Cold, Near Freezing Tonight
April 15, 2014
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
- Tonight Partly cloudy. Lows in the mid 30s. North winds 10 to 15 mph becoming 5 to 10 mph after midnight.
- Wednesday Sunny. Highs in the upper 60s. Northeast winds 5 to 10 mph becoming southeast in the afternoon.
- Wednesday Night Not as cool. Partly cloudy. Lows in the mid 40s. East winds 5 to 10 mph.
- Thursday Mostly cloudy. Highs in the lower 70s. East winds 10 to 15 mph becoming southeast 5 to 10 mph in the afternoon.
- Thursday Night Warmer. Mostly cloudy. Chance of showers and thunderstorms. Lows in the upper 50s. East winds 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation 40 percent.
- Friday Mostly cloudy. Slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the mid 70s. Chance of precipitation 20 percent.
- Friday Night Mostly cloudy. Lows in the mid 50s.
- Saturday Mostly sunny. Highs in the upper 70s.
- Saturday Night Partly cloudy. Lows in the mid 50s.
- Sunday Mostly sunny. Highs in the lower 80s.
- Sunday Night A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 57.
- Monday A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 80.
Century Couple Sentenced In Connection With Financial Exploitation Of Elderly Woman
April 15, 2014
A Century husband and wife have been sentenced on charges related the financial exploitation of an elderly woman.
Lashonda Marsha Johnson, 42, pleaded no contest to felony exploitation of an elderly person. Judge E.P. Nickinson withheld adjudication and sentenced Johnson to 18 months probation, ordered her to stay away from alcohol and controlled substances and ordered her to find a job. She was also ordered to pay $500 in fines.
Eric Russel Johnson, 44, pleaded no contest to a lesser charge of second degree petit theft. Nickinson withheld adjudication and fined Johnson $500.
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office said Lashonda Johnson worked for Granny Nannies as a certified nursing assistant for the victim at the time of the alleged crime in 2011.
After the Johnson’s were denied a loan in December 2011 to purchase a 2011 Buick Lacrosse, Eric Johnson returned to Pen Air Federal Credit Union with his wife’s elderly client and used the elderly woman’s good credit to obtain a $28,583 loan as a co-signer, deputies said. The elderly woman, according to an arrest report, lacked the physical and mental capacity to consent to the loan.
In March 2013, the elderly woman’s son discovered the loan and contact sheriff’s investigators. According to an arrest report, Eric Johnson returned to Pen Air in April 2012 to refinance the vehicle only in his name. The vehicle was later returned to the credit union after Eric Johnson filed bankruptcy.
Woman Sentenced To 24 Years In Prison For Toddler Drowning Death
April 15, 2014
An Escambia County woman was sentenced Monday to 24 years in prison in connection with the drowning death of her toddler in a neighbor’s small pond.
Jennifer Lynn Eiland, 32, was convicted last month by an Escambia County jury of negligent manslaughter and three counts of child neglect after her 14-month old, Alana Mae Eiland, was found unresponsive in her neighbor’s landscaping pond in August 2013 in the 10600 block of Betmark Road, just off 10 Mile Road.
The neighbor was alerted to the child by one of the child’s siblings. First responders attempted rescue efforts, but Alana Mae 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.
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 the recent months before the drowning.
Pictured top and bottom: Larry Kruger (bottom photo) discovered the lifeless body of a nieghbor’s 14-month old girl in his landscaping pond in August 2013. File photos by Joe Douglass WEAR 3 for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Name Released In Monday Fatal Shooting
April 15, 2014
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office has released the name of the victim in a fatal shooting in the Mayfair area of Escambia County Monday afternoon.
The victim was identified as 23-year old Dequarius Frederick Durrant. He was found deceased inside a car that had crashed into a home in the 100 block Emerald Avenue about 2:30 p.m.
“The incident appears to have been drug related,” the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.
Investigators said “person of interest” was questioned and released Monday night. The investigation into the incident is continuing.
Pictured: The scene on Emerald Avenue in Mayfair Monday afternoon following a fatal shooting. Photos by Jenise Fernandez, WEAR, for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Lightning Sparks Molino House Fire, One Injured
April 15, 2014
One person was injured and a home was destroyed by fire Monday night near Molino after a lightning struck an outdoor propane tank.
The fire was reported just before 8 p.m. in the 6900 block of Highway 99 near Blackberry Lane. A resident of the home reported lighting struck a their propane tank and their house was on fire.
One resident suffered from smoke-inhalation was treated by medics at the scene before later being transported by ambulance to Sacred Heart Hospital
Firefighters reported fire burning from the gas line between the propane tank and the house. The 4,400 square foot, two-story home was a total loss. The fire is under investigation by the Florida State Fire Marshal.
Heavy storms were in the area at the time, with firefighters reporting a delay in response times due to heavy rainfall.
The Molino, Walnut Hill, McDavid, Cantonment and Century stations of Escambia County Fire Rescue, Atmore Ambulance and the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office responded to the blaze.
Organ Donor Month: Father Describes His Darkest Hour
April 15, 2014
By Ensign Joshua Faulkner
Registered Nurse, Naval Hospital Pensacola
April is Donor Awareness Month and the following is my account of how a donor forever changed my family.
The minutes seemed like hours as my mind and body were finally succumbing to all that was happening. The reality that my son was closer to death than life had finally set in and the enormity of the moment seemed to sit directly on my chest like a heavy weight. How had this happened?
Just six days earlier, life was totally normal and the thought that my 14-year-old son Trenton would soon be fighting for his life had never crossed my mind. He had complained of a mild stomach ache that weekend, but by Monday morning he was up and ready for school. Halfway into the school day I received his text, “Dad my eyes are yellow.” Being a registered nurse, I immediately drove to the school knowing that if this was true, a trip to Naval Hospital Pensacola’s Emergency Room would be required. As he walked into the front office, the yellow hue of his eyes was obvious.
The lab work revealed that his liver was not working correctly. His liver enzymes were elevated and the many functions of the body sustained by the liver were reflecting its weakened state. Knowing the potential for complications, NHP immediately transferred him to one of the local hospitals to ensure that the potential services that may be required would be available. I didn’t know it then, but this was just one of many time critical decisions that allowed my son to have a chance to fight for his life.
After two days it became apparent that Trent’s condition was not improving. The medical team felt it was now necessary to airlift Trent to a children’s hospital in Atlanta. They informed us that he would be admitted into the transplant unit. I believe this was the first time the full severity of the situation truly dawned on us as a family.
For two more days we sat with Trent hoping for the best, but were helpless to watch as his condition continued to deteriorate. He slept more and more, his skin yellow and swollen from the toxins accumulating in his body. Finally, the doctors entered Trent’s hospital room and told us that the damage to his liver had reached a point of no return and that without an immediate transplant, he would die.
I looked at Trent as the doctors exited the room and for the first time I saw fear. I asked the obvious, “Are you scared?” That little acknowledgement of what he was feeling was all it took for him to finally release the tears that he was fighting so hard to hold back. My wife and I cried with him, and I struggled to mutter the words, “It’s going to be okay.” I wanted to do nothing more in that moment than to be able to take away his fear and ease his heart, but I could not think of the proper words to comfort my son.
About 12 hours later, the doctors came with the first good news we had heard all week. They informed us that they had been contacted with a potential donor match, and that a team of doctors was already in route to assess the donor liver to ensure that it would be a viable organ for Trent. I cannot describe the feelings that I felt in that moment. I felt a sense of relief and hope for sure knowing that my son would have a chance to survive, but I also felt a very real awareness that somewhere someone had lost their life. A family had made a difficult decision to donate life while grieving the loss of their loved one.
The minutes seemed like hours. Finally at 3 a.m., the ICU nurse came to tell us that the liver had arrived, and they would be wheeling Trent to the operating room.
After six hours from the beginning of the procedure, the surgeon walked into the waiting room still wearing his scrubs. He slowly pulled up a nearby chair and sat down in front of my family. My heart was in my throat as we waited for him to give us the news.
“It went great,” he explained. “Everything worked out perfectly.”
Sitting at home now, some five months post-transplant, the enormity of the gift given to my family by our donor family becomes more evident daily. Every memory made and cherished by each of us with Trent is a blessing, granted by someone’s decision to donate life. I have since watched Trent return to school, play with his sisters and begin playing baseball. I don’t know if I could ever express in words how much these moments mean to me, or how appreciative I will forever be to my son’s donor and their family.
Pictured top: Trenton Faulkner, 14, is surrounded by his family, including his father Ensign Joshua Faulkner, a registered nurse at Naval Hospital Pensacola, as he waits for a liver donor late in 2013. A donor match was found and Trenton made a full recovery. Joshua shared his son’s story to raise awareness on the impact donors can have. Pictured inset: Trenton Faulkner poses with his father Ensign Joshua Faulkner during Joshua’s commissioning ceremony May 19, 2012. Courtesy photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
First Amendment Group Seeks Veto Of ‘Warning Shot’ Bill
April 15, 2014
The First Amendment Foundation on Monday asked Gov. Rick Scott to veto what has become known as the “warning shot” bill because of a provision that would allow records to be expunged.
The bill (HB 89), which has passed the House and Senate, has drawn widespread attention because it would allow people to show guns or fire warning shots in self-defense if they feel threatened. The bill also would allow criminal records to be expunged if people are found to have acted legally in self-defense and prosecutors do not pursue charges.
Barbara Petersen, president of the First Amendment Foundation, wrote to Scott that the bill “has grave implications for public oversight of our judicial and criminal justice systems” and is contrary to the public interest.
“The expunction provision … not only limits public oversight, but potentially could serve as a tool for obscuring law enforcement and prosecutorial misconduct, while also hindering the development of court precedence essential to understanding how and when the proposed use of force law applies,” Petersen wrote. But during debates on bill, lawmakers such as Sen. Charlie Dean, R-Inverness, defended the provision.
“If you’re innocent, that automatically should expunge your name, and you shouldn’t have to defend your name the rest of your life,” Dean said before the Senate approved the bill April 3.
by the News Service of Florida
(Disclosure: The News Service of Florida is a member of the First Amendment Foundation.)
Weather Delays Start Of District 3-1A Softball Tourney
April 15, 2014
Weather has forced a schedule change for the District 3-1A softball tournament at Jay.
Due to Monday afternoon rain, tournament play will now begin on Tuesday. Chipley won the coin toss, make them the number one seed. Northview will take on Holmes County Tuesday at 5:00, and Freeport will play Baker at 7:00.
The Jay Royals will play the winner of Freeport-Baker on Wednesday, while Chipley will play the winner of Northview-Holmes County. The championship game will be played at 7 p.m. Thursday in Jay.
NorthEscambia.com file photo.
Contractor Paves Remainder Of Bratt Road, Repairs Crumbling Pavement
April 15, 2014
A contractor has paved the remainder of Bratt Road and has made good on a warranty promise to repave sections of the road that were surfaced back in December and later began to crumble.
The first part of the project in December included dirt road paving and drainage improvements on Bratt Road from Pine Barren Road east about 1.25 miles to the existing paved roadway. The county road department provided pipe installation and grading, while contractor Roads, Inc. was responsible for the paving.
An Escambia County official said the cold mix asphalt was likely used on a day that was too cold, causing it to be spread too thin in some spots.
The contractor, Roads Inc. repaired the roadway under warranty and paved the remaining dirt portion of Bratt Road fromPine Barren Road to West Highway 4 at the Travis Nelson Park.
As part of the project, the intersection of Ashcraft Road at Bratt Road will be closed beginning Wednesday at 6 p.m., through Thursday at 4:30 p.m. due to a crossover pipe replacement.
Pictured top: A newly resurfaced portion of Bratt Road by the Travis. Nerlson Park and Highway 4. Pictured inset: Portions of Bratt Road west of Pine Barren Road began to crumble weeks after being paved in December. Pictured below: The repaired sections of Bratt Road. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Two Charged With Stealing Lottery Tickets From Northern Santa Rosa Business
April 15, 2014
Two people have been charged in connection with the theft of thousands of dollars worth of scratch off lottery tickets from a convenience store last month in the northern Santa Rosa County community of Berrydale.
Investigators said Kristeena M. Bare,25, and Frank Lee Johnson, 37, busted a window of the Berrydale Quick Mart on North Highway 87 to gain entry during the early morning hours of March 19. Once inside, deputies said they stole about $3,300 worth of the Florida Lottery scratch off tickets. They were caught on video cashing two winning tickets worth a combined $115 about four hours later at a Tom Thumb in Milton, according to an arrest report.
Bare and Johnson were charged with property damage, burglary, larceny and dealing in stolen property.
Bare remained in the Santa Rosa County Jail with on bond set at $44,000, while Johnson was being held with set at $27,500.