Royce Franklin Beasley
April 30, 2016
Bro. Royce Franklin Beasley, age 61, of Travis Road in Brewton, passed away Thursday, April 28, 2016, in a local hospital after a brief illness. He was a native and long time resident of Brewton and a former resident of Georgia before moving back to Brewton in 2003. Bro. Beasley was a faithful member of the Ridge Road Baptist Church and a former employee of T.R. Miller Mill Company with a number of years of service. He was the former Pastor of the Grace Baptist Church in East Brewton and he ministered weekly at a local nursing facility and other assisted living facilities. He loved and enjoyed the outdoors.
He is survived by his wife, Linda Wilson Beasley of Brewton; one son, Riley (Friend-Katie Glenn) Beasley of Flomaton; one daughter, Nicole Jordan of Brewton; two brothers, Russell (Gerald) Beasley of Wallace, AL and Ronald (Teresa) Beasley of Callahan, FL; three sisters, Janice Beasley of Brewton, Sue (Lavon) Hodge of Brewton and Phillys (Earl) Fuqua of Brewton;
five grandchildren, Caleb Beasley, Madison Trehern, Jaxon Jordan, Joseph Glenn, John Glenn; and faithful dogs, Maggie and Jack.
Visitation will be held Monday, May 2, 2016, from 6 p.m. until 9 p.m. at the Ridge Road Baptist Church in Brewton.
Funeral services are scheduled for Tuesday morning May 3, 2016, at 10 a.m. at the Ridge Road Baptist Church with Bro. Lee Cadenhead officiating.
Interment with will follow in Cooper Cemetery in Brewton.
Williams Memorial Chapel Funeral Home of Brewton is directing.
Jay Pro Rodeo Saturday Night
April 30, 2016
The 14th Annual Jay Pro Rodeo will be held Saturday at 8 p.m. at Ted May Arena in Jay.
The 3R Rodeo Company will entertain the crowd with rodeo action including pro bull riding, saddle broncing, calf and team roping, steer wrestling, and women’s breakaway and barrel racing. For the little ones, there’s the calf scramble and more. There will also be plenty of great food available at the concession stand and from local vendors
Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for children 12 and under. All proceeds benefit area youth program through the Jay High School SGA.
The arena is located a half mile east of the red light on Highway 4 in Jay. Parking is free. For more information, contact Fredrick Barrow at (850) 288-0634.
Century Man Charged With Stealing $22.7K From Jailed Man’s Account
April 29, 2016
A Century man has been charged in connection with the withdrawal of over $20,000 from a Century man’s bank account while he was in jail.
Cary Johnson, 52, is charged with grand theft and felony fraud. He remained in the Escambia County Jail Friday morning with bond set at $30,000.
Investigators said Johnson was along for the ride as 27-year old Lolita Shantel Thomas went multiple times to a local credit union and withdrew a total of $22,700 without the account holder’s permission..
The victim, according to arrest report, is former jail bunkmate of Thomas’ boyfriend. Thomas was given permission to retrieve the victim’s vehicle from the county impound lot following his arrest, but she was not given permission to withdraw funds. Thomas was caught on credit union surveillance video with Johnson cashing checks at a drive-thru window.
Thomas was arrested about a month ago on similar charges and is awaiting trial.
The withdrawals were made over a period of two months in 2015.
Slight Chance Of Rain, Warm Today
April 29, 2016
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Friday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 11am. Partly sunny, with a high near 86. Southeast wind 5 to 10 mph.
Friday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 8pm. Partly cloudy, with a low around 68. Southeast wind around 5 mph.
Saturday: Partly sunny, with a high near 84. Southeast wind 5 to 15 mph.
Saturday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 8pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 69. South wind 5 to 10 mph.
Sunday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 81. South wind 5 to 10 mph.
Sunday Night: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 8pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 67. South wind 5 to 10 mph.
Monday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 83. Northeast wind around 5 mph becoming west in the afternoon.
Monday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 64. Southwest wind around 5 mph becoming north after midnight.
Tuesday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 8am. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 78.
Tuesday Night: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 59.
Wednesday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 77.
Wednesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 57.
Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 79.
Job Fair Set For Today
April 29, 2016
CareerSource Escarosa will host its annual Spring Job Fair today from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Pensacola State College Jean & Paul Amos Performance Studio (Bldg. 23) located at 1000 College Blvd. in Pensacola.
This event is open to the public and there is no charge to attend. Attendees will have the opportunity to network with more than 40 area employers who are actively seeking talented individuals to fill open positions.
Attending employers will be recruiting individuals to fill positions in manufacturing, healthcare, information technology, administration, hospitality, customer service and retail, communications, government, corrections, and more.
Job seekers are urged to dress professionally and bring plenty of resumes, as some employers may choose to conduct on-the-spot interviews.
For more information, visit CareerSourceEscarosa.com or contact Morgan Cole at mcole@careersourceescarosa.com.
New Pavilion Installed At Carver Park In Cantonment
April 29, 2016
Escambia County Parks and Recreation has installed a new covered pavilion at Carver Park in Cantonment. The two acre neighborhood park also has a playground, basketball courts, security lights, benches and picnic area. The park also has a small community building and some of the most historic oak trees in Escambia County. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Suspect Named In Store Clerk’s Murder; Reward Offered
April 29, 2016
FOR AN UPDATE TO THIS STORY, CLICK HERE
Previous story:
[UPDATED} The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office has named a suspect in the shooting death of a store owner Tuesday night.
Investigators are searching for 39-year old Raymond Jerome Pruitt. He now has an active arrest warrant for the robbery of A&E Food Mart and homicide of of store owner Chung Lun Chiang also known as “Alan”. He was last seen driving a light colored Hyundai Tucson.
Investigators say Pruitt robbed the A&E Food Mart on Pace Boulevard about 9:30 p.m. Tuesday. During the robbery, he shot and killed Chiang, 53, as he worked behind the counter.
Pruitt’s crime spree began on April 5 in Montgomery when he stabbed his girlfriend and shot her with her own pistol as she tried to escape. Pruitt has since been identified as the prime suspect in five armed robberies occurring in Montgomery, Ozark, Troy, and Prattville, AL.
Raymond Pruitt is 5-foot-3 weighing approximately 170 pounds with black hair and brown eyes.
Authorities advice if you see Pruitt, do not approach him; he is considered armed and dangerous. Instead, call 911. Anyone with information on Pruitt’s whereabouts is asked to call the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office at (850) 436-9620 or Crime Stoppers at (850) 433-STOP.
The U.S. Marshals are offering a reward up to $10,000 and Central Alabama Crime Stoppers are providing $1,000 for information leading to his arrest.
Rep. Jeff Miller Endorses Trump For President
April 29, 2016
Thursday, House Veterans Affairs’ Committee Chairman Jeff Miller (FL-01) endorsed Donald Trump for president.
Miller has represented Florida’s 1st Congressional District since 2001. Prior to being elected to represent the people of Northwest Florida in Washington, he served in the Florida State House. Since 2011, Miller has served as chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, and in 2014, he negotiated a sweeping VA reform law that included his proposal to provide accountability by empowering the VA secretary to fire poorly performing managers.
“Donald Trump is the only person who has what it takes to shake up the status quo and entrenched bureaucrats in Washington D.C.,” Miller said. “I am more and more convinced that he has the ability to reach in and right the wrongs in the Department of Veterans Affairs once and for all.
“America needs Donald Trump and his conservative agenda to shore up and secure our borders and to rebuild our military,” added Miller. “I stand today with Donald Trump, and l support his candidacy for President.”
“Miller is the kind of results-oriented person we need more of in Congress,” said Trump. “He has uncovered scandals within the VA and the poor treatment of our veterans, and I applaud those efforts. But our veterans deserve better than an agency that has failed them, and I look forward to working with Jeff to make sure every veteran gets the kind of care they have earned and the kind of care they deserve.”
Couple Arrested For Multi-State Crime Spree
April 29, 2016
A man and woman who were on a multi-state crime spree have been taken into custody after racking up charges locally and in several other states.
The pair were arrested in Montgomery County, TX, said Detective Shannan Briarton. They were wanted locally for purse snatching incidents that occurred last week at businesses in Pensacola and Santa Rosa County. They were taken into custody in Texas after a deputy found them sleeping in a car that had been stolen in Santa Rosa County.
The suspects – Timmie Sawyer, 25, of Oklahoma City, OK and Justin Turner 25, of Edmond, OK– have each been charged by the Pensacola Police Department with grand theft, fraudulently using credit cards more than two times, and robbery.
The first incident occurred around 2 p.m. April 16 when the suspects drove up to a woman in the parking lot of Walmart, 2650 Creighton Road. Sawyer tried to steal the woman’s purse but the woman, who was in her 20s, struggled with Sawyer and the couple left without the purse. The victim was not hurt.
The second incident occurred around 11 p.m. April 18 when Sawyer entered the Walmart in Pace, stole a 75-year-old woman’s purse out of a shopping cart and left the store, but not before Sawyer pushed a 64-year-old woman who tried to stop her from leaving. The woman fell but wasn’t injured.
Turner was waiting outside the Pace Walmart in a car that had been stolen from Oklahoma. The pair left the area, but returned a short time later and stole the 75-year-old woman’s car, which they located by using the key fob.
Briarton said the suspects have been linked to similar crimes in Niceville, Destin and Escambia County in addition to Mississippi, Texas and Oklahoma. The Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office is also in the process of filing charges. The investigation is continuing and they may be tied to additional crimes elsewhere.
Anyone having information on the suspects is asked to contact Detective Shannan Briarton at (850) 435-1978, by email at sbriarton@cityofpensacola.com or the Pensacola Police Department at (850) 435-1900.
Florida Legal Bills Mount In Gambling Dispute
April 29, 2016
Florida has paid more than $260,000 to private law firms in gambling lawsuits involving the Seminole Tribe of Florida, with the likelihood of hundreds of thousands of dollars more on the horizon.
The Seminoles and the state are fighting over the tribe’s “exclusive” right to operate banked card games, including blackjack, at five of the tribe’s seven casinos. The $260,000 tab for taxpayers started building shortly before two dueling lawsuits were filed by the Seminoles and the state in October and does not include legal bills that likely will pile up before the consolidated cases go to trial.
The state Department of Business and Professional Regulation has hired two law firms to work with agency attorneys on the case, overseen in Tallahassee by U.S. District Judge Robert L. Hinkle. A trial, originally slated for this summer, was recently postponed until October, at the request of both sides.
The agency, which oversees gambling, in August hired Detroit-based Dickinson Wright, a law firm with offices throughout the country, including in Nevada and Washington, D.C., to represent the state “in the mediation required” between the Seminoles and Florida regarding a 2010 agreement, called a “compact,” at the heart of the dispute.
The state has agreed to pay three of the firm’s lawyers — Robert Stocker, Dennis Whittlesey and Jonathan Secrest — $350 an hour, as well as paying hourly rates of between $195 and $275 for three other lawyers. State regulators originally agreed to pay the firm $45,000 for legal work, but the contract, amended several times, now totals $250,000. As of this week, the agency had paid Dickinson Wright $217,876.61, according to documents provided to The News Service of Florida.
In December, gambling regulators hired Bush Ross, a law firm based in Tampa, to also advise the agency on the compact. The agency initially agreed to pay the firm $50,000, but the amended contract is now worth $100,000. Under the contract, the state agreed to pay lawyers J. Carter Andersen and Anne-Leigh Gaylord Moe $300 an hour, other lawyers $200 an hour, and an hourly rate of $100 for work done by paralegals. Thus far, the state has paid $43,118.83 to the firm.
According to court documents, much of the legal wrangling in the case has involved where the dispute would be heard. The two sides still have to go through a time-consuming information “discovery” process, and the Seminoles have just started taking depositions. Motions for summary judgment have not yet been filed, meaning the state is likely on the hook for a much bigger legal tab in the months to come, especially if the case goes to trial in October, as scheduled.
Since 2010, the Seminoles have had exclusive rights to offer the banked card games. In exchange, the tribe promised to pay the state a minimum of $1 billion over five years, an amount which it has exceeded. But the agreement regarding the cards — part of a larger, 20-year deal — expired on July 31. The terms of the compact gave the Seminoles a 90-day “grace period” after the agreement expired to continue operating the banked card games.
But, after mediation — brokered by a lawyer whose past clients included Mick Jagger and Leona Helmsley — failed, the tribe filed a lawsuit against the state, alleging that Florida officials had failed to negotiate in “good faith” on a new deal.
The lawsuit also alleges that the state breached the compact by allowing pari-mutuel facilities to offer what are known as “player-banked” card games in which “the bank” is another player instead of “the house.” The tribe contends that allowing such games violated its rights to exclusivity in operating banked card games, which typically involve players betting against the house instead of each other.
Less than a week after the tribe filed its lawsuit, the state filed a separate suit in Tampa seeking to stop the banked card games at Seminole casinos.
The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act requires states to negotiate in good faith with tribes seeking gambling authority. Florida argued that the federal law only requires states to negotiate initial compacts but not to renegotiate deals when they expire.
“The contention is plainly wrong,” Hinkle wrote in January, rejecting Attorney General Pam Bondi’s request that the tribe’s lawsuit be dismissed. At the time, Hinkle also consolidated the tribe’s lawsuit and the state’s lawsuit in federal court in Tallahassee.
Gov. Rick Scott and tribal leader James Billie in December signed a proposed 20-year compact in which the tribe pledged to pay the state $3 billion over seven years in exchange for being able to add craps and roulette to its casino operations. Lawmakers failed to approve the proposed deal, however, during the legislative session that ended in March.
by Dara Kam, The News Service of Florida