Prison Sentence For Two-County Crime Spree
July 25, 2017
Joseph Morgan committed a crime spree in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties and was convicted of four counts of principal to robbery with a deadly weapon, one count of burglary of an unoccupied conveyance, and two counts of grand theft. Morgan was sentenced to a total of 25 years in state prison.
Escambia County Cases:
Morgan, age 22, was sentenced by Circuit Judge Jan Shackelford to 25 years in state prison. Morgan pled to the charges of two counts of Principal to Robbery with a Deadly Weapon, Burglary of an Unoccupied Conveyance, and two counts of Grand Theft. The Escambia County cases were:
On January 27, 2016, Joseph Morgan and his co-defendant Lonnie Locks made arrangements to purchase a PlayStation 4 gaming package on Craigslist. Locks met the victim at Zaxby’s restaurant located at 2640 Creighton Road. He pulled what appeared to be a small black gun from his waist and demanded the game package, wallet and phone from the victim. Locks then fled on foot but was later identified in a photo lineup. The packaging of the stolen property was recovered in the home of Morgan and Locks and Morgan’s fingerprints were on the packaging.
On January 30, 2016, co-defendant, Lonnie Locks, age 19, made arrangements to purchase a cell phone on Craigslist. He met the victim at the Circle K located at 2350 W. Michigan Avenue. Instead of retrieving his wallet to pay for the phone, he displayed what appeared to be a firearm in his waistband and began shouting at the victim demanding his phone. Locks chased the victim back to his car and began beating on the windows, but the victim was able to escape unharmed.
Locks fled on foot from the crime scene above at the Circle K and then proceeded to the Dollar General Store located at 4940 Saufley Field Road. While dressed all in black and wearing a mask, Locks indicated to the clerk that he had a gun in his coat pocket and made off with $273 in cash. Morgan picked up Locks following the two robberies aiding his escape.
On February 1, 2016, Locks stole car keys from a locker at the downtown YMCA, formerly located at 410 N. Palafox St. Afterwards, Joseph Morgan drove Locks around the parking lot using the key fob to locate the victim’s vehicle. Locks then entered the vehicle using the victim’s keys and stole his wallet, cell phone and prescription glasses. The incident was captured on surveillance video.
Morgan also had two Santa Rosa County cases:
On May 5, 2017, Morgan was convicted by a Santa Rosa County Jury for principal to robbery with a deadly weapon, as a result of the following facts:
On January 21, 2016, co-defendant, Locks, entered the Tom Thumb at 2695 Hwy 87S in Navarre just after midnight. He was dressed in all black, wearing a mask and forced the clerk from the back room to the register where he took $268 in cash, over $500 in cigarettes and the clerk’s cell phone. Morgan waited down the street and drove Locks from the scene of the crime.
Deputies Seek Circle K Theft Suspect
July 25, 2017
At about 3:45 last Saturday morning, the suspect took items from the Circle K at 2200 Highway 29 in Cantonment. A citizen in the store observed the theft and followed the suspect, who was in a small black sedan headed eastbound on Roberts Road.
A short time later, and after making several short stops in an effort to “taunt” the citizen, the suspect jumped out of the vehicle in the area of East Roberts Road and La Lar Lane. The suspect then struck the citizen with a pry bar, got back into the vehicle and drove off.
If you recognize the man in these photos, call the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office at (850) 436-9620 or Crime Stoppers at (850) 433-STOP.
Mother Now Charged In Child Sex Trafficking Case
July 25, 2017
The mother of the 13-year old girl involved in an Atmore sex trafficking case has now been arrested.
Melissa Deann Stoker, 37, is charged with first-degree human trafficking, endangering the welfare of a child and contributing to the delinquency of a child.
She is being held in the Escambia County Detention Center in Brewton on a $1 million bond, as are 66-year old Lue Daw, 66, and 87-year-old Charles Clarence Stacey.
Court documents show Daw accepted money from Stacey in exchange for allowing him to have sex with her 13-year-old granddaughter.
Stacey persuaded the 13-year-old girl to come into a back bedroom and have sex with him for money, according to those court documents. Both are charged with human trafficking and rape.
Stacey is also charged with promoting prostitution and enticing a child for immoral purposes.
Appeals Court Backs New Trial In Escambia Smoking Case
July 25, 2017
An appeals court Monday said the family of a dead Escambia County smoker should receive a new trial on pain-and-suffering damages in a case against cigarette maker Philip Morris USA.
But a panel of the 1st District Court of Appeal rejected arguments that the family of Norman Lamar Danielson should also receive a new trial on punitive damages.
The Escambia County case is one of thousands filed against the tobacco industry in Florida.
The cases — known as Engle progeny cases — stem from a 2006 Florida Supreme Court ruling that established critical findings about a series of issues including the dangers of smoking and misrepresentation by cigarette makers.
In the Danielson case, a jury awarded $25,000 in economic damages to Danielson’s wife, zero pain-and-suffering damages and $325,000 in punitive damages, Monday’s ruling said. It also awarded $100,000 each to Danielson’s three children for pain and suffering — a type of damages more formally known as “non-economic” damages. After the trial, the family’s attorney sought changes in the verdict, in part because the parties had agreed that the economic damage amount should total $2.3 million.
The circuit judge approved the higher amount of economic damages, which typically involve such things as lost wages, and ordered a new trial on the amounts of non-economic damages and punitive damages. The judge pointed to issues in the case that indicated possible jury prejudice against Danielson’s wife. A three-judge panel of the appeals court upheld the judge’s decision to grant a new trial on pain-and-suffering damages.
“The trial court granted a new trial on non-economic damages because it found the jury’s verdict both inadequate and against the manifest weight of the evidence,” said Monday’s ruling, written by appeals-court Judge Timothy Osterhaus.
“We see no abuse of discretion here.” But the appeals court, by a 2-1 margin, rejected a new trial on punitive damages. Osterhaus and Judge Thomas Winokur were in the majority on the punitive-damages issue, while Judge Ross Bilbrey argued that a new trial should be held on punitive damages.
by The News Service of Florida
State Faces Legal Tab In ‘Docs Vs. Glocks’ Fight
July 25, 2017
Florida will pay $1.1 million in legal fees to attorneys who challenged a controversial state law that sought to prevent doctors from asking patients about guns, a group representing opponents said Monday.
The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence announced the legal-fees agreement more than five months after a federal appeals court sided with doctors and medical groups in striking down key parts of the 2011 law — which became known as the “docs vs. glocks” law. The state did not appeal the Feb. 16 decision by the full 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
A copy of the legal-fees agreement had not been posted in an online court file Monday morning. But documents indicate the state and the law’s opponents had been in mediation on the fees.
The law, which was backed by groups such as the National Rifle Association, included a series of restrictions on doctors and health providers. For example, it sought to prevent physicians from entering information about gun ownership into medical records if the physicians knew the information was not “relevant” to patients’ medical care or safety or to the safety of other people.
Also, the law said doctors should refrain from asking about gun ownership by patients or family members unless the doctors believed in “good faith” that the information was relevant to medical care or safety. Also, the law sought to prevent doctors from discriminating against patients or “harassing” them because of owning firearms.
Opponents argued, in part, that the law violated free-speech rights. The full appeals court found that the record-keeping, inquiry and anti-harassment parts of the law were unconstitutional, but upheld the portion of the law that bars doctors from discriminating against patients who have guns.
“Legislators across the country should learn from Florida’s example that if you side with the corporate gun lobby instead of your constituents, you endanger the safety of children and families, impinge upon First Amendment rights of doctors, and force taxpayers to pay millions to unsuccessfully defend unconstitutional laws,” Jonathan Lowy, director of the Brady Center’s Legal Action Project and an attorney in the case, said in a prepared statement Monday. “Thankfully, in this case justice prevailed and the court recognized that doctors have a First Amendment right to tell the truth about guns, and the risks they can pose to children and families.”
When asked for comment Monday about the legal fees, John Tupps, a spokesman for Gov. Rick Scott, said in an email that Scott signed the 2011 law after it “was approved by a large, bipartisan majority in the Florida Legislature.”
“Governor Scott is a strong supporter of the Second Amendment,” Tupps said. “Much of this law was either never challenged or upheld in court. This (legal fees) settlement is in accordance with Florida law and a recommendation from the Department of Financial Services.”
The challenge to the law was filed in June 2011 and played out over nearly six years. A U.S. District Court judge blocked the law from taking effect, but a three-judge panel of the appeals court upheld the law in three rulings before the full appeals court agreed to take up the case.
Supporters of the law said it was necessary to prevent doctors, such as pediatricians, from harassing and discriminating against patients and parents about gun ownership. The also described the law, formally known as the Firearm Owners’ Privacy Act, as a Second Amendment issue.
But Douglas Hallward-Driemeier, an attorney with the firm Ropes & Gray, who argued the case for the plaintiffs, said in a prepared statement Monday that the case allows doctors to “go back to giving their best advice to patients when it comes to gun safety.”
“From day one in bringing this case, our commitment has been to protect doctors’ First Amendment rights to ensure the safety of individuals, families and communities in Florida,” Hallward-Driemeier said. “The successful resolution of the litigation and subsequent fees and costs award are both critical to furthering that goal.”
by The News Service of Florida
No Serious Injuries In Molino Road Rollover Crash
July 25, 2017
There were no serious injures reported in a single vehicle rollover Monday night in Molino. The accident happened just before 10 p.m. on Molino Road between Highway 95A and Highway 29. The driver lost control of his pickup truck and flipped into a wooded area. He refused medical treatment at the scene.
The accident remains under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol. The Molino Station of Escambia Fire Rescue and Escambia County EMS also responded to the crash.
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Summer Reading Wrap-Up Parties This Week At The Library
July 25, 2017
Summer Reading wrap up parties will be held this week at West Florida Library branches across Escambia County:
- Tuesday, July 25, 11 a.m. – Southwest Branch Library*
- Tuesday, July 25, 3 p.m. – Westside Branch Library
- Wednesday, July 26, 11 a.m. – Century Branch Library
- Wednesday, July 26, 3 p.m. – Pensacola Library
- Thursday, July 27, 11 a.m. – Molino Branch Library
- Thursday, July 27, 3 p.m. – Tryon Branch Library
Come blow off some Summer STEAM with tons of bubbles and wrap up your summer adventures with highly active volcanoes. Celebrate reaching your summer reading goal at the library’s wrap-up party.
Frank Joseph Baillie
July 25, 2017
Frank Joseph Baillie (Joe) was born December 22, 1964, in Maryland to Frederick and Lucille Baillie (departed) and the beloved husband to Darcy Baillie. Joe will forever be remembered by his loving brother, Mike Baillie and sisters, Teri Asby and Mary Godwin (Doug); beloved children, Adam Freeman (Jessica), Allison Fanning (Andrew) and Amber Freeman; four treasured grandchildren, Audrina, Kyree, Mason and Cole; and beloved nieces and nephews, Jared Pace (Danielle), Jena Pace, Katie Pace, Steven Godwin, Kristina Baillie, Raymond Baillie, Matthew Baillie, Cameron Godwin and Malia Baillie; caring in-laws, Vince and Cindy Milstead, Kenny Milstead (departed), Tara Milstead, Michael Milstead (Haleigh and
Rhett) along with countless other family members and friends who were blessed to know him.
Joe was a hardworking, loving family man who enjoyed golf, fishing, hunting and watching sports at home with family. Joe’s life would seem too short to many but those who were touched by him understood that the quality of existence far exceeds the quantity of time in which one lives.
Funeral services were held Saturday, July 22, 2017, at Faith Chapel Funeral Home North with Reverend West Alvarez officiating.
Interment was at Oak Grove Cemetery in Oak Grove, FL.
Faith Chapel Funeral Home North is entrusted with the arrangements.
Process Underway To Replace Tornado Ravaged Historic Homes In Century
July 24, 2017
The tornado recovery process in Century is continuing with attention being turned to seven historic homes to be replaced in the historic district.
Escambia County has announced bid solicitations with bids due August 10 for the homes.
The Century Architectural Review Board and town council recently gave approval to repair or replacement plans for tornado ravaged residential properties and a church in the Alger-Sullivan Historical District, which has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1989.
The historic district includes 45 buildings on about 230 acres, and is roughly bounded by Pinewood Avenue, Front Street, Jefferson Avenue, Church Street and Mayo Street. Numerous structures in the historic district were damaged or destroyed by the EF-3 tornado that struck Century in February 2016.
The Architectural Review Board approved the replacement of six homes — located at 300, 307, 402, 403, 407 and 416 Front Street — and the repair of one home at 410 Front Street.
All of the replacement homes on Front Street will meet the neighborhood’s historical qualifications and will cost about $100,000 each. The homes are being paid for by with SHIP — State Housing Initiative Program — funds administered by Escambia County.
Pensacola architect Carter Quina designed the replacement homes to historically accurate with modern amenities and compliance for the disabled. He also designed the Century United Methodist Church project.
Showers And Thunderstorms Forecast For Monday
July 24, 2017
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Monday: Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly after 1pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 88. Southwest wind around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
Monday Night: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 73. West wind around 5 mph.
Tuesday: Showers and thunderstorms likely. Partly sunny, with a high near 89. West wind around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
Tuesday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 74. Northwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
Wednesday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 91. Calm wind becoming northwest around 5 mph in the afternoon.
Wednesday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 73. Northwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
Thursday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 93. Calm wind becoming northwest around 5 mph.
Thursday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 74. Calm wind.
Friday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 92.
Friday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 74.
Saturday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 89.
Saturday Night: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 73.
Sunday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 89.