Robbery Of Highway 97 Gas Station Under Investigation
November 22, 2014
The search for a suspect is continuing after the BP gas station on Highway 97 in Davisville was robbed Friday night.
The male suspect entered the store about 7:45 p.m. and demanded cash. The clerk was extremely startled by the incident, but otherwise uninjured, according to Deputy Courtney Clanton, spokesperson for the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.
The clerk was not immediately available to provide a good description of the suspect, but investigators were reviewing surveillance video in their effort to develop a suspect. He fled the store in an unknown type vehicle in an unknown direction of travel.
More information will be published when released by the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.
Anyone with information on the robbery is asked to call the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office at (850) 436-9620 or Crime Stoppers at (850) 433-STOP.
Pictured: The BP station on Highway 97 in Davisville minutes after a Friday night robbery. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Escambia Academy Cougars Win State Championship
November 22, 2014
The Escambia Academy Cougars from Canoe, AL, won the AISA Class AAA state championship Friday night with a 35-28 defeat of Bessemer Academy at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Troy, AL. It was the first football state championship ever for the school just outside Atmore — in fact, it was the first final game appearance ever for the Cougars.
The Cougars earned the win a on a one-yard touchdown run from Brett Gorum with just 49 seconds to play in the game, capping a 59-yard, seven play drive for the Cougars (11-1). On Bessemer’s final drive, an interception by the Cougar’s Kris Brown finalized the win.
Gorum was 5 of 7 passing Friday night for three touchdowns, including a 19-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter to Tim Finklea, a six-yard pass to Maleek Salter, and a 59-yarder to Scott Brantley. The Cougar’s other score came on a six-yard run from Brown.
Finklea had a total of 125 rushing yards on 23 carries for Escambia Academy.
Three weeks ago, Escambia Academy lost to Bessemer 32-14 at home in Canoe – their only loss of the season.
The state championship was the first in 30 years for an Alabama school from the Atmore area. The Escambia High School Blue Devils win a state championship back in 1974. The Northview High School Chiefs, just across the line in Florida, won a state championship in 2012.
NorthEscambia.com expects additional high quality images to post later Saturday or on Sunday.
Pictured above and below: The Escambia Academy Cougars celebrate the AISA Class AAA state championship Friday night at Troy State’s Memorial Stadium. Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge
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Perdido Man Killed In Single Vehicle Crash
November 22, 2014
A Baldwin County man died in a single vehicle wreck early Thursday morning in Perdido, AL.
William Jonathan Ammons of Perdido was pronounced deceased following the 5 a.m. crash on Baldwin County Road 47, near Perdido Elementary School. According to Alabama State Troopers, Ammons lost control of his 2007 Honda Civic, left the roadway, struck a culvert and collided with a tree.
There were no passengers in the vehicle.
Pictured top and below: A 2007 Honda Civic after being removed from a wooded area Friday morning in a fatal Perdido, AL, crash. Pictured inset: The vehicle still in the wooded area. Reader submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
High School Playoff Finals
November 22, 2014
Here are Friday night’s high school football finals from around the area:
FLORIDA
- 7A — Niceville 34 Tate 0 [Read more...]
- 6A –Choctaw 35, Navarre 14
- 5A — Tallahassee Godby 41, West Florida 6
- 1A — Vernon 30, Baker 14 – FINAL
ALABAMA
- 2A — Washington County 60, Flomaton 0
- AAA-AISA STATE CHAMPIONS Escambia Academy 35, Bessemer 0 [Read more...]
Authorities Searching For Alabama Pharmacy Armed Robbery Suspect
November 22, 2014
Authorities across the Gulf Coast are on alert for 27-year old man wanted in connection with an armed robbery Thursday in Baldwin County, AL.
William “Jake” McMillan of Bay Minette was identified on surveillance video as the suspect who robbed the Lillian Pharmacy at gunpoint, demanding all of the store’s hydrocodone. The suspect fled the store in charcoal gray Ford pickup truck after getting 1,700 hydrocodone pills during the robbery.
A short time before the robbery, he allegedly took an undisclosed amount of cash from a register and safe from his workplace, the Las Vegas Discount Golf & Tennis at Tanger Outlets in Foley.
McMillan is wanted for first degree armed robbery and theft. Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to call the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office at (251) 937-0202 or their nearest law enforcement agency.
7A: Niceville Tops Tate
November 22, 2014
The Tate High School’s playoff run came to an end Friday night as the Aggies lost to Niceville 35-0 in the Region 1-7A semifinal. The Aggies finished the year at 9-3.
Niceville will be Oakleaf next Friday night in the regional finals.
Photos by Jennifer Repine for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
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Stormy Sunday On Tap
November 22, 2014
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
- Saturday Night Showers and possibly a thunderstorm. Some of the storms could produce heavy rainfall. Low around 59. East wind 5 to 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%.
- Sunday Showers and thunderstorms before noon, then a chance of showers between noon and 3pm. Some of the storms could be severe and produce heavy rainfall. High near 75. Breezy, with a south wind 15 to 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%.
- Sunday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 61. South wind around 10 mph.
- Monday Mostly sunny, with a high near 73. West wind around 10 mph.
- Monday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 43. Northwest wind around 5 mph.
- Tuesday Mostly sunny, with a high near 61. North wind 5 to 10 mph.
- Tuesday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 37. Northwest wind around 5 mph.
- Wednesday Sunny, with a high near 57.
- Wednesday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 35.
- Thanksgiving Day Sunny, with a high near 59.
- Thursday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 33.
- Friday Sunny, with a high near 57.
Florida State ‘Coming Back Together’ After Library Shooting
November 22, 2014
The trustees of Florida State University on Friday stood to applaud the campus police chief and prayed for two victims — one critically injured — as the school tries to recover from a shooting incident early Thursday that left three people wounded and the gunman dead.
FSU President John Thrasher told the university’s board of trustees that students were back in class and that Strozier Library, where the tragedy occurred, had re-opened Friday morning.
“The campus in my opinion is coming back together,” said Thrasher, who has been in his job less than two weeks. “We all hurt for the folks that are in the hospital, and we are trying to be diligent in our efforts to help them and support them, without being intrusive into the privacy that they expect.”
The board led a standing ovation for university Police Chief David Perry, whose officers arrived on the scene of the shooting in less than five minutes. Officers exchanged more than 30 rounds with the gunman, FSU graduate Myron May, who died outside the library after failing to penetrate its security.
“I tell thousands of parents and students at orientation that we are the ones that run toward the danger when everyone else is running the opposite direction,” said Perry, who hadn’t slept in 52 hours. “So when I got that first call, I was just as emotional as everyone else, but I knew that we had a job to do, and I knew that we were going to rely on our training to get the job done.”
University and Tallahassee police officers rushed to the library after May, a 31-year-old attorney, showed up with a semi-automatic handgun. He shot one student in the lobby and then went outside, where he shot a university employee and another student.
Tallahassee police late Friday afternoon released the names of the three victims. Police said one of the victims, Farhan Ahmed, 21, was being treated at a local hospital and that his family had asked for privacy. University employee Nathan Scott, 30, was shot in the leg and was being treated at a hospital. The third victim, Elijah Velez, 18, suffered what police called a “grazing” wound and was treated and released.
The trustees saw a video of a Thursday night vigil on Landis Green, where students lifted candles and sang “Amazing Grace.” During the trustees meeting, Chairman Allan Bense also led a silent prayer for the victims and their families, with whom he’d been spending time.
Thrasher, whose selection as president had drawn protests from some students and faculty members, said the university had come together.
“Normalcy is a funny word, and I don’t know that we’ll get back to it or ever forget,” he said. “But at least I think from a standpoint of some of the things that went on yesterday, I think our campus is alive and well and working toward the goals of being a great university.”
On Friday morning, Thrasher and FSU Provost Garnett Stokes — along with law enforcement — welcomed students at the library doors. With them was Dean of University Libraries Julia Zimmerman, whose security measures kept May from getting past the lobby of Strozier, where 450 students were studying at the time.
“We’re ready to get back to work,” Zimmerman said. “This is a busy time for the library, as exams are coming up. Our building is going to be packed to the gills for the next two to three weeks with students, and we are ready to work with them.”
About 100 students lined up at the library doors, saying they, too, were ready to pick up where they’d left off — more or less.
“It shocked a lot of people and it rocked a lot of people, but we’ll get back to normal pretty soon,” said Joe Pelt, a freshman biology major from Tallahassee. “It’s going to be in the back of our minds going in and out of Strozier and being around campus for a while, but we’ll bounce back. It’s what we do.”
Also Friday, the FBI intercepted a package May had sent to a friend in Texas. Other packages to other friends are expected. On Thursday, Tallahassee Police Chief Michael DeLeo described May as having been “in crisis,” and the investigation into his actions is continuing.
by Margie Menzel, The News Service of Florida
Heroes For Christmas: Atmore Firefighters Holding Toy Drive Saturday
November 22, 2014
The Atmore Fire Department’s annual toy drive will be held Saturday. The “Heroes For Christmas” will be at Walmart from 8 a.m. until, collecting Christmas toys for needy children in the Atmore area.
Pictured: “Heroes for Christmas”, Atmore firefighters Daniel White, Brandon Barber, Chris Hughes, Travis Pruitt and Ethan Smith. Photo by Savannah Fullerton for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Basketball: Tate Beats Pace In OT
November 22, 2014
The Tate High School Aggiest beat Pace in overtime Friday night 74-72.
With the win Friday night and a season-opening win last Tuesday over Milton, the Aggies are now 2-0.
The Aggies will host Gulf Breeze Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.