Man Convicted On 43 Child Porn Charges
March 27, 2014
An Escambia County man has been convicted of 43 child pornography counts.
Jairo Scott Domanski, 31, was charged after a search warrant was served in June 2013 and several electronic items were seized and later determined to contain videos and images of children involved in sexual activity.
Circuit Judge Michael Jones scheduled sentencing for June 17. Domanski faces a minimum guideline sentence of 34 years state prison.
ECAT Rolls Out New Website
March 27, 2014
Escambia County Area Transit (ECAT) announced the launch of the new www.goecat.com website Wednesday. The site was redesigned and streamlined for easier navigation and faster access to the tools people need to plan their travel on ECAT.
The site has user-friendly navigation that allows the site to be a more comprehensive resource to the community, providing information about how to ride, news, online ticket ordering, visitor information, transit connections, advertising information and more.
The star of the new website is the trip planner application, which is an interactive transit map that locates routes and bus stops. Users can zoom in on transit stops and see the routes that serve it as well as view any related bus routes or stops within 1000 feet. With another click, customers can plan a trip to or from that stop by inputting their beginning start and final destination addresses.
House Budget Moves Forward On Bipartisan Vote
March 27, 2014
The House’s top budget-writing committee advanced a $75.3 billion spending plan Wednesday in a lopsided vote that showed Democrats already divided about whether to support the Legislature’s main responsibility.
Four of the 10 Democrats on the House Appropriations Committee, including the ranking member, joined the 21-6 vote to move the spending bill forward. It marked the first time since 2007 that any Democrat on the committee has voted for the budget.
“We don’t have chairmanships to hold over people’s heads to make them do things,” said House Minority Leader Perry Thurston, D-Fort Lauderdale. “We let our members express themselves. And we’re not that party that says that you have to vote this way or that way.”
The votes give Republicans an opportunity to tout the budget as a bipartisan document as they move through the process — much as they did last year, when Democratic opposition eventually broke down in the final votes on the spending plan. The full House still needs to vote on the proposed 2014-15 budget before negotiations begin with the Senate.
Helping out is the state’s revenue surplus, which allowed budget writers to shower money on education and other politically popular items in an election year. Public school spending would increase by almost 3.1 percent per student, and the total amount of education funding would mark the highest on record.
The budget (PCB APC 14-09) would also provide services to about 1,260 Floridians seeking services from the Agency for Persons with Disabilities, clearing a waiting list of the patients with the most serious needs.
Democrats who voted against the budget bill tried to highlight the shortcomings in the proposal. They pointed out that the $6,988 in pre-student funding was still less than it was before the recession wrecked the state budget — with a healthy portion of the increase coming from local taxes. And they got Republicans to concede that the spending plan knocks out just 6 percent of the total Agency for Persons with Disabilities waiting list.
“Education is not at historic levels,” said Rep. Mark Pafford, D-West Palm Beach. “It’s not keeping pace with growth. And, frankly, it’s relying more on property tax. That should be an issue. … We still are keeping so many wait lists, with so many people that are vulnerable out there on these wait lists.”
They also blasted the proposal for continuing to leave out an expansion of Medicaid, which House Republicans have ruled out.
But other Democrats said they believed the issues they had with the budget could be resolved later in the process.
“I’m hoping that we will be able to address those also,” said Rep. Hazelle Rogers, D-Lauderdale Lakes. “So I’m keeping hope alive this afternoon.”
While stopping short of issuing a clear-cut threat, at least one Republican suggested that other Democrats should take a similar tack. Rep. Dennis Baxley, R-Ocala, suggested that the chairmen of the House’s budget subcommittees might have less motivation to work with lawmakers who vote against the plan.
“It’s hard to work with people and negotiate with them about adding or fixing or changing things when they’re already locked down in opposition,” Baxley said. “What is the reason they would even work with you? Thankfully, most of them are fair-minded people, and I think will continue to try to.”
Perhaps more significant than the squabbling between the parties, though, were the negotiations between the House and Senate set to begin after both chambers finish their versions of the spending plan. The Senate Appropriations Committee is set to vote Thursday on a plan totaling $74.9 billion.
House Appropriations Chairman Seth McKeel, R-Lakeland, said the differences between the two budgets are small.
“I feel very confident that we’ll get to a comfortable place relatively quickly,” he said. “It doesn’t seem insurmountable from my perspective.”
by Brandon Larrabee, The News Service of Florida
Man Sentenced To 25 Years For Shooting At Cops
March 27, 2014
An Escambia County man has been sentenced by Circuit Judge Ross Goodman to a minimum mandatory of 25 years in state prison.
On February 13, 2014, Timothy Jerome Lowe was convicted by an Escambia County jury of attempted second degree murder, two counts of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer and resisting an officer with violence.
On December 16, 2012, Lowe shot at Melvin Coley in the parking lot of the Travel Inn on Cervantes in a dispute over narcotics. Two police officers were in the area and heard the shots. When those officers responded to the scene, Lowe turned his gun on them. The officers fired at Lowe, striking him one time in the leg. The officers were not harmed. After a short foot pursuit, Lowe was apprehended.
Watch Their Video, Help Escambia Westgate Win National Contest
March 27, 2014
Escambia Westgate School is in the running to win a school recording package in a national contest.
The Concert for Music In Our Schools Month contest from the National Association for Music Education contest ends March 31, with the prize package awarded to the school with the most online views of their video.
View the Escambia Westgate video below, or click here.
Man Jumps Airport Fence, Gets In Pilot’s Seat To Go See Mom
March 26, 2014
A Georgia man told police he wanted to fly to Atlanta to see his mother and that he didn’t have any money, so he jumped the fence and climbed into a plane at the Pensacola airport this afternoon.
Mahiri Hanif, 20, of Atlanta, was charged with burglary/unoccupied conveyance unarmed after police said he climbed over a fence at the Pensacola International Airport and boarded an unoccupied cargo plane.
The incident occurred around 1:30 p.m. Police officers said Hanif had gone inside the airport and tried to enter the airport concourse through the exit lane. An officer made contact with Hanif at the exit lane and told him he had to go through the TSA checkpoint.
Hanif left the area and was seen a short time later climbing over a fence topped with barbed wire, running up portable steps leading to the cargo plane, opening the door, and entering the plane.
When officers arrived, they found him sitting in the pilot’s seat and took him into custody.
Broken Down Truck Causes Highway 29 Delays At McDavid Sawmill
March 26, 2014
A broken down semi truck was, at last report, causing traffic problems in McDavid this morning.
The truck hauling a large concrete power pole was completely blocking Highway 29 northbound and causing delays with partial blockage of Highway 29 southbound at the entrance to the McDavid Sawmill.
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office was on the scene directing traffic as of about 7:45 a.m.
Reader submitted photos by Kim Plant, click to enlarge.
I-10 Speed Limit To Be Increased
March 26, 2014
The speed limit on a portion of I-10 in Escambia County will be increased.
On Friday, the speed limit on I-10 in Escambia County will be increased from 55 to 60 mph from Davis Highway to west of Highway 29 beginning Friday, according to the Florida Department of Transportation.
The change is being made based upon the results of a recent speed study, according to FDOT.
Cantonment Man Arrested For Burglaries
March 26, 2014
A Cantonment man was arrested for burglary after deputies say a homeowner caught him in the act — and then he was linked to another residential burglary.
About 3:30 a.m. Sunday, a resident of Virecent Drive said he went outside to investigate after he was awakened by the sound of his dogs barking. The victim told deputies he observed 21-year old David Tyler Morgan rummaging around the bed of his truck. The resident told Morgan that he’d called 911, and he advised Morgan to stay put.
The victim told deputies he believed he interrupted a burglary in progress because nothing was missing.
Morgan told deputies that he was riding a four-wheeler in the neighborhood with his girlfriend, but he decided to walk after getting into an argument her. He said he had stopped and was urinating beside the road when he was approached by an unknown male that told him to stay because he had called deputies. He denied rummaging through the pickup truck.
Deputies did locate Morgan’s girlfriend in the neighborhood on a four-wheeler parked near the intersection of Virecent Drive and Eden Lane. She provided a totally different account of what the pair was doing in the neighborhood, saying they were visiting a friend when her four-wheeler began to make noises, prompting her to stop.
Morgan was charged with unarmed burglary of an unoccupied conveyance.
The deputy in the Virecent Drive case was in a conversation with another deputy that had worked a burglary a couple of days prior in the 3000 block of Molino Road. The deputy mentioned the four-wheeler that was involved, which turned out to have been taken in the Molino Road burglary.
During the Molino Road burglary, someone forced their way into the residence of a vacationing couple, taking jewelry, a handgun and other items. A four-wheeler was stolen from an outdoor shed.
Deputies responded to Morgan’s residence in the 2100 block of North Highway 29, at which time Morgan produced several of the stolen items for deputies, according to an arrest report, including a handgun, jewelry and the four-wheeler.
For the Molino Road burglary, Morgan was charged with larceny from an individual 65 or older, grand theft of a firearm, armed burglary of a dwelling, grand theft of a vehicle and criminal mischief.
Morgan remained in the Escambia County Jail Wednesday morning with bond set at $38,000.
Learn How To Help Victims Of Fires, Crimes, Wrecks, Other Tragedies
March 26, 2014
You can learn how to help victims of crimes, house fires, auto wrecks and other life-changing events.
A training program will be held in Pensacola beginning at 6 p.m. April 3 for people interested in becoming volunteers with Trauma Intervention Programs, which teaches citizens how to give emotional and practical support to traumatized people immediately after tragedy strikes.
The classes will be held at the Pensacola Police Department, 711 N. Hayne St. The course, which takes 30-plus hours, covers such topics as “Dealing with Death,” “Street Smarts” and “Working with Emergency Responders.” It concludes April 12.
TIP volunteers respond to calls from hospital personnel, police officers, firefighters, and paramedics day or night. They help family members confronted with natural or unexpected deaths; crime victims; disoriented or lonely older persons; victims of vehicle accidents; and anyone emotionally traumatized by a crisis event. Volunteers range in age from teens to senior citizens.
More than 30 volunteers participate in the program, but more are needed. The volunteers range in age from high school students to senior citizens.
For more information, visit www.tip-ser.org or call (850) 612-1068.