Sheriff’s Office: Track Your Valuables With Online Tool
March 25, 2015
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office is introducing a free online system that will help keep track of valuable personal property. ReportIt is a free, secure online service which will allow citizens to record serial numbers and upload images for phones, electronics, and other valuables. Should those items ever be stolen, investigators say, having the information will go a long way in accurately and quickly identifying your property.
The ReportIt service is a part of LeadsOnline, the online system that works with police across the country to track and recover stolen property. ECSO Investigators use LeadsOnline to help track and recover stolen property —- everything from jewelry to sporting equipment to electronics, computers, cameras, and other items such as designer clothing, collectibles, and other items with invaluable personal worth.
The system allows detectives to search for the items using a variety of parameters, including item descriptions and serial numbers. When an item is sold to a pawn or secondhand shop, the product information is entered in the LeadsOnline database and is immediately viewable by participating law enforcement agencies across the country.
Citizens can store an unlimited number of serial numbers, item descriptions, pictures, and scans of receipts so items may be more easily identified in the event of theft. This record may also come in handy when filing claims with insurance providers in the event of loss.
Citizens wishing to participate in ReportIt can register for the free service at reportit.leadsonline.com and begin building their personal property inventory list.
Bond Denied For Teen Murder Suspect
March 25, 2015
A motion for bond was denied Tuesday for a Santa Rosa County teen accused of killing her stepfather and then dragging his body behind a pickup truck.
Taylor Lynn Crongeyer is accused of killing 40-year Aubrey Dewayne Cooley. He was found dead December 26, 2014, with a gunshot wound to his head at his Dale Hall Road home. He was tied to the trailer hitch of a pickup truck with a rope around his ankles.
Crongeyer will remain in the Santa Rosa County Jail without bond until her trial.
Home Evacuated, Street Closed By Gas Leak
March 25, 2015
Sheppard Street in Cantonment was closed and at least one home evacuated due to a gas leak Tuesday night.
A resident in the 200 block of Sheppard Street reported smelling gas and hearing a leak outside their home about 9:30 p.m. First responders from the Cantonment Station of Escambia Fire Rescue responded and determined the leak was below the gas meter outside the home.
The home was evacuated and Sheppard Street was closed between Washington and Lincoln streets as a precaution.
Pensacola Energy responded and secured the leak by 10:45 p.m. There were no injures reported.
Tate Aggies Release Football Schedule
March 25, 2015
The Tate High School Aggies have released a tentative 2015 football schedule. Game times will be announced at a later date:
Driver Trapped After Wreck
March 25, 2015
A Pensacola man was injured single vehicle crash about 6:15 p.m. Tuesday on I-10 eastbound a few miles inside the Florida line.
The Florida Highway Patrol said 33-year old Chad Benson apparently lost control of his 1996 Ford Explorer, ran off the roadway, and the vehicle overturned. Benson was trapped, requiring an extensive extrication by firefighters from the Beulah, Bellview and Ensley stations of Escambia Fire Rescue.
Benson was transported to an area hospital with injuries that were not considered life threatening.
Pictured: Photos from the top to the bottom show firefighters stabilizing a vehicle and then using the Jaw of Life to extricate the driver following a wreck Tuesday evening on I-10 in Beulah. NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Price, click to enlarge.
House Opts For Door In Grocery Store Liquor Debate
March 25, 2015
The House has joined the Senate in altering legislation aimed at allowing shoppers to pick up hard spirits while shopping for groceries or other goods.
The House Government Operations Appropriations Subcommittee on Tuesday voted 7-4 to approve an amended measure (HB 107), which would ease an 80-year-old state law that requires liquor stores to be stand-alone facilities.
Rep. Greg Steube, R-Sarasota, had initially proposed eliminating the law, but agreed to follow a recent Senate proposal that would lead to a door being the only barrier between a liquor store and other goods.
“Obviously just taking down the barrier has been a controversial subject,” Steube said. “I’m trying to come to some type of compromise. This is simply putting a door where there is a wall to allow patrons … instead of having to go outside into a door to going inside into a door.”
The Senate Regulated Industries Committee last week approved similar legislation, which has been opposed by Lakeland-based Publix but supported by Wal-Mart and Target.
by The News Service of Florida
Senate Gives Backing To Evacuation Gun Bill
March 25, 2015
After a debate that conjured memories of Hurricane Katrina, the Florida Senate on Tuesday overwhelmingly passed a bill that could lead to more people carrying concealed weapons when fleeing natural disasters.
The bill (SB 290), sponsored by Sen. Jeff Brandes, R-St. Petersburg, would allow people to carry guns without concealed-weapons licenses for 48 hours during mandatory emergency evacuations. The bill would only apply to people who legally own guns.
Brandes said people ordinarily can face third-degree felony charges for carrying concealed weapons without licenses. He said the bill would allow people to take firearms, along with other valuables, when they are forced to leave home because of hurricanes or other disasters.
“This is about this incredibly rare instance, this incredibly tailored instance, where people are fleeing for their lives,” he said.
But some Democratic lawmakers blasted the proposal, saying it would introduce more guns into the chaos and emotions of a mandatory evacuation. Sen. Maria Sachs, D-Delray Beach, said supporters had not presented any evidence of why the bill is needed.
“I need to know why we need to change the law,” Sachs said.
Senators voted 29-10 to approve the bill, which has the backing of the influential National Rifle Association. The House version (HB 493), filed by Rep. Heather Fitzenhagen, R-Fort Myers, has moved through committees and is ready to go to the full House.
A similar bill died last year in the Senate, amid concerns by the Florida Sheriffs Association and some Republican and Democratic senators. But Brandes made changes that addressed the concerns, such as adding the 48-hour time period for carrying weapons. The 48 hours could be extended by the governor.
The specter of Hurricane Katrina, the storm that devastated the New Orleans area in 2005, was raised by senators on both sides of the debate Tuesday.
Sen. Audrey Gibson, D-Jacksonville, pointed to Katrina and its chaotic aftermath in arguing against the bill.
“In Katrina, we saw people living in close quarters with their families,” she said. “So why in the world would we want to increase anxiety by having a lot of guns next to children and families?”
But bill supporter Joseph Abruzzo, D-Boynton Beach, emphasized that the bill only applies to lawful gun owners and that weapons would have to remain concealed.
“At the end of the day, in Katrina there (was) looting beyond explanation,” said Abruzzo, one of four Democrats who backed the bill.. “Almost any house that was able to get ransacked was. And to say people have to leave guns in their home under those conditions is not safe.”
by Jim Saunders, The News Service of Florida
Chester Travis Carter, Jr.
March 25, 2015
Chester Travis Carter, Jr., of Seminole, AL passed away Wednesday, March 18, 2015.
Mr. Carter was born in Georgiana, AL on May 3, 1947 and resided in Flomaton for many years where he was employed with Flomaton Wholesale. He also had used car lots in Flomaton and Georgiana. Chester moved to Seminole in 1985 where he became a wholesale car dealer until retirement in 2007 due to health issues.
Preceding Mr. Carter in death are his parents, Chester T. Carter, Sr. and Ethel B. Morton, step father, Jesse Morton; daughter, Amanda Lee “Sissie” Carter, and sister, Jean Bell.
Survivors include his wonderful wife of 40 years whom he loved and depended on, Mary L Cooley Carter; son, Chester “Travis” Carter III and his son, Brandon Travis Carter; daughters, Angela Gresham (Tony) and Kim Forbus; brother, Paul Carter (Linda); sisters, Bettie Grissett (Andy), Callie Parker (Paul) and Wanda Morton (Randall Chandler); and numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Funeral services were held Saturday, March 20, 2015, at Pensacola Memorial Gardens.
The family wishes to express their heart felt “Thank You’ to the nurses and staff of Second Floor West and ICU Unit of Gulf Breeze Hospital for the love, concern, care and prayers given to Chester Carter and his family during the four weeks he was there. The family also wishes to give a special “Thank You” to the nurses and staff of the Covenant Hospice Palliative Care Center on the third floor of West Florida Hospital for all their love, care and concern to Chester Carter and all his family and friends.
Ellis Edward Leggett
March 25, 2015
Mr. Ellis Edward Leggett, 87, passed away on Friday, March 20, 2015, in Flomaton.
Mr. Leggett was a native of Miami, FL, former resident of Ft. Lauderdale, FL and a resident of Flomaton, for the past 25 years.
His wife, Helen Leggett; daughter, JoEllyn Lambeth and granddaughter, Jayne Lowery precede Mr. Leggett in death.
Survivors include his brother, Harold Leggett; two grandchildren, Janalee Donaldson and Judd Lambert; four great-grandchildren, Alexandra Bondurant, Summer Bondurant, Josh Lowery and Hayden Lowery; and nieces and nephews.
A private memorial service to be held at a later date.
Petty-Eastside Chapel Funeral Homes, LLC, is in charge of all arrangements.
James Edward Felton
March 25, 2015
Mr. James Edward Felton, 70, passed away on Tuesday, March 24, 2015, in Flomaton.
Mr. Felton was a native of Pensacola, former resident of Seattle, Washington and a resident of Flomaton for the past six months.
Survivors include his daughter, Jamie Miller Felton of Seattle, WA; and four sisters, Barbara Morris of Flomaton, Teresa Cannon of Kent, Washington, Margie Wark of Olympia, WA and Betsy Felton of Seattle, WA.
Funeral services will be Friday, March 27, 2015, at 10 a.m. at the Petty-Eastside Chapel Funeral Home with Father Gordon Milstead officiating.
Burial will follow at the Flomaton Cemetery.
Visitation will be Friday, March 27, 2015, from 8:30 a.m. until service time at 10 a.m. at the Petty-Eastside Chapel Funeral Home.
Petty-Eastside Chapel Funeral Homes, LLC, is in charge of all arrangements.