Arrest Made In Escambia County (AL) Murder; Victim Was Found Shot To Death On Porch
May 19, 2020
An Escambia County, Alabama, man has been charged with murder.
On May 9, the Escambia County (AL) Sheriff’s Office responded to the 3600 block of William Cook Road where 22-year old Tyer Lisenby found deceased from a gunshot wound on the front porch of the home.
Escambia County (AL) Sheriff Heath Jackson said 54-year old Rufus Evens of Brewton was developed as a suspect and later arrested for murder. He remains in the Escambia County (AL) Detention Center without bond.
Further details have not been released as the investigation continues.
Editor’s note: The “INMATE” label was placed on mugshot by the Escambia County (AL) Detention Center at the time of booking.
Century Parks To Remain Closed At Least Two More Weeks Due To COVID-19
May 19, 2020
Public parks in the Town of Century will remain closed for at least two more weeks.
Monday night, the Century Town Council discussed the parks but there was no action to open them. Instead, the council will consider the park closures at the next meeting on June 1.
Escambia County and City of Pensacola parks never closed during the pandemic, and youth sports leagues are once again offered in the county. Beaches and the Gulf Islands National Seashore in Escambia County have also reopened.
Just across the state line from Century, Flomaton reopened their parks two weeks ago.
At Least A Chance of Rain Each Day For The Rest Of The Week
May 19, 2020
A burn ban remains in effect for Escambia and Santa Rosa counties. Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Tonight: Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly after 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 64. Southwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Wednesday: Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly before 1pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 79. Calm wind becoming west around 5 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Wednesday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers, mainly after 1am. Patchy fog after 4am. Otherwise, partly cloudy, with a low around 62. Calm wind.
Thursday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Patchy fog before 8am. Otherwise, partly sunny, with a high near 85. Calm wind becoming west around 5 mph.
Thursday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 67. Calm wind.
Friday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 1pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 88. Calm wind becoming southwest around 5 mph in the afternoon.
Friday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 68. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Saturday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 1pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 90. Calm wind becoming south around 5 mph.
Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 68. Calm wind.
Sunday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 1pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 91.
Sunday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 67.
Memorial Day: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 89.
Monday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 67.
Tuesday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 89.
Escambia Sheriff’s Office Resumes Many Functions That Were Suspended Due To COVID-19
May 19, 2020
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office has resumed many functions that were suspended in March due to COVID-19.
- Front Lobby: The lobby is re-opened to the public for full services, including fingerprinting, with social distancing limitations to provide for public and employee safety. Each department will respond to the lobby to assist citizens.
- Civil: Civil is open for all service of process that has not been limited by judicial administrative or executive orders.
- Criminal Registration: Criminal and sex offender registrations have resumed. For inquiries regarding registrations, call (850) 436-9494.
- Records/Public Records: Citizens can request records through the lobby. Records may also continue to be requested by telephone or via the records request center on the ECSO website.
- Citizen Complaints: Complaint forms may be filled out at the ECSO lobby or filled out online and dropped off at the ECSO front desk. All complaint forms must be signed and returned to the Sheriff’s Office.
- Patrol: Reports, where there is no immediate threat to life or safety, can be made in the lobby. Citizens can also continue to report crime via the E-Reports section on the ECSO website.
- Victim Services: Face-to-face contact with victim advocates remains suspended; assistance via telephone will continue to be provided until further notice.
- Community Relations: All community events remain suspended.
- Communications: Dispatchers will continue to ask specific questions to identify risk factors for responding deputies.
- Property/Facilities: All deliveries will be accepted without vendors entering the physical building.
- Evidence: Evidence will continue to be released by appointment only on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. To request items from the Evidence Unit, call (850) 436-9506 to make an appointment.
All changes were effective on Monday, May 18.
Billy G. Ward
May 19, 2020
Retired Honorable Judge Billy G. Ward, 95 of Walnut Hill, Florida, passed away May 18, 2020, in Walnut Hill. He was born to the late Horace H. and Minnie Lou Morgan Ward on September 4, 1924, in Walnut Hill, Florida. He served in the United States Army and was a WWII veteran.
He was a graduate of Ernest Ward High School and University of Florida College of Law. He was a retired Escambia County Florida Judge with over 32 years of service and former member of the Escambia County Florida Bar Association. He was the last remaining charter member of the Walnut Hill Ruritan Club. He was a lifelong member of the Walnut Hill Baptist Church and served as a deacon for many years. Judge Ward enjoyed farming, fishing and traveling in his RV.
He is preceded in death by his parents; brothers; Marshall Ward, Ernest Ward, Royce Ward and his sister Willodean Bingham.
He is survived by his wife of 74 years, Lois King Ward of Walnut Hill, Florida; two sons, Roy (Jackie) Ward of Bratt, Florida, and Russ (Allison) Ward of Hoover, Alabama; grandchildren Jordana Ward, Jocelyn (Nicholas) Drew, Hope Ward, Seth Ward and a great-grandchild Eleanor Drew.
Funeral services will be held Friday, May 22, 2020, at 11 a.m. at Walnut Hill Baptist Church. Visitation will precede the service beginning at 9:30 a.m. until service time at Walnut Hill Baptist Church. The Reverend Ted Bridges and Reverend James Boyd officiating. Burial will follow in Walnut Hill Baptist Church Cemetery.
Active pallbearers are Seth Ward, Nicholas Drew, Horace Ward, Scott Ward, Heath Ward, and Craig King.
Honorary pallbearers are Brett Ward, Harry Ward, Ted Bridges, Sr., Tim Gibbs, Kevin Faircloth, Edward Godwin, and Ed Hudson.
Those who desire may make memorial donations in memory of Billy Ward to Walnut Hill Baptist Church Life Center.
Due to the current health care crisis it is asked of you to please use the social distancing requirements. Seating will be limited at the church.
Escambia, Santa Rosa COVID-19 Case Count Increases By 20 On Monday
May 18, 2020
The number of COVID-19 cases reported in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties increased by eight on Sunday.
The number of cases in Escambia County increased by 11 to 707, and Santa Rosa was up by two to 185.
Of the 20 deaths in Escambia County, 15 have been long-term care facility residents or staff. There have been eight deaths in Santa Rosa County, seven at the Blackwater River Correctional Facility and none in long-term care facilities.
Statewide, there were 46,442 cases including 45, 208 Florida residents. There have been 8,304 hospitalizations and 1,997 deaths.
- Total cases — 707 (+18 since Sunday)
- Pensacola — 527
- Cantonment — 47
- Bellview — 6
- Perdido Key — 1
- McDavid/Walnut Hill — 1
- Molino – 4
- Century — 2
- Hospitalizations: 60*
- Deaths — 20
- Male — 248
- Female — 343
- Youngest — 0
- Oldest — 105
Santa Rosa County cases:
- Total cases — 185 (+2 since Sunday)
- Milton — 103
- Navarre — 35
- Gulf Breeze — 26
- Pace — 16
- Jay — 2
- Residents: 129
- Nonresidents — 1
- Hospitalizations — 23*
- Deaths — 9
- Male — 123
- Female — 60
- Youngest — 2 months
- Oldest — 94
Florida cases:
- Total cases — 46,442
- Florida residents — 45,208
- Deaths — 1,997
- Hospitalizations — 8,304*
*“Hospitalizations” is a count of all laboratory confirmed cases in which an inpatient hospitalization occurred at any time during the course of illness. These people may no longer be hospitalized. This number does not represent the number of COVID-19 positive persons currently hospitalized. The FDOH does not provide a count of patients currently hospitalized.
Driver Hits Power Pole On Bogia Road, Days After A Fatal Wreck Near The Same Spot
May 18, 2020
Less than a week after a fatal crash on Bogia Road, a driver crashed Monday morning into a power pole near the same spot.
The driver lost control on Bogia Road just west of Ray’s Chapel Baptist Church about 10:45 a.m. Monday. The pole was snapped, cutting power to 123 Escambia River Electric Cooperative customers.
The driver stated he was attempting to a avoid a deer on the stretch of roadway through a wooded area. He was not injured.
On May 13, 33-year old Ernest Brown of Molino was killed when the vehicle in which he was as passenger left Bogia Road and crashed into a tree about 2,000 feet from Monday morning’s crash site.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Rainfall Not Enough To Fully Extinguish Beulah, Santa Rosa Wildfires
May 18, 2020
While most of Escambia and Santa Rosa counties received rainfall, it has not been enough over the fire areas to truly extinguish either the Hurt Hammock or 5 Mile Swamp fires. The nearest weather station to Hurst Hammock is reporting 0.19 inches of rain Monday morning while the closest to 5 Mile Swamp shows less than 0.10. Neither amount is enough to declare these fires out for good. More rain is forecast today and later in the week.
Firefighters monitored the 5 Mile Swamp Fire throughout the night and will continue today as they patrol for any potential smoke issues or hot spots. The 2,215-acre fire is 97% contained and pockets of unburned vegetation remain in the thick swamp north of Interstate 10.
The Hurst Hammock Fire is 1,191 acres and 98% contained and crews are monitoring and patrolling it as well.
Motorists are encouraged to be on the lookout for smoke on the road anytime there’s a wildfire nearby. Drivers should treat the smoke as fog, turn on low-beam headlights and slow down. If conditions worsen, drivers should pull safely off the side of the road and turn on their hazard lights while waiting for visibility to improve.
Escambia, Santa Rosa and Okaloosa counties have enacted burn bans and the Florida Forest Service is not issuing burn authorizations. Residents are asked to call the non-emergency line for their respective area to report violations and 911 for emergency situations only.
FBI Cracks iPhones Belonging to NAS Pensacola Shooter, Finding Evidence Of Al Qaeda Connection
May 18, 2020
The Saudi aviation student that opened fire killing three sailors at NAS Pensacola last December had been in contact with Al Qaeda, the U.S. Justice Department said Monday morning.
Evidence of the previously unknown communications was discovered after the FBI was finally able to unlock the iPhone belonging to Saudi Arabian Air Force 2nd Lt. Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani, U.S. Attorney General William Barr said.
“The FBI finally succeeded in unlocking Alshamrani’s phones. The phones contained information previously unknown to us that definitively establishes Alshamrani’s significant ties to Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) — not only before the attack but before he even arrived in the United States,” Barr said. “We now have a clearer understanding of Alshamrani’s associations and activities in the years, months, and days leading up to his attack,” Barr said.
“It was clear at the time that the phones were likely to contain very important information,” Barr said. “Indeed, Alshamrani attempted to destroy both of the phones, even going so far as to disengage from the gunfight long enough to fire a bullet into one of the phones.”
Evidence on the phones showed “that the Pensacola attack was actually the brutal culmination of years of planning and preparation by a longtime AQAP associate”, the attorney general said. He added the phones showed he had contact and started planning with AQAP, an offshoot of Al Qaeda, before he arrived in the United States in 2017.
Barr and FBI Director Christopher Wray repeatedly expressed disgust with Apple during a press conference Monday morning. The tech giant had refused to help the government unlock the iPhone despite a federal search warrant.
Wray said no other evidence has been discovered on the phones that hinted of any other planned attacks in the U.S.
Wray recognized partners, including local agencies including the Jacksonville and Pensacola offices of the FBI, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Naval security forces and the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office, for their response to the shooting.
Sailors Joshua K. Watson, Mohammed S. Haitham and Cameron S. Walters were killed and either others, members of Naval security forces and the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office, were injured in the attack.
Pictured inset: Photos of one of the iPhones. Pictured below: Side-by-side comparison of Pensacola shooter Mohammed Saeed al-Shamrani’s notes (left side) with Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula’s original claim of responsibility. Courtesy photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Man In Wheelchair Struck And Killed On Highway 29
May 18, 2020
A man was struck and killed Sunday night on Highway 29.
The Florida Highway Patrol said the 60-year old man in a motorized wheelchair was traveling across Highway 29 near Kenmore Road when he was struck by a car shortly before 10 p.m.
The victim was pronounced deceased on the scene by Escambia County EMS.
The driver of the car, a 24-year female from Pensacola, was not injured.
The FHP no longer releases the names of traffic crash victims.