Man Sentenced For Threatening To Kill Rep. Matt Gaetz
July 29, 2022
A California man has been sentenced for a threat to kill Congressman Matt Gaetz.
Eugene Huelsman, 59, of Thousand Oaks, California, was sentenced to six months home confinement on one count of transmission of a threat in interstate commerce.
Huelsman was sentenced for phone threats he made on January 9, 2021, when he called Gaetz’s congressional district office in Pensacola. When no one answered the call, Huelsman left a profanity-laced voicemail threatening to kill Congressman Gaetz. This included threatening to “put a bullet in” Gaetz and members of his family. Huelsman also threatened that he was “coming for” the Congressman, and that he hoped Gaetz would “die in a shallow grave.”
“The free exercise of speech is central to our democracy,” stated U.S. Attorney Jason R. Coody. “However, the communication of threats of physical violence, in this case by an individual who had previously made and been investigated for similar threats of violence, is clearly unlawful. With our law enforcement partners, we are committed to protecting public safety for all citizens. Today’s sentence acknowledges the defendant’s repeated threats of violence and should serve as a significant deterrent to those who would threaten violence against others rather than engage in lawful debate.”
“Words matter,” said Sherri E. Onks, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Jacksonville Division, “and this sentencing should serve as a warning. Everyone has the right to express their opinion, but when you harass, intimidate, and threaten violence against others, it’s a federal crime that will not be tolerated. The FBI and our law enforcement partners will work to hold you accountable.”
Huelsman’s home confinement will be followed by five years’ probation, and a $10,000 fine.
The case was investigated by the United States Capitol Police and the FBI. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David L. Goldberg.
Pictured: Rep Matt Gaetz during a campaign kickoff event last week in Walnut Hill. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Northview Mini Cheer Clinic Is Saturday
July 29, 2022
The Northview High School cheerleaders Back To School Mini Chief Cheer Clinic will be held this Saturday, January 30.
Campers ages 5-12 will learn individual cheer skills, partner stunts, a spirit dance, and more. They will also have the opportunity to cheer with the NHS cheerleaders under the Friday night lights at an upcoming Northview football game.
Comfortable clothes and tennis shoes are recommended.
Registration will open at 8:30 a.m. on July 30; the cost is $35 per child. The camp will take place from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m., with a family performance at 1:30 p.m.
Blue Wahoos Fall 8-5 To M-Braves On Jay High Night
July 29, 2022
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos couldn’t dig themselves out of an early deficit on Thursday night, falling 8-5 to the Mississippi Braves.
It was Jay High night at the ballpark as the Wahoos honored the state champion Royals softball team.
The Braves roughed up Pensacola starter Zach King (L, 0-3) to the tune of seven runs in 4.0 innings, and got started right away with an RBI double from Vaughn Grissom in the first inning. Drew Lugbauer highlighted a three-run third with a two-run homer, and Justin Dean went deep for a two-run blast of his own in a three-run fourth.
J.D. Orr had the only two Pensacola hits through the first six innings, and turned a pair of stolen bases into the first Blue Wahoos run thanks to a Ray-Patrick Didder sacrifice fly in the first inning. Allan Winans worked 4.0 innings in his first M-Braves start, and was followed by 2.0 scoreless innings of relief from Hayden Deal (W, 3-2).
Trailing 8-1 in the seventh, the Blue Wahoos chipped away with a bases-loaded hit from Devin Hairston that scored three runs thanks to a throwing error from Cody Milligan. Hairston doubled and scored in the ninth on a Victor Victor Mesa sacrifice fly, but it was not enough as the Blue Wahoos dropped their first game of the series.
The Blue Wahoos continue their series against the M-Braves on Friday.
by Erik Bremer, Pensacola Blue Wahoos
Sheriff: Walnut Hill Girl Found Safe, Alleged Kidnapping Did Not Happen; Suspect Detained In Texas
July 28, 2022
UPDATED 4:10 p.m.
Escambia County Sheriff Chip Simmons told NorthEscambia.com that an 11-year old girl reported kidnapped from Walnut Hill has been found safe in the area.
“We do not believe now that she was kidnapped,” Simmons said. The girl was located in Foley with a vehicle reported stolen Thursday from a farm in Walnut Hill.
Manriquez Brijido-Ortez, 42, the man alleged in a statewide Amber Alert report to have kidnapped the girl, was found Thursday afternoon in Laredo, Texas, but Simmons said they do not believe he took the girl.
Brijido-Ortez remains in custody in Texas as authorities investigate his prior alleged relationship with the 11-year old.
Simmons said it’s not known who stole the vehicle.
Additional updates will be posted as available.
UPDATE 3:45 p.m.: The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office says 11-year old Banesa Irene Fernandez-Santis has been safely located. No further details have been released.
PREVIOUS STORY:
A Walnut Hill father just wants his daddy’s girl back home soon after she was allegedly kidnapped by his former 42-year old coworker, prompting an Amber Alert.
In an exclusive interview with NorthEscambia.com in partnership with La Costa Latina Newspaper, Carlos Fernandez told us about his 11-year old daughter that was kidnapped just a few hours earlier.
Banesa Irene Fernandez-Santis, 11, was last seen when she went to her room about 10 p.m. Wednesday on Arthur Brown Road near Morgan Road. Manriquez Brijido-Ortez, 42, is suspected in her kidnapping, according to Sheriff Chief Simmons.
Simmons said Banesa and Brijido-Ortez were working on a farm in Walnut Hill where Carlos discovered a “building or grooming” relationship between the 11-year old and the 42-year old. Two weeks ago, “the father was concerned because he saw them in a kissing situation, and he immediately thought that’ s inappropriate, and he was right, and he fired him, and he actually drove him to Atlanta,” Simmons said. Thursday morning, the father found a screen cut on their Walnut Hill home, and Banesa was missing. She left a note behind indicating that she would be with Brijido-Ortez.
“She was my daddy’s girl,” dad Carlos told us as he stood on the porch of his Walnut Hill home. It’s a nice country home that he’s proud to have enjoyed for nine years or so, along with the neighboring land where he grows crops like cucumbers and okra. Five-gallon buckets of freshly cut okra were sitting on the porch, and there was more waiting in the field.
“We were going to pick okra today,” he said.
But instead he awoke to find his baby girl, a student at Walnut Hill Christian School, gone from her room.
“This morning, she just went out,” he said. “We went for breakfast. She wasn’t in her room.”
The only clue to here whereabouts was a note that she left behind.
“She say I’m going because I love him,” Carlos said. “Yeah stupid things.”
Carlos has known and worked with Brijido-Ortez, the alleged kidnapper, for about two years. Carlos said he does not speak much English, but his daughter is fluent in Spanish, English and was even learning a third language.
“When we first found that he was trying to mess with her, we fired him,” he said of an incident two weeks ago. “He don’t have no way to go nowhere. Our boss, he take him to Atlanta to a cousin’s place.”
Investigators believe Ortez may have headed back to Atlanta or Laredo, Texas, following the kidnapping. Multiple law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, have now joined the investigation.
Carlos was remarkably calm during our interview, but he said he’s worried more than anyone could imagine about Banesa.
“I feel pretty upset and angry because this is something pretty bad. I don’t want anybody else go through this. To me, I grow up on a military and I was police officer too. And then now I don’t feel too much pain. The most pain I see is my wife crying.”
Banesa’s mom, who spoke only in Spanish, was visibly upset, terribly worried, as she looked through her phone for the perfect photo of Banesa to text to us.
Carlos walked us around the house and showed us a cut window screen on Banesa’s bedroom, where the sheriff’s office says she was kidnapped.
As we walked back to the front porch, he pointed an empty and perfectly cleaned above-ground pool.
“She wanted to go swimming. We cleaned it yesterday and was going to put water in it today,” Carlos told NorthEscambia.com. Then the emotions he was trying not show became just a bit apparent in his voice.
“My girl was going to be swimming there today. She’s supposed to be right there.”
He had a message that he hopes Banesa will read here.
“I love her, and this is her house,” he said. “If…if she can come back, I will, you know, we can talk about what happened. You know kids, daughters, or sons, you always love them. No matter if they make a mistake. We’re humans, and we’re making mistakes, and we learn from there.”
Pictured top: Carlos Fernandez shows a family photo at Circus Vazquez, with his kidnapped daughter on the far left, as his wife looks on at the family home in Walnut Hill Thursday afternoon. An enlargement of the photo showing 11-year old Banesa Irene Fernandez-Santis is below. Top inset (submitted): Banesa, opening presents, shows off a new bracelet. This is the photo her mom chose to show the world of her daughter. Pictured bottom inset: The window where Banesa was allegedly kidnapped, prompting an Amber Alert. NorthEscambia.com exclusive photos, click to enlarge. Pictured bottom: Photos provided by the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.
Amber Alert: Girl, 11, Kidnapped By Undocumented Farm Worker, 42, In Walnut Hill; Sheriff Says He Was ‘Grooming’ Her
July 28, 2022
UPDATED 4:10 p.m.
Escambia County Sheriff Chip Simmons told NorthEscambia.com that an 11-year old girl reported kidnapped from Walnut Hill has been found safe in the area.
“We do not believe now that she was kidnapped,” Simmons said. The girl was located with a vehicle reported stolen Thursday from a farm in Walnut Hill.
Manriquez Brijido-Ortez, 42, the man alleged in a statewide Amber Alert report to have kidnapped the girl, was found Thursday afternoon in Laredo, Texas, but Simmons said they do not believe he took the girl.
Brijido-Ortez remains in custody in Texas as authorities investigate his prior alleged relationship with the 11-year old.
Simmons said it’s not known who stole the vehicle.
Additional updates will be posted as available
UPDATE 3:45 p.m.: The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office says 11-year old Banesa Irene Fernandez-Santis has been safely update. No further details have been released.
A Florida Amber Alert has been issued after an 11-year old girl was kidnapped in Walnut Hill by a undocumented farm worker.
Banesa Irene Fernandez-Santis, 11, was last seen about 10 p.m. Wednesday in the 5600 block of Arthur Brown Road near Morgan Road in Walnut Hill. Banesa is 4-feet, 6-inches tall, 120 pounds, long black hair, and has scars on her face.
Manriquez Brijido-Ortez, 42, is suspected in her kidnapping, according to Sheriff Simmons.
Simmons said Banesa and Brijido-Ortez were working on a farm in Walnut Hill where the father discovered a “building or grooming” relationship between the 11-year old and the 42-year old.
Two weeks ago, “the father was concerned because he saw them in a kissing situation, and he immediately thought that’ s inappropriate, and he was right, and he fired him, and he actually drove him to Atlanta,” Simmons said. Thursday morning, the father found a screen cut on their Walnut Hill home, and Banesa was missing. She left a note behind indicating that she would be with Brijido-Ortez.
They are believed to have headed to either Atlanta, Georgia, or Loredo, Texas.
“We are very worried about her,” Simmons said.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Georgia Bureau of Investigation, FBI and other agencies have joined the investigation.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office at (850) 436-9620 or 911.
Simmons said the photograph seen above and below is the only photograph they have been able to obtain of Brijido-Ortez, and it may be outdated.
Pictured inset: The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office conducts their investigation Thursday morning in Walnut Hill. Exclusive photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
All Students At 44 Escambia Schools Will Receive Free Lunch, Breakfast This Year
July 28, 2022
Breakfast and lunch will be free for all students, regardless of income, during the upcoming school year at 44 schools in Escambia County.
The Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) program means that parents of the students at these schools are not required to submit an application for the Free and Reduced Meal program at that school. However, siblings attending schools not on the CEP list will need to apply for eligibility.
The free meal schools are selected based upon income levels.
Meal applications, or payment, will be required at: Beulah Elementary, Blue Angels Elementary, Cook Elementary, Cordova Park Elementary, Hellen Caro Elementary, Kingsfield Elementary, Suter Elementary, Brown Barge Middle, Ransom Middle, Tate High and West Florida High. Parents at these schools should plan on providing their child with money for their meals until eligibility is established to avoid creating a deficit in their account. Funds can be added to student accounts online at myschoolbucks.com.
This program has been in place since 2015 in Escambia County and is not related to the pandemic.
Free meal schools are:
ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS
- Bellview Elementary
- Bratt Elementary
- Brentwood Elementary
- C.A. Weis Elementary
- Byrneville Elementary
- Ensley Elementary
- Ferry Pass Elementary
- Global Learning Academy
- Holm Elementary
- Jim Allen Elementary
- Lincoln Park Elementary
- Lipscomb Elementary
- Longleaf Elementary
- McArthur Elementary
- Molino Park Elementary
- Montclair Elementary
- Myrtle Grove Elementary
- Navy Point Elementary
- Oakcrest Elementary
- Pine Meadow Elementary
- Pleasant Grove Elementary
- Scenic Heights Elementary
- O.J. Semmes Elementary
- Sherwood Elementary
- Warrington Elementary
- West Pensacola Elementary
MIDDLE SCHOOLS
- Bailey Middle
- Bellview Middle
- Beulah Middle
- Ernest Ward Middle
- Ferry Pass Middle
- Warrington Middle
- Workman Middle
HIGH SCHOOLS
- Escambia High
- Northview High
- Pensacola High
- Pine Forest High
- Washington High
OTHER SCHOOLS AND CENTERS
- Achieve Academy
- Capstone
- Escambia Westgate Center
- Hope Horizon
- Jacqueline Harris Preparatory Academy
- Success Academy
Free/reduced meal applications are available here.
Pictured: An Escambia County School lunch, typically served on Wednesdays last school year. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Pop-up Showers And Storms Remain The Norm
July 28, 2022
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Thursday: Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly after 1pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 89. Light and variable wind becoming south 5 to 10 mph in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Thursday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 74. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Friday: Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly after 1pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 89. Calm wind becoming southwest around 5 mph in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
Friday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 73. Southwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Saturday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 1pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 92. Calm wind becoming south around 5 mph in the afternoon.
Saturday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 72. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Sunday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 91. Calm wind becoming south around 5 mph in the afternoon.
Sunday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 74. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Monday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 1pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 91.
Monday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 73.
Tuesday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 91.
Tuesday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 74.
Wednesday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 91.
1943 L&N Railroad Coaling Tower On State Line Is Demolished (With Photo Gallery)
July 28, 2022
A bit of railroad history on the Alabama-Florida line is no more.
A former L&N Railroad coaling tower along the CSX tracks in Flomaton was demolished this week by CSX. The concrete tower was built in 1943 and was located on the eastern side of the railyard in Flomaton.
For a photo gallery of the Flomaton L&N coaling tower, click here.
Elevated coaling towers were large bunkers that stood above the tracks to load coal into steam locomotives.
NorthEscambia.com reached out to the CSX media team to find out why the tower was brought down, but we received no response.
Pictured: A 1943 L&N Railroad coaling tower on the Alabama-Florida line in Flomaton, Alabama, as seen July 16, 2022. The top photo shows the size of the structure as CSX engines pass underneath. The bottom photo shows electric wind turbines passing under the coal tower. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Molino Man Threatened Local Hardware Store Employee With A Chain, ECSO Says
July 28, 2022
A Molino man is facing a felony charge for allegedly threatening a Cantonment Ace Hardware employee with a chain.
David Shannon Payne, 51, was booked into the Escambia County Jail on a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He was released on a $1,000 bond.
Store employees cut a one-foot long piece of chain for Payne at his request. As he walked with an employee toward the register to pay, Payne began to threaten physical harm to the employee before wrapping the chain around his hand and making a fist, according to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office. As Payne exited the store, he told the employee to “catch him outside”. Two witnesses corroborated the employee’s accusations.
When deputies arrived, they noted a “strong smell of alcohol” coming from Payne, according to the report.
About 25 minutes after the store closed, “Payne was standing in the back of the parking lot in front of the store as if he was waiting for (the victim) to exit the store,” the reporting deputy wrote in the report.
Election Workers Needed For Century, Barrineau Park and Walnut Hill
July 28, 2022
Election workers are needed in Century, Barrineau Park and Walnut Hill, according to the Escambia County Supervisor of Elections Office.
“You must be a registered voter, submit a completed application and complete the required training, said Deputy Supervisor of Elections Sonya Daniel. “The first phase of the training is done online in approximately 90 minutes. There is an in-person training scheduled for August 5 in Molino. Then you can be assigned to work the August 23 and November 8 elections.”
For an application and more information, click or tap here.