Cantonment Man Charged With Assaulting Girlfriend
August 25, 2017
A Cantonment man has been arrested for assaulting his live-in girlfriend.
Albert McDonald Thompkins, 53, was charged with felony aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and battery.
Thompkins allegedly became involved in a physical altercation with the victim at their residence on Booker Street. During the altercation, he allegedly picked up a glass mug, which was shaped like a boot, threw it her and missed. He then hit her numerous times on her back, head and stomach before fleeing the scene, according to an arrest report.
Thompkins remained in the Escambia County Jail Thursday morning with bond set at $3,500.
FDLE Arrests Escambia Women On Heroin Charges
August 25, 2017
Agents with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement arrested Paola Sotolongo, 46, and Krystel Theologis, 27, for drug trafficking and possession following a heroin distribution investigation. The investigation began in July and yesterday a search warrant was conducted at a home shared by the women, 7155 Mobile Highway in Pensacola, where both were arrested. The State Attorney’s Office, ATF and FBI assisted in the investigation and search warrant.
During the search, investigators found prepackaged heroin, methamphetamine and cocaine along with fentanyl, marijuana and alprazolam. Sotolongo (pictured left) was charged with trafficking in heroin and methamphetamine and possession of fentanyl and cocaine with intent to sell within 1,000 feet of a place of worship. Theologis has been charged with possession of alprazolam with intent to sell within 1,000 feet of a place of worship, and possession of marijuana.
Both women were booked into the Escambia County Jail. The case will be prosecuted by the State Attorney’s Office.
Woman Sentenced For Embezzling Half Million From Poarch Creek Indians
August 25, 2017
An Atmore woman has been sentenced in federal court for embezzling a half million dollars from the Poarch Creek Indians.
U.S. District Judge William H. Steele sentenced Carolyn Dortch, 54, of Atmore, to five years of probation for embezzling funds from the Poarch Band of Creek Indians. The Court ordered that Dortch serve the first six months of her sentence on home confinement with electronic monitoring and imposed a credit restriction. The court also ordered Dortch to make restitution totaling $502,173.35 and to pay a $100 special assessment.
From around 2010 until October 2016, Dortch was employed as the senior services director for the Poarch Band of Creek Indians. She led the Seniors Active in Learning Center, which provided numerous activities for seniors such as meals on wheels, games, crafts, and trips. Dortch was responsible for purchasing food and supplies and for handling tribal money on senior trips. In October 2016, the tribe discovered Dortch had been misusing her position of employment and submitting falsified receipts representing fictitious purchases. An investigation revealed that Dortch had been embezzling funds from the tribe and using these funds for personal gain.
In January 2017, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Alabama charged Dortch in a one-count information, alleging that over a four-year period ending in 2016, Dortch embezzled tribal funds. Dortch pled guilty to the offense in a hearing before Judge Steele.
Florida Executes Convicted Killer
August 25, 2017
After spending nearly three decades on Death Row, convicted murderer Mark James Asay was executed Thursday evening, the state’s first inmate to be put to death in more than 19 months and the first execution under a lethal injection procedure never used before in Florida or any other state.
Asay’s execution at Florida State Prison was the first since a January 2016 U.S. Supreme Court decision, in a case known as Hurst v. Florida, that effectively put the state’s death penalty in limbo. He also was the first white man executed for killing a black victim in Florida.
Asay was pronounced dead at 6:22 p.m., 11 minutes after corrections officials announced that the execution phase had begun.
Asay, strapped to a gurney by leather cuffs at his wrists, twitched his legs briefly during the first few minutes of the execution procedure and appeared to breath rapidly before turning ashen prior to the announcement that “the sentence of the state of Florida” was carried out.
The lack of complications with the untested lethal-injection procedure used in Asay’s execution may have eased concerns about Florida’s new three-drug protocol.
“The execution took place without incident,” Department of Corrections spokeswoman Michelle Glady told reporters gathered in a staging area beside the prison.
When asked whether Asay’s execution ended concerns about the new drug protocol, Glady referred reporters to information the department had provided earlier.
“Our objective with this is a humane and dignified process, which was done this evening,” she said.
Asay was convicted in 1988 of the shooting deaths of Robert Booker, who was black, and Robert McDowell.
Asay allegedly shot Booker after calling him a racial epithet. He then killed McDowell, who was dressed as a woman, after agreeing to pay him for oral sex. According to court documents, Asay — who had white supremacist and swastika tattoos — later told a friend that McDowell had previously cheated him out of money in a drug deal.
A jury found Asay guilty of two counts of first-degree murder and recommended the death penalty with a 9-3 vote.
The Florida Supreme Court this month rejected a major appeal by Asay, including a challenge to the new lethal-injection procedure. The court more recently rejected another attempt at a reprieve, after justices acknowledged the court had been mistaken for more than two decades about McDowell’s race.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday denied a requested stay of execution.
Thursday’s execution made Asay the 24th Death Row prisoner put to death since Gov. Rick Scott took office in 2011. Scott has ordered more executions than any Florida governor since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976.
While prosecutors portrayed Asay as a white supremacist, the condemned killer denied that he was a racist in a lengthy interview with a Jacksonville television station just days before his execution.
Asay said he got the tattoos while locked up in Texas.
“I was 19 years old, forced to survive in a hostile prison environment, and I got these tattoos in that environment so that I could blend in so that I could be safe in that environment. They are not representative at all of who I am, but they are tattoos, and they’re not easily removed. They’re easy to put on but they’re not easy to remove, and so I’ve had to live with them. I have covered them up. I had a swastika on my elbow; I covered that up. I had an SWP on my arm; I burned it off. I’ve removed every racial tattoo I had, except for the ones that I can’t reach,” he told WJXT anchor Tom Wills.
When asked if he was a white supremacist, Asay was adamant.
“Never have been. I’ve had African-American friends all my life. But I’ve had to live in very hostile environments, and I’ve had to manage the best I could. While it’s a poor choice, it’s a choice I made, and I can’t undo it,” he said.
Asay, 53, woke up Thursday around 4:30 a.m. “calm and in good spirits,” Department of Corrections spokeswoman Michelle Glady told the media during a briefing late Thursday afternoon.
Asay’s last meal consisted of fried pork chops, fried ham, French fries, vanilla swirl ice cream and a can of Coke, Glady said. Asay later visited with family members before meeting with his spiritual adviser, she said.
In the interview with the Jacksonville television station, Asay admitted to killing McDowell but maintained his innocence in the murder of Booker.
Asay told Wills he was very drunk when he shot McDowell in downtown Jacksonville.
“That just happened as I was having a meltdown apparently. That’s all I can say. I knew Robert McDowell as Rene. I had previous encounters with him, and we were sociable, and he did take money from me one time. I had said, in my mind, `When I see him, I’m going to kick his ass.’ But I never intended to murder him. It just happened,” Asay said.
Asay was the first Florida Death Row inmate executed with the new lethal-injection protocol that’s been the focus of a tangled legal battle.
In the new protocol, Florida substituted etomidate for midazolam as the critical first drug, used to sedate prisoners before injecting them with a paralytic and then a drug used to stop prisoners’ hearts.
Asay’s lawyer, Marty McClain, failed to convince a Duval County judge that the new protocol is unconstitutional because etomidate can cause pain after being injected and can result in “myoclonus,” or involuntary movements, such as twitches or jerks.
Most capital cases involve complicated and lengthy appeals.
But Asay’s case was even more tangled than most:
— Asay spent a decade on Death Row without legal representation, a violation of state law.
— Dozens of boxes of records related to his case were destroyed after being left in a rat- and roach-infested shed.
— One of his previous defense lawyers was the subject of an investigation by the Florida Supreme Court, after a federal judge chided her for shoddy work.
— McClain maintained that Attorney General Pam Bondi’s office hoodwinked him into agreeing to a delay by the U.S. Supreme Court, making it more difficult for Asay to have a review by the high court.
— The Florida Supreme Court recently issued a rare mea culpa, acknowledging that it had for more than 20 years mistakenly believed that McDowell was black.
— Department of Corrections officials changed the lethal-injection protocol a year after Scott initially signed Asay’s death warrant in 2016.
by Dara Kam, The News Service of Florida
Harvey To Hit Texas As Major Hurricane, Our Local Forecast
August 25, 2017
Hurricane Harvey is forecast to become a MAJOR Hurricane before making landfall along the southeast Texas coast. While Harvey is forecast to move toward to the Texas Gulf Coast (well away from the local area), there will be still be impacts locally. Increased long period swell from Harvey will bring an increasing risk of rip currents starting on Friday and lasting through at least the weekend for coastal Alabama and northwest Florida beaches. There is also the potential for heavy rain and severe weather next week, but this will be highly dependent on the eventual track of Harvey.
The latest on Hurricane Harvey is in the graphic above, click to enlarge.
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Friday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 92. Northeast wind around 5 mph becoming southeast in the afternoon.
Friday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 73. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
Saturday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 90. East wind around 5 mph.
Saturday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 72. Northeast wind around 5 mph.
Sunday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 86. Northeast wind around 5 mph.
Sunday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 70. Northeast wind around 5 mph.
Monday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 83. East wind around 5 mph becoming north in the afternoon.
Monday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 69. West wind around 5 mph becoming northeast after midnight.
Tuesday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 84.
Tuesday Night: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 69.
Wednesday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 85.
Wednesday Night: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 72.
Thursday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 87.
Wahoos Lose One-Run Game To Jackson
August 25, 2017
Down one run to the Jackson Generals, the Pensacola Blue Wahoos had runners in scoring position in both the eighth and ninth innings but failed to advance them home.
Pensacola starter Jose Reyes gave up just two hits to Jackson but both led to runs and the Generals defeated the Blue Wahoos, 2-1, in front of 4,010 at Blue Wahoos Stadium.
The final game of the series Friday decides which team wins it, and Pensacola is seeking its 400th win in the franchise’s six-year history. The Blue Wahoos have won eight of 11 homestands this season.
“We’ve played well the whole series but a couple of one-run losses have been the difference,” said Blue Wahoos manager Pat Kelly.
Pensacola fell to 20-27 in one-run games this season.
Jackson scored first in the second inning when right fielder Kelly Dugan belted a line drive solo home run to left center. His 13th homer of the season gave the Generals a 1-0 lead.
In the third inning, Jackson added another run to go ahead, 2-0, when shortstop Vladimir Frias walked, stole second base and scored on a ground ball up the middle by center fielder Victor Reyes.
Pensacola got on the scoreboard in the sixth inning when left fielder Gabriel Guerrero, who won the All-Star Home Run Derby, smashed his seventh homer of the year to deep right center with two outs to trail Jackson, 2-1. All his homers have come in the second half.
Guerrero extended his franchise record for hits to 132 and is batting .284 on the year.
“That’s a long way in this ballpark,” Kelly said. “He’s hit the ball hard all year. I don’t think he’s changed his swing at all.”
In the eighth inning, Pensacola had runners on first and third with Jackson reliever Andury Acevedo walking two and throwing a wild pitch but he got Guerrero to ground out into a double play to end the scoring threat.
In the ninth, again the Blue Wahoos put runners on first and second with one out but Jackson reliever Joey Krehbiel struck out Pensacola right fielder Aristides Aquino and catcher Chad Tromp popped up to first base to end the inning and earn his third save.
“We had good chances with good RBI guys at the plate,” Kelly said. “They just made good pitches.”
Both starters bounced back from poor outings in their previous starts. The Mississippi Braves knocked Reyes out of the game after three innings when he gave up three runs on seven hits and two walks. Against Jackson, the Blue Wahoos righty worked six innings giving up two runs on two hits and two walks, while striking out five.
Reyes benefited from the Blue Wahoos defense turning two double plays that helped him face one over the minimum 12 batters in his last three innings.
Meanwhile, Alex Young lasted five innings, giving up seven runs, three earned on nine hits and two walks, while striking out six against the Biloxi Shuckers. However, the southpaw worked six innings Thursday against Pensacola and gave up one run on five hits and a walk and struck out six.
After giving up two singles in the first inning, Young with the help of a double play and a pick off got the next 15 Blue Wahoos batters out before Guerrero tagged him in the sixth.
The Blue Wahoos are in the hunt this season to win the Southern Division for a Southern League record fifth straight time at 28-31 and just 4.5 games behind the front-runner Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, who Pensacola plays to end the season.
Photos courtesy Barrett McClean Photography/Blue Wahoos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlage.
Trial By Fire: Firefighters Undergo Live Fire Training
August 25, 2017
Firefighters from several area departments are receiving live fire training this week in the Alabama Fire College’s burn trailer at the Flomaton Fire Department. Firefighters have a chance to experience live fire in a controlled environment, practice search and rescue and safely experience a flashover effect.
Participating fire department include Flomaton, Barnett Crossroads, Brewton, McCall and Century.
Pictured: Members of the Flomaton Fire Department undergo live fire training Thursday night. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Funeral Services Tuesday For Former Sen. Greg Evers
August 25, 2017
Funeral services have been announced for former Sen. Greg Evers.
Visitation will be held Monday, August 28 from 5-7 p.m. at the First Baptist Church of Milton at 6797 Caroline Street.
Funeral services will be held on Tuesday August 29 at 1 p.m. at the First Baptist Church of Milton.
Arrangements are being handled by Lewis Funeral Homes Inc. in Milton.
Please keep the Evers family in your prayers during this most difficult time,” Senate President Joe Negron, R-Stuart, said.
Evers, a 62-year-old Republican, died late Monday night when his truck ran off a road near his home in Baker and ended up in a creek. Evers, who also served in the House, left the Senate last year to make an unsuccessful bid for Congress.
Three Minor Injuries In Pickup, 18-Wheeler Highway 29 Crash
August 24, 2017
Three people were injured when an 18-wheeler and a pickup collided in Cantonment Thursday afternoon.
The adult female driver of the pickup was transported by ambulance to an area hospital, while her two children were taken by private vehicle for evaluation.
The accident happened about 2:45 p.m. at the intersection of Highway 29 and Muskogee Road. The tractor trailer came to a stop at Highway 29 and Tree Road.
The wreck is under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol. Escambia County EMS, the Cantonment Station of Escambia Fire Rescue and the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office also responded.
NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Barbour, click to enlarge.
Indoor Organic Farm Promises 500 Jobs For Century, Some Questions Unanswered
August 24, 2017
Century’s empty Alger-Sullivan Lumber Company property could soon be home to an indoor organic farming operation employing up to 500 people, but some questions about the company and their plans remain unanswered.
“We are going to have somewhere between 300-500 jobs,” Stephen Simpkins of the South Carolina company Pisces Organic Farms LLC said. He said the company should be taking employment applications soon.
“We will be growing food inside those facilities which will be renovated. We will be taking applications maybe in the next 90 days for jobs but our primary purpose right now is to set the groundwork so that people know when we get here and get setup, that we are not going anywhere.”
At a recent council meeting, Mayor Henry Hawkins presented Simpkins as the future owner of the sprawling property — 330,200 square feet in eight buildings on 38 acres. The property was heavily damaged in Century’s February 2016 EF-3 tornado, including a collapse of the rear portion of the largest building. Portions of the buildings blew into, and in some cases through, houses along Front Street. Since the tornado, residents have pushed the town and Escambia County to clean up the property. Estimates for a cleanup have approached a million dollars.
Simpkins said the property would be converted into a grow facility for organic farming for products such as lettuce as well fish like shrimp, tilapia and perch. The sustainable operation plans to use solar power. Simpkins said his company was involved in a similar business in North Carolina.
“We got a customer base up the Southeast. We don’t have enough facilities. We can’t produce enough food. It’s organic food, no chemicals, no pesticides,” he said.
“We are not going to be a fly by night operation. We already operate in other states. Matter of fact, we suspended operations last year because our biggest problem is we have more people that want organic food and we don’t have enough square footage. We grow primarily indoors. Which is why that large facility is what we need to protect it from the weather and to protect it from people like Monsanto and a couple of people. You know what I am saying. These are some issues you deal with in modern day farming.”
Simpkins said the sale on the property — which is listed on real estate websites for $1.5 million — had not yet closed. Property records show it is currently owned by a holding company in Navarre.
“We are moving forward with it. We have two closing dates….there are some things we need to put in place right now before we sign the paperwork. The reason is once we sign the final paperwork we can’t use the money from the State of Florida in some instances,” he said. “In other words, if we move forward, we bypass those things the state of Florida has for us to use as far as economic development.”
One the closing is complete, Simpkins said the company would employ 300 people within 120 days and reach 500 employees in a year. He said the company would hire locally in Century first.
Simpkins interrupted his presentation during a regular public meeting of the Century Town Council to object to a NorthEscambia.com photographer taking his picture.
“You was taking that picture of me. So let me tell you this. I am copyrighted, right. Do you know what that means?,” he said.
When asked about Simpkin’s existing business and employees in North Carolina, he replied, “I’m not employing anybody right now. I got some other stuff going on too. We can talk.”
NorthEscambia.com asked Simpkins if his company had a website or operated under a different name because an internet search returned very few listings for Simpkins, his South Carolina LLC, or any business in North Carolina.
“We don’t have a website. We took it down on purpose because y’all are nosy….A lot of people start asking questions that are not really relative to the function of a business, right? People start asking questions not relative to the funding, not relative to anything,” Simpkins said.
“I got some other businesses I’m in. OK, let be frank with you. Now were are going to put between 350 and 500 people in this location right here….so the question about North Carolina, I’m here. I’m right here with you.”
“We have a contract in place. Money has been escrowed to the local attorney. It’s a green light,” he said.
During his presentation to the council, Simpkins said “We are going to move here locally, so we will be a fixture in your community…I apologize for not being here before. We have some other stuff going on in some other states…we looked at several different places, and Century was just the perfect place for several reasons.”
“We are not going to be a fly by night operation. We already operate in other states. Matter of fact, we suspended operations last year because our biggest problem is we have more people that want organic food and we don’t have enough square footage. We grow primarily indoors. Which is why that large facility is what we need to protect it from the weather and to protect it from people like Monsanto and a couple of people. You know what I am saying. These are some issues you deal with in modern day farming.”
“We are a food agency working with the USDA and the federal government.” he said.
He also said another company location was shut down because the local residents were not accepting of the business.
“We set up in several communities. In one community we shut down completely because when you come into a community and they don’t accept you with open arms people don’t want to do business with you.”
Century, however, is the perfect fit for the operation, he said.
“We picked Century because number one because it was a community that we could set a business up that it would be sustainable because there are people that need jobs. It’s not over populated so we don’t have to worry about if everybody gets an opportunity. When we say jobs, we are going to hire people that are able to work on the job. We have a veterans’ program, or people coming out of a corrections facility. We don’t discriminate.”
Simpkins said the Century-grown produce and seafood would also be sold locally and even served in a new restaurant.
“We’re actually going to set up a restaurant…we are going to set up a farmer’s store…we’ll have a wide variety of things. Local made cheese, local made things,” he said.
Town Planner Debbie Nickles cautioned Simpkins that the Alger-Sullivan property is currently zoned for industrial use, and it would take a large scale comprehensive plan amendment to change the property use to agricultural for a farming operation. She said that process could take as long as a year.
While the Century Council listened to the presentation from Simpkins, he did not make any formal request and the council took no action regarding his plan.
Following the council meeting, Simpkins refused to provide any further information about his business to NorthEscambia.com, other than to say he had a LLC and a USDA registration. He also refused to provide any contact information.
Pictured top: Century council member Ben Boutwell (seated), Stephen Simpkins of Pisces Organic Produce (center) and Alfred Phillips. Phillips stood with Simpkins during his presentation but did not speak. Pictured below: The Alger-Sullivan Lumber Company following a February 2016 EF-3 tornado. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
