Atmore Police Seek Suspects In Liquor Store Armed Robbery
December 19, 2017
Monday afternoon, the Atmore Police Department asked for the public’s help in locating suspects in the December 12 armed robbery of the ABC liquor store.
Two men with their faces covered entered the ABC Store at 808 North Main Street at 5:49 p.m. and brandished a weapon as they approached the clerk and demanded money. They fled the store on foot with an undisclosed amount of cash from the register. The clerk was not harmed.
The Alabama Department of Corrections, Fountain Prison Tracking Dog Team was contacted and responded. Once on scene, officers deployed the tracking dogs who followed the suspects scent to an area behind the ABC store and then to Peachtree Street where the scent was lost.
Anyone with information on the robbery is asked to call the Atmore Police Department at (251) 368-9141.
NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
ECSO: Accused Shoplifter Charged With Smuggling Drugs Into Jail
December 19, 2017
A Molino man arrested for shoplifting a $30 item is now facing two felony charges for smuggling drugs into the Escambia County Jail.
Clinton Keith Edmonson was arrested by the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office for retail petit theft after he allegedly took a knife priced at $29.88 from Walmart on Pensacola Boulevard. Edmonson was asked twice by the arresting deputy if he had anything illegal on his person, which he denied, according to an arrest report.
When Edmonson was searched at the jail, a corrections office reported finding a small bag of marijuana in the coin pocket of Edmonson’s pants, and a bag of methamphetamine fell out of his pants leg.
Edmondson was charged with two felony counts of smuggling contraband into the county jail. His remained in the Escambia County jail with bond set at $5,250.
Photos: Santa Claus Visits Molino Park Elementary
December 19, 2017
Santa Claus visited Molino Park Elementary School last week for Christmas Pajama and Party Day
NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Barbour, click to enlarge.
State Irma Losses Top $6.55 Billion; 212 Claims In Escambia County
December 19, 2017
Estimated insured losses from Hurricane Irma have topped $6.55 billion, with the number of claims approaching 866,000, according to information released Monday by the state Office of Insurance Regulation.
The latest report showed that 865,974 claims from the September storm had been filed with insurance companies as of Friday, with 719,512 involving residential properties.
While people have several years to file claims, the numbers indicate a slowing in reported damages, as numbers posted by the state office on Dec. 4 showed 853,356 claims with estimated losses of $6.3 billion.
In Escambia County, 212 claims were filed. Of those, 103 were paid, 71 were closed without payment and 38 remain open.
Lynne McChristian, spokeswoman for the Insurance Information Institute, said Irma could have been “much worse” for homeowners and the industry.
“The insurance companies have been well-capitalized,” McChristian said. “They have been waiting for this. There may be some claims that will continue to be filed, but insurance companies know that this is what happens when you are dealing with Florida’s hurricane risk.”
While figures are not available from individual private insurers, state-backed Citizens Property Insurance reported last week it had received 63,500 claims from Irma. Most were in Miami-Dade, Broward and Monroe counties.
Citizens anticipated its number of Irma claims will grow to 70,000, with $1.2 billion in damages, over the next year.
Citizens President and CEO Barry Gilway also said Wednesday that he expected the storm to increase Citizens’ policy count from “about 442,000 policies back up to 500,000” in the next year.
In the overall industry, Miami-Dade County has the largest number of Irma-related claims, with 114,078 as of Friday, according to the Office of Insurance Regulation numbers. Other counties with large numbers of claims included Broward, 71,970; Orange, 68,306; Lee, 65,311; Collier, 63,644; and Polk, 50,180.
Irma made landfall Sept. 10 in Monroe and Collier counties, causing widespread destruction and at least 84 deaths in Florida. The insurance industry has closed 48 percent of Irma claims with some payment. Another 31 percent were closed without any payments.
In most cases where money did not change hands, the damages failed to meet policyholders’ deductibles, McChristian said.
To reduce risk in Florida, the House Select Committee on Hurricane Response and Preparedness has received a number of potential housing changes — as part of the more than 140 recommendations — for lawmakers to consider during the 2018 legislative session, which begins in January.
Among the proposals, Rep. Holly Raschein, R-Key Largo, suggested the state identify areas where rebuilding after disasters might be high-risk and to consider options for not rebuilding, including the possible purchase of the properties. The land, she suggested, would be used to create additional open space and natural buffers.
Meanwhile, Sen. Annette Taddeo, D-Miami, and House Minority Leader Janet Cruz, D-Tampa, introduced a proposal (SB 1282 and HB 1011) last week that would require insurance companies to disclose to homeowners when coverage lacks flood insurance.
“I’ve met many constituents who had no idea that their hurricane coverage did not include protections when their homes flooded,” Taddeo said in a prepared statement. “This is especially problematic in South Florida as we face sea level rise and stronger storm surges from climate change.”
by The News Service of Florida with contribution from NorthEscambia.com
FDOT: Expect Lane Closures At New Molino Road Bridge
December 19, 2017
Motorist can expect intermittent daytime lane closures this week at the recently opened Molino Road bridge of Penasula Creek, according to the Florida Department of Transportation. Workers will be completing minor construction activities in the project, weather permitting.
The new bridge opened to traffic last week. It has been closed for reconstruction since January 3.
Detreal Jackson Named Escambia County’s Employee Of The Year
December 19, 2017
Detreal Jackson, senior office support assistant in the Public Safety Division, has been selected as Escambia County’s 2017 Employee of the Year. Courtesy photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
One Injured In Highway 95A, Archer Road Crash
December 18, 2017
One person was injured and two refused medical treatment in a two vehicle accident Monday morning on Highway 95A at Archer Road in Cantonment. The accident is under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol. NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Barbour, click to enlarge.
Local Woman Celebrates 105th Birthday
December 18, 2017
Myrtle Louise Joiner Peacock Gilmore recently celebrated her 105th birthday, surrounded by family and friends, at Solaris HealthCare on University Parkway.
When asked if she was having a good birthday, she replied, “I’ve had so many Happy Birthdays, I’ve run out of places to keep them.”
Myrtle attributes her long life to being thankful. She has said that she rarely goes more than a few minutes without thanking the Lord for all He’s done for her and her family.
‘Severe Meth Addict’ Gets Jail Time For ‘Viciously Beating’ Small Dog
December 18, 2017
A Cantonment woman who pleaded guilty to”viciously beating” a small dog while it “cried out in pain” has been sentenced to 90 days in the county jail.
Heidie Creamer, 35, “intentionally and repeatedly” inflicted “unnecessary pain and suffering on a one-year old, five pound Chiweenie (chihuahua/dachshund mix) dog by picking the dog up by its back leg, raising it in the air, then viciously beating the animal while it screamed out in pain and suffering” on September 19, according to an Escambia County Sheriff’s Office report.
Creamer and her boyfriend had been living in a tent on a woman’s property on Frank Ard Road. The woman said Creamer is a “severe meth addict” and her drug abuse had grown out of hand, according to the report. The woman told deputies that Creamer walked over the dog and snatched it up as as it was peacefully sleeping in the shade. After the alleged beating, she carried the dog upside down by one leg about 50 feet back to her tent. The woman said Creamer had beat the dog four or five times in the past month.
Several witnesses provided deputies with a similar account of the incident.
Creamer was also sentenced to three years probation following her release from jail.
In their report, deputies describer Creamer’s tent and living area as “utterly filthy” with a strong body odor. The report also states Creamer was covered all over her body with festering sores and she appeared to be high on some substance.
The deputy reported that when Creamer stepped out of the tent, the Chiweenie and a Yorkie appeared to cower away and try to move away from her as if in great fear.
Inmate Gets Death Penalty For Murdering Cellmate
December 18, 2017
A Santa Rosa Correctional Institution inmate was sentenced Monday morning to death for the murder of a cellmate in 2012.
Shawn Rogers attacked inmate Ricky D. Martin, 24, on March 30, 2012. Martin died from blunt force trauma to his brain on April 8, 2012.
Martin, who was from Collier County, was serving time for 2007 conviction on charges of grand theft, armed burglary, trafficking in stolen property and four counts of grand theft of a firearm.
Rogers was already serving a life sentence for robbery with a deadly weapon and a 15-year sentence for aggravated battery with deadly weapon.