FDLE Says There May Be More Victims Of Deputy Charged With Child Sex Crimes
July 30, 2019
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement says there may be additional victims of an Escambia County deputy arrested Friday for child sexual battery.
FDLE arrested Jerome Bernard Zaid, 33, of Pensacola, on a capital felony charge of battery of a child and sexual battery of a child. At the time of his arrest, Zaid was employed as a deputy with Escambia County Sheriff’s Office, but the agency said he is being terminated.
Agents believe Zaid victimized at least two children under the age of six, both of whom Zaid had frequent contact with, according to FDLE.
If convicted on the capital charge, he faces a mandatory life sentence.
An arrest warrant affidavit details the allegations against Zaid. It provides details on multiple instances in which he is alleged to have urinated into the mouth of a young girl between October 2017 and July 2019. The girl is now 5-years old.
Anyone with any information about Zaid is asked to call the FDLE Pensacola Regional Operations Center at (850) 595-2100. He remains in the Escambia County Jail without bond.
Traffic Alert: Nine Mile Road Closed At Highway 29 Nightly Through Thursday
July 30, 2019
Nine Mile Road will be closed at Highway 29 nightly from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. through Thursday, August 1 as crews drive piles for the new southbound bridge deck. Traffic control officers will be on-site to help direct motorists. The following detour will be in place:
▪ Eastbound Nine Mile Road will be reduced to one lane, directed to Highway 29 southbound, U-turn at West Hood Drive, and return to Nine Mile Road.
▪ Westbound traffic will perform the same operation at West 9 1/2 Mile Road.
Firefighters Battle Fire At The Perdido Landfill
July 30, 2019
Firefighters battled a trash fire at the Perdido Landfill on Beulah Road early Tuesday morning.
The call came in at 12:13 a.m., and firefighters arrived at 12:27 a.m. They were able to use equipment already on site and the landfill to put out the fire, Escambia County spokesperson Hana Frenette said.
There were no injuries reported.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Blue Wahoos Seven-Game Win Streak Ends In Pitching Duel
July 30, 2019
With his latest gem, Miami Marlins top prospect Sixto Sanchez put a chill Monday night to the Blue Wahoos’ hot bats and season-best win streak.
Sanchez, 20-year-old right-hander with a rising future, worked six scoreless innings, allowing just two hits, for a second consecutive shutout outing, this one leading the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp to a 1-0 victory against the Blue Wahoos at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville.
The result ended the Blue Wahoos seven-game win streak despite getting outstanding pitching of their own.
Bryan Sammons, who allowed just three hits and a run in 4.2 innings, absorbed the hard-luck loss. Relievers Anthony Vizcaya and Tom Hackimer followed Sammons and yielded just one hit, no walks.
For the first time in a week, the Blue Wahoos were unable to supply enough offense.
They were held to just three hits, one of those a double by newcomer shortstop Royce Lewis, the Minnesota Twins’ consensus top overall prospect.
In a strange twist, Lewin Diaz, who began the series Saturday with the Blue Wahoos (56-51 overall) as their popular first baseman, then was traded to the Marlins organization during Saturday’s game, played first base Monday for the Jumbo Shrimp. He went 0-for-4 in the game, his first as opposing player.
Diaz was part of a trade that sent Miami Marlins’ top reliever Sergio Romo to the Twins, along with minor league pitching prospect Chris Vallimont, in exchange for the left-handed, power-hitting Diaz.
When the trade was finalized Saturday, it happened right before Diaz was due up at the plate for the Blue Wahoos in the seventh inning. Knowing what was going on, Blue Wahoos’ Ivan De Jesus Jr., a major league veteran seeking to make a comeback, alertly grabbed a bat and stepped out to the plate as a pinch-hitter.
Diaz at that moment was suddenly ineligible to play for Pensacola. He was not in the lineup Sunday for Jacksonville.
Sanchez (7-4, 2.96 ERA), the No. 1 rated Marlins prospect by MLB Pipeline, allowed just two hits and a walk in his outing. It followed a seven-inning shutout he weaved six days earlier against the first place Biloxi Shuckers.
Two Jumbo Shrimp relievers, Tommy Eveld and Dylan Lee followed. They combined to allow just one hit, one walk. Lee picked up his 12th save.
The game’s only run occurred in the first inning when Jumbo Shrimp designated hitter smacked a solo homer off Sammons.
In the final five innings, the Blue Wahoos had two baserunners. In the seventh, Mark Contreras led off with a walk, but was thrown out on a steal attempt at second base. In the ninth, Trevor Larnach hit a one-out single, but Lee got Ryan Jeffers to pop out and struck out Contreras to end the game.
The teams will continue the series Tuesday night.
Vehicle Damaged After Metal Joint Separates On Quintette Bridge; Here’s The Plan To Fix It
July 29, 2019
A vehicle was damaged when a piece of metal on the Quintette Road bridge across the Escambia River popped up into a travel lane Monday.
An expansion joint — the piece of metal between concrete sections of the bridge — was seen in photographs protruding over a foot into the air in a westbound travel lane. The metal was reportedly struck by multiple vehicles, but the Florida Highway Patrol said only one was damaged.
“Metal from the expansion joint was protruding above the surface of the roadway and the vehicle suffered damage to the front and undercarriage from the protruding metal,” Lt. Robert Cannon of the FHP said.
Repair Plan
Maintenance of the bridge is Escambia County’s responsibility, according to Escambia County Public Works Director and Engineer Joy Jones. She said repairs will be made between 9 p.m. Tuesday and 6 a.m. Wednesday, and those repairs will require temporary lane closures and traffic shifts.
In the meantime, Jones said drivers should slow down and watch for signage as the speed limits drops to 5 mph at the bridge joint.
“There’s a bit of a bump there, so we are asking drivers to slow down and obey the speed limit reductions,” Jones said.
Ian Satter, a spokesman for the Florida Department of Transportation, said the bridge remains structurally sound and the incident will not prompt a bridge inspection.
“It’s not a structural issue, and the bridge will remain on its same inspection schedule,” Satter told NorthEscambia.com.
NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Barbour, click to enlarge.
Escambia County Man Killed In Early Morning Motorcycle Crash
July 29, 2019
An Escambia County man was killed in a motorcycle crash early Monday morning.
The cyclist was identified as 33-year old Brandon Master of Pensacola.
The Florida Highway Patrol took a a call reporting the accident about 1 a.m. on Davis Highway near Fairfield Drive and I-10, but they were unable to find a crash. Pensacola Police located the accident after receiving a second call, according to Pensacola Police Officer Mike Wood.
According to investigators, Master was northbound in the southbound lane when he either tried to correct or lost control and crashed.
Atmore Police Investigating Death As A Homicide
July 29, 2019
The Atmore Police Department is conducting a homicide investigation after an elderly man was found deceased with an apparent gunshot wound.
At 11:06 last Friday morning, Atmore Police responded to a report of a deceased person in the 400 block of Jack Springs Road. Officers arrived and found 84-year old Willie Ankum of Atmore deceased with what appeared to be a gunshot wound, according to Lt. John Stallworth.
Monday morning, police said the death will be processed as a homicide and the death investigation will remain open pending the results of forensics tests.
Anyone with information on the death is asked to call Atmore Police at (251) 368-9141.
NorthEscambia.com file photo.
Pedestrian Struck And Killed As He Tried To Dash Across Pine Forest Road
July 29, 2019
A pedestrian was killed on Pine Forest Road just south of the Nine Mile Road intersection Monday morning.
The pedestrian dashed into the roadway and into the path of a southbound 2007 Dodge Ram driven by 51-year old Eric Jones of Cantonment, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
Troopers said Jones was unable to avoid the collision.
The pedestrian was pronounced deceased at the scene of the 5:41 a.m. incident. The victim’s name has not been released pending notification of next of kin.
Jones was not injured. No charges were immediately filed.
File photo.
FHP Releases Details In Tragic Wreck That Claimed Two Lives, Injured Two Others On Highway 95A
July 29, 2019
A tragic crash early Monday morning claimed the lives of two people and seriously injured two others in Cottage Hill.
The Florida Highway Patrol said Dalchunique S. Lavender, age 20 of Cantonment, was northbound on Highway 95A at Coweta Road, just south of McKenzie Road, when her 2007 Ford Focus left the roadway and struck a utility pole about 1:20 a.m. The vehicle wrapped around the pole and came to rest between Highway 95A and adjacent railroad tracks.
Two of her passengers, 15-year old Samara Cooks and 18-year old Deleigha T. Gibson, both of Cantonment, were pronounced deceased on the scene. Lavender and passenger Alexandria R. Banks, 18, were critically injured and transported by Escambia County EMS to Sacred Heart Hospital.
Lavender was the only occupant of the vehicle that was wearing a seat belt, FHP said. The wreck was not alcohol related.
The FHP said it is unknown at this time if any charges will be filed.
The Cantonment, Ensley and Molino stations of Escambia Fire Rescue and the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office also responded the crash.
Pictured: A tragic wreck claimed two lives and injured two others in Cottage Hill early Monday morning. NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Barbour, click to enlarge.
The Opioid Files: Data Shows Opioid Pain Pill Numbers For Escambia County
July 29, 2019
For the first time, a database maintained by the Drug Enforcement Administration that tracks the path of every single pain pill sold in the United States — by manufacturers and distributors to pharmacies in every town and city — has been made public.
The Washington Post sifted through nearly 380 million transactions from 2006 through 2012 that are detailed in the DEA’s database and analyzed shipments of oxycodone and hydrocodone pills, which account for three-quarters of the total opioid pill shipments to pharmacies.
From 2006 to 2012 there were 108,324,348 prescription pain pills, enough for 51 pills per person per year, supplied to Escambia County.
The now-closed A&E Pharmacy in Pensacola received the highest number of pills. A & E recieved 5,259,640 pills.
Among North Escambia pharmacies, the Cantonment Pharmacy received 4,004,040 pills, the third highest total in the county, according to the Washington Post data from the DEA. Escambia County’s top 10 and the remainder of those in North Escambia appearing in the database are in the graphic below..
These records provide an unprecedented look at the surge of legal pain pills that fueled the prescription opioid epidemic, which resulted in nearly 100,000 deaths during the seven-year time frame ending in 2012.
The Post gained access to the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Automation of Reports and Consolidated Orders System, known as ARCOS, as the result of a court order. The Post and HD Media, which publishes the Charleston Gazette-Mail in West Virginia, waged a year-long legal battle for access to the database, which the government and the drug industry had sought to keep secret.
All data courtesy The Washington Post, used with permission.