Mickey McNabb
January 4, 2014
Mickey McNabb, age 51, of Jemison, Ala., passed away with his family at his side on January 1, 2014, at LSU hospital in New Orleans. Mickey was born in Key West, Fla. He was a long time resident of Orlando, and also lived in Iowa, Illinois and Pennsylvania, spending most of the last two decades near Birmingham. He is preceded in death by his father, Wendell L. McNabb; step-father, William Sexton,Sr.; and step-brother, William Sexton Jr.
He is survived by his mother, Bertha Sexton of Jay; daughters, Heather McNabb and Tiffany (Ian) Kennedy of Pennsylvania and Amanda (Chris) Armstrong of Panama City,FL; son, Shan Southward of Orlando; and five grandchildren. He is also survived by brothers, Wendell McNabb and Michael McNabb of New Orleans, Don (Merina) McNabb of Levittown, PA and Rick Sexton of CA; sisters, Susan McNabb of Marianna, Jeanne (Moo) Brown of Jay and Jennie (Russ) Johnson of Iowa.
A visitation will be held from 12 p.m. until 1 p.m. on Monday, January 6, 2014, at Jay Funeral Home. Funeral services will start at 1 p.m. with Bill Thompson officiating.
Burial will follow at Canoe United Methodist Church Cemetery.
Escambia Doctor Busted On Sex Charges; Thought Meeting Was With Teen Boy
January 3, 2014
An Escambia County doctor that thought he was meeting a young teen boy for sex was busted Thursday night by the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.
Brian Mitchell Lee, 43, was charged with using a computer to solicit a juvenile for sex and using a two way communication device to facilitate a felony. He was booked into the Escambia County Jail without bond.
On December 22, Lee began communicating with a person he thought was a 14-year old boy that was actually an Escambia County Sheriff’s investigator. According to an arrest report, Lee engaged in sexually explicit conversation and agreed to mee the 14-year old for the purpose of having sex.
On January 1, Lee drove from his place of business, Perdido Bay Family Care, to another location in Escambia County with the intention of having sex with the boy, investigators said. When he arrived, he was taken into custody by the members of the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
“While investigators could not go into specifics of the communications,they did find the chats concerning,as they were relating to particularly young patients,” the Sheriff’s Office said.
Keep The Wreath Green Safety Campaign Ends With 13 Fires
January 3, 2014
The “Keep the Wreath Green” holiday fire safety campaign came to a close with 13 red bulbs representing residential fires in Escambia County. The 13 fires during the December 2013 month-long campaign was an increase over six fires in December 2012.
In the wreath campaign, each time firefighters responded to a residential fire in Escambia County that displaced a resident, a green light bulb was replaced with a red one to remind citizens of fire dangers.
One of the fires was on Christmas Day on Highway 4 in Bratt. The wood frame home suffered heavy smoke and water damage throughout following a fire that was believed to have been started by a wood burning heater.
Pictured top: One of the December Escambia County residential fires was this fire on Highway 4 in Bratt. Pictured inset: The wreath outside the Walnut Hill Fire Station on Highway 97. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Century Reschedules Council Meeting Due To BCS Game
January 3, 2014
The Town of Century has rescheduled their regular first Monday of the month council meeting from January 6 to Tuesday, January 7 at 7 p.m.
The meeting was rescheduled to encourage public participation and attendance — the regular Monday night meeting conflicted with the BCS National Championship Game between Auburn and Florida State.
NorthEscambia.com file photo.
Police Looking For Robbery Suspect With Skin Discoloration
January 3, 2014
Authorities are asking for the public’s help in identifying an armed bandit that held up a Flomaton title and payday loan business on New Year’s Eve.
About 5:15 p.m., an armed bandit walked into the Cash 2 Go store on Sidney Manning Boulevard (Highway 29) in Flomaton and demanded cash at gunpoint from a store employee, according to Flomaton Police Chief Brian Davis.
Thursday, Davis said the suspect is believed to be a black male who was wearing ski mask with eye and mouth openings.
“The suspect appeared to have some type of discoloration around his mouth area, possibly from some type of previous burn, injury or birth mark,” Davis said. “The suspect could have more of these on his face and body but due to the ski mask and jacket we were unable to tell.”
After the robbery, the suspect fled on foot in an unknown direction. An unsuccessful manhunt followed with officers from the Flomaton Police Department, Escambia County (AL) Sheriff’s Office and Escambia County (FL) Sheriff’s Office and K-9 units from Fountain Prison in Atmore, the Escambia County (FL) Road Prison and Century Correctional Institution.
There were no injuries reported.
Anyone with information should contact the Flomaton Police Department at (251) 296-5811 or their local law enforcement agency.
Pictured top: It was businesses as usual Thursday afternoon at the Cash 2 Go store in Flomaton, almost 48 hours after the store was robbed at gunpoint. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Deputies Seek Missing Person
January 3, 2014
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office is asking for the public’s help in finding a missing woman.
Kimberly Joyce Smith, 30, has not been heard from since November 27. She is described as a white female, 5-foot 4-inches tall, 150 pounds with green eyes and blond hair. She has multiple tattoos, including one of a lizard on her right hand.
She was last seen in October wearing jeans and a blue jean shirt. Anyone with information on her whereabouts is asked to call the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office at (850) 436-9426 or (850) 436-9620.
Scott Orders Execution For Murderer
January 3, 2014
Gov. Rick Scott has scheduled a February execution for Juan Carlos Chavez, who committed the notorious 1995 murder of nine-year-old Jimmy Ryce in Miami-Dade County.
Scott notified Florida State Prison Warden John Palmer of Florida State Prison on Thursday that the execution for Chavez, 46, will be held at Feb. 12.
Chavez was convicted in 1998 of kidnapping, sexual assault and murder of Ryce. The brutal crime spurred the Legislature to pass the Jimmy Ryce Involuntary Civil Commitment for Sexually Violent Predators’ Treatment and Care Act, known simply as the Jimmy Ryce Act.
The 1998 law lets the state indefinitely keep violent sexual predators behind bars by requiring them to undergo a review for the risk of re-offending and to be committed at a secured treatment facility after completing their sentences.
Ryce’s dismembered body was found near an avocado grove three months after being abducted at gunpoint near his Redland school bus stop on Sept. 11, 1995. Ryce’s book bag was found in Chavez’ trailer.
The Florida Supreme Court affirmed Chavez’ most recent appeal on Oct. 11, 2013.
Scott’s order comes a little less than a year after the death of Martha Ryce, a Redland native who dedicated her life to advocate for missing children after the murder of her brother. Martha Ryce, who was considered the voice of her family, committed suicide on December 30th in Atlanta. She was 35.
And the warrant comes as lawmakers consider strengthening the 1998 law in the wake of reports by the South Florida Sun Sentinel that found that nearly 600 sexual predators had been released only to be convicted of new sex offenses — including more than 460 child molestations, 121 rapes and 14 murders.
Scott’s office received numerous pleas for the governor to execute Chavez as the 18th anniversary of Ryce’s death approached.
“As simply as I can put it, it is time to end this family’s suffering,” Colleen Salaam of Broward County e-mailed Scott in September.
“He has out lived the entirety of the (Ryce) family,” wrote Dade County resident Matthew Schantz of Chavez. “It is time to put an end to this. It is time for justice.”
The tone was much different from the international pleas Scott often gets for amnesty when an inmate execution is pending.
With subject lines that include “the man who murdered this child has been on death row for way too long,” a number of people questioned how “this animal is still alive” and that they “don’t want to clothe, feed, and house” Chavez.
“I am one of those citizens of Homestead that spent days looking for poor Jimmy Ryce only to have my heart broken,” wrote Patty Accursio in September. Chavez “does not deserve to live one more day. The pain and suffering he has caused this family is just not acceptable.”
Chavez is the one of two Death Row inmates with a pending execution set by Scott. Convicted murderer Askari Abdullah Muhammad is set to be put to death by lethal injection on Tuesday. Scott reset the execution for Muhammad, formerly known as Thomas Knight, on Dec. 20.
Muhammad, 62, will be put to death for fatally stabbing corrections Officer Richard James Burke with a sharpened spoon in October 1980 while Muhammad was already on Death Row.
by The News Service of Florida
Escambia County Judge Retiring
January 3, 2014
Escambia County Judge Thomas E. Johnson has tendered his resignation from office for retirement to be effective Monday, March 31, 2014.
Johnson graduated from the University of West Florida with a degree in accounting and then went on to receive his Juris Doctorate at Florida State University. He was elected to the county bench in 1988 and has served the citizens of Escambia County as a county judge for 25 years following approximately 16 years in private practice.
The judicial nominating process will begin in the near future, at the conclusion of which Governor Scott will appoint a new judge to the bench.
Hwy 29/I-10 Interchange Construction Project To Begin Next Week
January 3, 2014
Construction will begin next week on a $2.5 million resurfacing project on I-10 from west of Highway 29 to east of Palafox Street in Escambia County.
The project also includes the milling and resurfacing of all ramps and ramp shoulders associated with the U.S. 29/I-10 interchange, shoulder widening, guardrail upgrades, crash cushion replacement, removal of portable traffic monitoring sites (PTMS), installation of new signs, pavement markings, and sodding. The entire project is slated for completion summer 2014.
During construction drivers will encounter overnight lane restrictions on both I-10 and the U.S. 29/ I-10 interchange. Lane closures on I-10 and intermittent closures or restrictions on the interchange will be limited to 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.
All planned construction activities are weather dependent and may be rescheduled in the event of inclement weather.
Hate Crimes Up Across Florida; Eight Reported In Escambia County
January 3, 2014
Florida saw a 22.3 percent increase in reported hate crimes in 2012 from the prior year, according to a report released by Attorney General Pam Bondi’s office. Of the 170 hate crimes reported in Florida in 2012, eight were in Escambia County.
Four of Escambia County’s hate crimes were reported by the Pensacola Police Department, three by the University of West Florida Police Department and one by the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.
Pensacola Police reported three aggravated assaults related to face and one related to sexual orientation. Two UWF incidents were vandalisms related to race and one intimidation complaint related to sexual orientation. The single complaint to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office was a simple assault related to race.
Statewide Data
Racially-motivated crimes comprised the majority of the 170 hate crimes reported in 2012 by local law enforcement agencies providing data to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. The 170 reported hate crimes were the most in a single year since 2008, when there were 182. Crimes motivated by race and skin color represented 54.1 percent of the reported cases.
Other factors were: sexual orientation, which accounted for 28.8 percent; religion, 10 percent; ethnicity and national origin, 6.5 percent; and mental disability, 0.6 percent. The data does not include hate crimes committed against the homeless, which is not part of the Uniform Crime Reporting system used to compile the report. Hate crimes were reported in 30 Florida counties in 2012, down from 31 the previous year. Orange County accounted for 32 reported hate crimes in 2012, the most for any county, and up from 26 a year earlier. Brevard County had the second most with 15, up from six the prior year.
While the report lists the reason each crime was listed as a hate crime, it does not speculate on what caused the overall increase in hate crimes from year to year.