Davisville Water System To Be Acquired By Escambia River Electric
August 29, 2013
Escambia River Electric Cooperative will soon be expanding their water service area in North Escambia, after the membership of the Bratt-Davisville Water System voted to be acquired and operated by EREC.
Under the agreement, EREC will maintain and provide water service to Bratt-Davisville’s 800 customers and expand the water service to the unserved areas of the two communities as is feasible and allowed by franchise agreements.
“EREC will operate the water utility system as a non-profit operation under the same principles as it currently operates its electrical distribution system in order to provide the best possible water service at the least possible cost to the present and future customers of the water distribution system,” said EREC Marketing Director Sabrina Owens.
“As our community’s needs grow and as technology improves, EREC continually strives to expand the services and programs that we offer to our members,” she said.
EREC currently operates the Walnut Hill Water Works, which serves about 700 customers in the Walnut Hill area.
Pictured: The Bratt-Davisville Water System office on Highway 97 in Davisville, just south of the Alabama state line. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Douglas, Aggies Look Toward Winning Season
August 29, 2013
First year Tate High School Coach Ronnie Douglas started off the 2013 football preseason with a 25-7 victory over Gulf Breeze in two-quarter jamboree last Friday night. This week, the Aggies face a very strong West Florida High School Jaguars team.
“They have six or seven Division I football players over there, and they are a very, very good team,” Douglas said. Expectations are high around Tate, and this week will defiantly test all aspects of the Aggies team.
Douglas said he will depend heavily on senior linebackers Deonte Nicholson and Jesse Samuel this week against the Jags.
Nicholson had an interception and several key tackles last week, but he was most proud of a pass he tipped that was intercepted for a touchdown and a block for the quarterback on a long run for a touchdown. Samuel said he was proud to be able help the team last week.
The Aggies have shown some big improvements over last year when they went 1-8 and won their first game since 2010. But Douglas and his Aggies are looking to put the first of many wins on the books this Friday night against West Florida. Friday night’s game kicks off at 7:00 at Woodham Middle School.
Story by Darryl Singleton
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Scott’s Education Summit Wraps Up
August 29, 2013
Gov. Rick Scott hailed the conclusion of his three-day education summit from afar, issuing a statement Wednesday after the educators, business leaders and advocates adjourned their meeting in Clearwater.
“The discussion and ideas generated this week will guide our future decisions and steps we will take through either legislative proposals, action by the State Board of Education or executive action,” Scott said.
The discussions largely focused on high-level ideas and few specific recommendations, such as whether the state should bail out of a consortium of states developing new tests for the nationwide “common core” standards now being implemented in Florida classrooms.
Democrats slammed Scott for not attending the sessions in person.
“After a disastrous summer for Florida’s education system, Rick Scott should have learned a lesson about hands-on management,” said Allison Tant, chairwoman of the Florida Democratic Party. “Instead, he cannot even be bothered to attend his own education summit, which he himself said was designed to improve communication and confidence in Florida’s schools.”
But interim Education Commissioner Pam Stewart deflected those criticisms and said Scott would be brought up to speed on the discussions.
“The governor asked me to convene this education summit. … We certainly will have conversation,” she told reporters.
Arkansas Escapee And Girlfriend Charged With Local Burglary
August 29, 2013
An escapee from Arkansas and his girlfriend, captured last week near Chumuckla Elementary School, have been charged in a $30,000 burglary.
A resident not far from the abandoned home being used as a hideout reported over $30,000 worth of jewelry, medication and a firearm missing. Some of the items were located in the hideout home of Derrick Estell, 33, and Tamara Lynn Upshaw, 25.
Both were arrested on charges of felony damage to property, armed burglary, larceny over $20,000 and grand theft of a firearm. Bond in the case was set at $140,000 each as the couple awaits extradition back to Arkansas.
Estell escaped from the Garland County Detention Center in Hot Springs, Arkansas. The Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office and a U.S. Marshals Task Force took Estell and Upshaw into custody August 22 at an abandoned house near the intersection of Highway 182 and Chumuckla Highway.
According to the Garland County (AR) Sheriff’s Office, investigators were able to pinpoint the couple’s location with the assistance of “cooperating individuals” and contact authorities in Santa Rosa County. Within a few hours, the couple was in custody.
Estell had escaped the Arkansas jail on July 28 with the assistance of Upshaw and others after returning from the Arkansas Department of Corrections for a court appearance. He made his getaway by diving out of a window and running to a waiting vehicle. Two other individuals were also taken into custody for their involvement in the escape and are awaiting court hearings, Arkansas authorities said.
Estell was being held in Arkansas on charged of aggravated robbery, burglary, theft and other charges.
Bratt Man Skips Court Date For Battery Conviction Sentencing
August 29, 2013
A Bratt man that was the subject of a July 2012 manhunt near Northview High School is behind bars after skipping court on sentencing day for felony conviction.
Marvin Anthony Haynie, 49, was arrested on an outstanding failure to appear warrant and is being held in the Escambia County Jail with bond set at $10,000. Haynie was due to be sentenced on March 19, 2013, after being convicted on a charge of felony battery, but he did not appear in court for his sentencing, according to court records.
He now scheduled to appear for an arraignment hearing next week.
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Offices responded to Haynie’s residence on York Road on the afternoon of July 25, 2012, after receiving a call that Haynie was physically fighting with a minor at that home.
Prior to the arrival of deputies, Haynie had fled into a wooded area around the residence. A K-9 team from the Escambia County Road Prison responded to the area, but their search was unsuccessful.
A short time after deputies left the area, they received a tip that Haynie had exited the wooded area. He was taken into custody on the front porch of a nearby residence without incident.
Tate Leading Rusher Long Has Some Giant Wofford Shoes To Fill
August 29, 2013
Tate graduate and leading rusher Lorenzo Long is expected to be a stats leader for Wofford College in Spartanburg, SC, this season, after the graduation of their all-time leading rusher Eric Breitenstein.
In fact, Long will wear the same No. 7 jersey, despite some belief that the Terriers would not issue that number, a sentiment that grew when it was absent during training camp.
Long said he was well-aware of the significance of No. 7 when he arrived on campus earlier this month.
“A lot of people were telling me about it and that I had big shoes to fill,” Long said. “I’m just going to do my best to get the job done. I’m not going to feel too much pressure. It’s just a number.”
If someone is to wear No. 7, perhaps it’s best that it be a freshman who never saw Breitenstein play. There were no returning players who offered to switch. And it also seems fitting that Long would be that one to wear it.
“He’s a young talent with a lot of potential,” said Donovan Johnson, who is taking over as the starting fullback in an offense that ranked second in the country last season. “He runs really hard. He’s going to be a good one in years to come.”
Long (5-foot-9, 205 pounds) was the second-leading ground gainer in a recent scrimmage, going for 30 yards on four carries. Like Breitenstein, he has powerful legs that just keep churning and it takes a gang to make the tackle.
“Lorenzo is not afraid to drop the hammer on you,” Wofford head coach Mike Ayers said. “If you’re coming to tackle him, you’d better bring it because of the way he runs.”
“If there is a hole,” Long said, “I’ll try to accelerate through there. But if somebody is in my way, I’m going to have to give it to him.”
Long left Tate as the school’s all-time leading rusher with 3,227 yards and also scored 37 touchdowns. He was all-state for two years. A mixture of power and speed, Long also lettered four years in weightlifting and in track as a 100-meters runner and long-jumper. He also played three years of soccer as a goal-scoring forward. Add brains and leadership, too. Long was senior class president.
“He’s going to be a special guy,” Ayers said. “He’s got tremendous quickness, he’s got a burst, and he’s very, very strong. He’s a guy who muscles up to contact. When you tackle him, he’s going to make you pay. He also has very good lateral speed, excellent hands and blocks really well.”
“It was a little tough in the beginning,” Long said. “I feel more comfortable now with the playbook and how to run the plays. It’s pretty exciting.”
Breitenstein finished with 5,730 career rushing yards with 65 touchdowns. He owns three of the top four seasons in program history. Last year, he was a finalist for the Walter Payton Award given to most outstanding player at the FCS level.
“Eric was his own guy. He had his own way,” Ayers said. “Lorenzo is also a guy who can play. He’s also a high character guy. He’s soft-spoken but a competitor, just like the No. 7 we had last year.”
No. 7 Wofford opens their regular season this Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at Baylor on Fox SportSouth. Lorenzo Long is the son of A.J. and Clara Long.
Story by Todd Shanesy, Spartanburg-Herald Journa, GoUpstate.com. Reprinted with permission.
Pictured top: Wofford fullback Lorenzo Long, in a No. 4 jersey during preseason, will take over No. 7 when the season starts. The No. 7 previously belonged to Wofford’s leading career rusher. Photo by Alex C. Hicks, Jr., Spartanburg-Herald Journal for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.