Brawl Outside Bar Ends With Five Arrested, Injuries, Deputy Hit With Beer
April 14, 2015
Five people were arrested after a brawl in the parking lot of a Cantonment bar that injured two people and a deputy.
According to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office, a deputy was on patrol and in the parking lot next to Mustangs North in the 600 block of Highway 95A North about 11:30 Saturday night when he observed a large fight involving approximately 30 people in the bar’s parking lot.
He arrived to find two victims down and bleeding from their injuries. The situation quickly grew out of control as more intoxicated individuals exited the bar into the the parking lot, causing the deputy to call for multiple backups units.
Deputies said they placed 38-year old Billy Monroe Edwards under arrested after he began cussing them and became aggressive, followed by 45-year old Lorraine Cassady Fox who was also aggressive and would not follow orders.
Then an intoxicated 36-year old Amanda Ginette Rutherford ran toward a deputy, throwing a full can of beer and hitting him hard enough in the face to cause the can to “explode”, the report states.
Witnesses said the fight started when 30-year old Jenni Marie Michanowicz and an unknown male subject attacked and injured a male and female in the parking lot. She told deputies she was first attacked by the female victim.
A fifth suspect, 49-year old Darren Nelson Kersey, was arrested after deputies said he continued to argue with them about arresting Michanowicz.
At the Escambia County Jail, detention deputies reported that they found powered cocaine, a clear bag containing methamphetamine, a glass pipe for smoking meth and an Adderall tablet in Michanowicz’s purse. Michanowicz was charged with two counts of battery, resisting an officer without violence, possession of methamphetamine, possession of a controlled substance without a prescription, possession of cocaine and possession of drug paraphernalia. She was released from the Escambia County Jail on a $29,000 bond.
Rutherford was charged with felony battery on a law enforcement officer, felony aggravated battery on an officer, felony resisting an officer with violence, felony inciting or encouraging an affray or riot and disorderly public intoxication. She was released from jail on a $23,000 bond.
Edwards, Kersey and Fox were charged with disorderly pubic intoxication and resisting an officer without violence. Each was released from the Escambia County Jail after posting a $1,000 bond.
The male victim who was knocked unconscious in the parking lot refused medical treatment. The female victim was transported by Escambia County EMS to Sacred Heart Hospital with multiple injuries, including a possibly broken nose.
Showers, Thunderstorms Continue
April 14, 2015
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Tuesday Night
Showers and possibly a thunderstorm. Some of the storms could produce heavy rainfall. Low around 67. Southeast wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening. Chance of precipitation is 80%.
Wednesday
Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 78. South wind around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
Wednesday Night
A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 67. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm after midnight.
Thursday
A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 78. East wind around 5 mph.
Thursday Night
A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Cloudy, with a low around 67. Southeast wind around 5 mph.
Friday
A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 80. Southeast wind around 5 mph.
Friday Night
A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 67. South wind around 5 mph.
Saturday
A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 78.
Saturday Night
A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 65.
Sunday
A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 76.
Sunday Night
A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 65.
Monday
A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 81.
Pedestrian Dies Week After Crash
April 14, 2015
An Escambia County pedestrian struck by a vehicle a week ago has passed away.
Robert Nigel Johnson, 53, was walking south across Highway 98 near Chiefs Way at 11:53 a.m. on April 6 when he stepped into the path of a 2001 Saturn driven by 46-year old Todd Howard Johnson of Pensacola. Robert Johnson passed away at Baptist Hospital on Monday.
Any charges are pending the outcome of a traffic homicide investigation.
Editor’s note: No known relationship between the driver, Todd Johnson, and the victim, Robert Johnson, was specified by the FHP.
Driver Uninjured When Car Flips Into Ditch
April 14, 2015
A driver escaped injury Monday night when she flipped her car into a ditch near Bratt.
The woman lost control of her vehicle and overturned, with the car coming to rest upside down about 9:30 p.m. in a ditch on Pine Barren Road just south of Highway 168. She refused medical treatment at the scene.
The Walnut Hill and Century stations of Escambia Fire Rescue were dispatched to the crash. The accident was investigated by the Florida Highway Patrol; further information has not been released.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Bigfoot Monster Truck Visits Local Company That Keeps It Running
April 14, 2015
Bigfoot monster truck “Trick Flow” made a stop by sponsor Alto Products in Atmore Monday afternoon. The truck achieves its superior power from Atmore-made Alto Red Eagle clutches. Alto has provided the transmission clutch plates for the Bigfoot vehicles for the past 15 years.
“The most fun is the kids. I can remember being a little kid and looking up to the truck drivers. When they come up to see the truck and they light up, that just makes my day,” Trick Flow driver Darron Schnell said. He has been a part of the Bigfoot team for seven years.
The truck is also sponsored by Trick Flow, a division of Summitt Racing.
Pictured: Bigfoot monster truck “Trick Flow” at Alto Products in Atmore, where the vehicle’s transmission clutch plates are manufactured. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
House To Consider Online Voter Registration
April 14, 2015
The House on Wednesday is expected to take up a bill that would lead to online voter registration in Florida.
The bill is one of about four-dozen measures the House could consider during an all-day floor session. Under the proposal, the state Division of Elections would be required to develop a secure website that could be used to register first-time voters and update existing voter registrations.
Wednesday’s House agenda also includes a proposal that would make a series of changes involving the Florida Public Service Commission. As an example, the bill would limit commission members to three consecutive terms. Also, the bill would prevent power utilities from charging customers higher rates because of increased electrical usage stemming from extended billing cycles.
Rubio’s Running For President
April 14, 2015
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio announced Monday he will run for president in 2016, setting off a cascade of political dominos that could reshape Florida’s congressional delegation and its Legislature.
Speaking before a cheering crowd at Miami’s Freedom Tower, the 43-year-old Rubio presented himself as a new leader in a field sure to be full of familiar faces — including former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, a Republican, and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the Democratic front-runner.
“Before us now is the opportunity to author the greatest chapter yet in the amazing story of America,” said Rubio, R-Fla. “But we can’t do that by going back to the leaders and ideas of the past. We must change the decisions we are making by changing the people who are making them.”
Rubio enters what is likely to be a crowded GOP field. Two fellow senators — Ted Cruz of Texas and Rand Paul of Kentucky — have already announced bids for the White House, and Bush has said he’s exploring the idea. Several other GOP figures are mentioned as possible candidates.
Democrats wasted no time lacerating Rubio, who rose from state House speaker to U.S. senator in two years, winning a three-way campaign in 2010 against then-Gov. Charlie Crist, an independent, and then-Congressman Kendrick Meek, a Democrat.
“As far as self-serving vanity projects go, Marco Rubio’s presidential campaign should win a prize,” Florida Democratic Party Chairwoman Allison Tant said in a statement issued by the party. “After failing to win a majority of the vote in 2010’s Tea Party wave, Rubio bailed on Floridians, and now embodies everything voters hate about Washington — partisan dysfunction and placing the needs of the wealthiest few above the middle class.”
A primary showdown between Rubio and Bush could cause friction in Tallahassee, where the GOP dominates state government. But Rubio’s decision to skip a run for re-election — at least for now — and state Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater’s decision over the weekend to forego a bid for Rubio’s seat could have far-reaching implications in the state Capitol and in Washington, D.C.
With Atwater out of the race, Republicans lose the CFO’s well-known fundraising ability and are unlikely to have an established statewide figure running for the seat. Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera, former House Speaker Will Weatherford and several members of the state’s congressional delegation have all been mentioned as possible GOP candidates.
“No one would have a marked advantage, I don’t think, at this point. … It’s an uphill climb for everybody,” said J.M. “Mac” Stipanovich, a Republican consultant.
Stipanovich also floated the possibility that if Rubio’s presidential bid fails to catch on, he could revisit the possibility of running for re-election.
Top Democrats have largely united around Congressman Patrick Murphy, who won a second term in November with almost 60 percent of the vote in a swing Southeast Florida district — though Congressman Alan Grayson, a liberal firebrand from Central Florida, has made noises about entering the race. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee was giddy over the possibility of a crowded GOP field.
“While Democrats were confident in our ability to beat Marco Rubio, the Florida Senate race is now a toss-up and the map just became increasingly complicated for Washington Republicans clinging to their endangered majority,” said Tom Lopach, executive director of the campaign arm for Senate Democrats. “Republicans are now staring down a potentially messy primary in the Sunshine State, and we’re confident that in 2016 Floridians will elect a new Democratic senator who always puts Florida first.”
But Rick Wilson, a GOP strategist who advised Atwater, said he didn’t believe a packed field is likely.
“I don’t think we’re going to see a 10-way fight,” Wilson said. “I think it will resolve itself reasonably quickly.”
Even a relatively small primary field could shake up Tallahassee. Any number of Florida congressmen leaving their seats to run for Rubio’s Senate seat would likely prompt some state lawmakers to run for Congress, also opening up those legislative districts. And if Lopez-Cantera should win election to the Senate seat, it would leave Gov. Rick Scott to appoint a replacement.
When former Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll resigned in 2013, it took Scott 10 months to select Lopez-Cantera.
by The News Service of Florida
Escambia Man Convicted, Faces Up To Life For Molesting Child
April 14, 2015
An Escambia County man has been convicted by a jury of lewd or lascivious molestation of a victim under 12.
Davonne Bell, 21, will be sentenced May 13 and faces a minimum mandatory 25 years to life in state prison.. The incident occurred while the victim was spending the night at a relative’s house. The victim immediately disclosed the incident.
John Joseph Donald
April 14, 2015
Mr. John Joseph Donald passed away on April 13, 2015, at a local hospital in Pensacola after an illness.
He was born on March 12, 1940, in Cantonment. He is preceded in death by his wife, Katie Owen Donald. He was a member of Ensley Christian and Missionary Alliance Church in Pensacola.
Surviving Mr. Donald is his first cousin, Valentine P., Billy Theresa, and Lisa Beam, Angie Pennucci, Julie and Morgan Barger; his deceased wife’s family of Frankie Atkinson, William Henry, Boyd, Ronnie, and Clark Owen and family all of South Carolina; his childhood friends that include Frank Lynn, Maynard McMorris and Walter Vaugh.
Funeral services will be held at Ensley Christian and Missionary Alliance Church, 512 W. Detroit Blvd. in Pensacola from 2 p.m. until 4 p.m. on Wednesday, April 15, 2015.
Mr. Donald will be buried at Gapway Baptist Church Cemetery in Mullins, SC.
Faith Chapel Funeral Home South in Pensacola is in charge of arrangements.
Jasper David Simmons
April 14, 2015
Mr. Jasper David Simmons, 78, passed away on Sunday, April 12, 2015, in Pensacola.
Mr. Simmons was a native of Atlanta, GA and a resident of Century.
Graveside services will be Wednesday, April 15, 2015, at 2 p.m. at the Sherwood Memorial Park Cemetery in Jonesboro, Georgia.
Petty-Eastside Chapel Funeral Homes, LLC, is in charge of all arrangements.