House Fire, Death Under Investigation
November 28, 2017
[Updated] A man found deceased at the scene of an Escambia County house fire Monday died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.
Escambia Fire Rescue responded to a fully involved house fire about 10:19 p.m. in the 1900 block of West Detroit Boulevard. As crews were fighting the blaze, the man’s body was found, reportedly outside behind the home.
The home was a total loss.
The fire and the death remain under investigation by the Florida State Fire Marshal’s Office and the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office. Further details have not yet been released.
NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Barbour, click to enlarge.
Worker Charged With Stealing Welding Machines From High Above Bridge
November 28, 2017
A construction company employee has been arrested for stealing two industrial welding machines that were suspended high in the air above an Oak Grove worksite.
Timothy Dain Denmon, age 33 of Crestview, was charged with felony grand theft and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was booked into the Escambia County Jail late Monday afternoon with bond set at $11,000.
Workers discovered the welding machines missing when they arrived Monday morning at the bridge construction site on North Highway 99 over Pine Barren Creek, just north of the Oak Grove Park. The welders had been suspended from a construction crane for the long Thanksgiving weekend, high above ground level.
Maj. Andrew Hobbs, spokesperson for the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office, said Denmon was employed as a crane operator at the site and was quickly developed as a suspect in the theft because only he and a foreman had keys to the crane. Hobbs said investigators determined the crane was used to lower the welders to ground level, and other equipment on the site was moved around to allow their removal.
Pictured: The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office investigates the theft of two industrial welding machines from a bridge construction zone on North Highway 99 in Oak Grove Monday morning. NorthEscambia.com photos.
Escambia Man Gets Federal Prison For Mailing ISIS Threats To Sheriff Morgan
November 28, 2017
An Escambia County man has been sentenced to federal prison for mailing threats to Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan.
Regis L. Walker, 31, was sentenced to 41 months after pleading guilty to mailing threatening communications.
In June 2016, Walker mailed a threatening letter on notebook paper to Sheriff David Morgan at the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office. In the letter, Walker claimed several people who had joined ISIS would simultaneously attack military bases, beaches, and schools at a nonspecific time and could not be stopped by law enforcement.
Walker made specific reference to the attack in Orlando that killed approximately 50 people. Walker wrote that the attackers planned on “not giving up,” and that they “plan on dying.” He appeared to sign the note as “ISIS ALLAH.”
This case resulted from an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Assistant United States Attorney David L. Goldberg prosecuted the case.
FHP Seeks Hit And Run Driver
November 28, 2017
The Florida Highway Patrol is looking for a man possibly known by “J.R.” that fled from an accident scene Monday.
The man, pictured on this page, left the scene of the 12:32 p.m. crash at the Circle K on Olive Road near Scenic Highway before law enforcement arrived and did not return to the scene, according to FHP.
He was driving a 2008 Chevrolet Malibu and turned into the path of another vehicle and also struck a parked vehicle. The drivers of those vehicles suffered minor injuries.
The man is now wanted for hit and run plus additional pending charges.
Any with information on “J.R.” or the crash is asked to contact FHP Lt. Rafael Streeter at 850-316-2465 or Gulf Coast Crime Stoppers at 1-877-433-TIPS (8477).
Photos courtesy Florida Highway Patrol for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
State Panel Supports School Board Term Limits, Appointed School Superintendents
November 28, 2017
School board members would be limited to eight years in office, and school superintendents would be appointed in all 67 school districts under measures advanced Monday by a panel of the Florida Constitution Revision Commission.
In a unanimous vote, the commission’s Education Committee backed a measure (Proposal 43), sponsored by Commissioner Erika Donalds, that would impose an eight-year term limit on school board members, who now serve four-year terms without limits on running for re-election.
Donalds, a Collier County School Board member, said her proposal was patterned after the eight-year term limit for members of the Legislature, which was adopted by voters in 1992.
“Term limits provide fresh faces and new ideas to elected office,” Donalds said. “Longtime politicians become entrenched with the status quo and develop a pride in ownership of the bureaucracy they helped to create and sustain.”
Donalds said limiting terms will reduce the influence of special-interest groups in elections and remove the power of incumbency, making it easier for new members to join school boards.
But the measure drew opposition from a number of education advocates.
Chris Doolin, representing a coalition of 38 rural school districts, said imposing term limits would be “a giant leap” from the current system and could hurt smaller districts where there is “a limited pool of folks willing to run and serve on their boards.”
“This proposal is arbitrary,” Doolin said. “It is unfair, and it doesn’t trust the voters.”
Andrea Messina, executive director of the Florida School Boards Association, said a review of school board races since 2010 showed 65.5 percent of the races were competitive, with a 41 percent turnover rate.
“School board races are some of the most challenged races in the local communities,” Messina said. “We agree it should be left up to the local voters.”
Shawn Frost, chairman of the Indian River County School Board, said he had advanced the idea of term limits because he believed board members should be performing “a public service” rather than looking to establish a career.
Commissioner Marva Johnson, chairwoman of the education panel, added an amendment to Donalds’ proposal that would make term limits “partially retroactive.”
She said her aim was to start the term-limit clock going back to the 2016 elections even though the proposal, if it is adopted by the full Constitution Revision Commission, will be on the 2018 ballot.
The 37-member Constitution Revision Commission, which meets every 20 years, has the power to place proposed constitutional amendments directly on the 2018 ballot. Its committees are considering dozens of proposals, with the commission expected to whittle the list of ballot measures in the coming months.
Any proposals that go on the ballot would need approval from 60 percent of voters to change the Constitution.
In a 6-2 vote Monday, the commission’s Education Committee also adopted another Donalds measure (P33) that would require all school districts to appoint their superintendents rather than have them elected.
Currently, 26 districts, including all of Florida’s major metropolitan areas, appoint their superintendents, while 41 districts, representing largely smaller, more rural counties, elect superintendents. The superintendent in Escambia County is elected.
Donalds said Florida is out of step since the overwhelmingly majority of school systems across the nation appoint superintendents. She said only Alabama and Florida still allow elections.
Donalds and other supporters also said allowing the appointment of superintendents would broaden the pool of potential school administrators, rather than restricting the job to county residents through the elections process.
Pasco County Superintendent Kurt Browning, who is elected, opposed the measure.
“My fundamental concern is the loss of local control,” Browning said.
Noting the statewide average for the tenure of appointed school superintendents was about three years, Browning said there is “much more” stability with an elected superintendent, who serves a four-year term.
He also discounted the argument that appointing superintendents reduces the politics in the process, noting appointed administrators still need to keep the support of at least three members of a five-member school board.
“It is political whether you are appointed or elected,” he said.
Donalds also asked the Education Committee to delay a vote on a third measure (P32) that would eliminate salaries for school board members.
The salaries now average more than $34,000 a year statewide, ranging from $25,413 in Lafayette County to $44,443 in the largest counties.
The two measures approved by the education panel next head to the commission’s Local Government Committee.
If amendments clear the committees and are taken up by the full commission, they will need support from 22 of the 37 members to be placed on the November 2018 general-election ballot. The commission has a May 10 deadline for finishing its work.
by Lloyd Dunkelberger, The News Service of Florida
Pictured top: Escambia County School Superintendent Malcolm Thomas. Below: The Escambia County School Board. Courtesy photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Pensacola Sailor Honored In Memorial Service On USS Ronald Reagan
November 28, 2017
A memorial service in honor of the life and service of Aviation Ordnanceman Airman Apprentice Bryan Grosso of Pensacola and two other sailors was held held aboard the Navy’s forward-deployed aircraft carrier, USS Ronald Reagan.
Grosso graduated in 2017 from West Florida High School and then reported to Naval Station Great Lakes for recruit training. After graduating boot camp, he attended “A” school in Pensacola, Florida, and received orders to Ronald Reagan. He arrived at CFAY and checked in to Reagan Ranch on November 7 to begin his preparations to join his first ship underway.
Also killed in the crash were Lt. Steven Combs, from Florida, Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Equipment) Airman Matthew Chialastri, from Louisiana.
There were 11 crew and passengers aboard a C-2A Greyhound of VRC-30 when it crashed into the ocean approximately 500 nautical miles southeast of Okinawa, Nov. 22. Eight were immediately recovered. The aircraft was conducting a routine transport flight carrying passengers and cargo from Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, to Ronald Reagan.
“The loss of these crew members hits across the entire ship with great significance,” said Capt. Buzz Donnelly, Ronald Reagan’s commanding officer. “On behalf of the entire crew of USS Ronald Reagan, I extend heartfelt prayers and sincere condolences to the families and friends of the three shipmates we lost.”
The memorial service included remarks by Donnelly and Capt. Michael Wosje, commander, CVW-5; a presentation of biographies of the lost Sailors by chaplains assigned to Ronald Reagan and CVW-5; personal reflections by Sailors who knew the deceased; and performances of Amazing Grace and Taps.
“AOAA Bryan Grosso was someone who was not only a shipmate, but a good friend to me and many other members of our class from the Reagan Ranch,” said Ship’s Serviceman Seaman Apprentice Byron Arndt, a Sailor who reported to Reagan Ranch around the same time as Grosso. “What I like about Bryan was that he’s an outgoing, kind, and caring person, always willing to be there for his friends and shipmates. Even if he didn’t know too much about the topic of discussion, Bryan would always listen and pay attention to what we had to say. Then if he had anything to say about it, he would offer his advice and opinion. I really respected that.”
Two Crashes Involving Four Vehicles On Highway 29 In Molino
November 27, 2017
There were no serious injuries reported in a two different accidents involving four vehicles Monday evening on Highway 29 at Omega Drive, near the Escambia Sheriff’s Office Substation in Molino.
One accident occurred when the driver of a pickup truck rear-ended a Nissan Altima on northbound Highway 29 about 5:30 p.m.. One person was transported to an area hospital with minor injuries.
The second accident was a minor fender-bender when the trailer-hitch on a pickup truck and a car collided. The were no injuries and only minor damage to the car.
NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Barbour, click to enlarge.
Note With ‘Threatening Statement’ Found Inside Molino Head Start Center
November 27, 2017
Authorities investigating a note making a “threatening statement” discovered Monday inside the Molino Head Start Center.
The note was left in an area of the building and and in a manner in which it was not clear if threat was against a child or an adult, according to Maj. Andrew Hobbs, spokesperson for the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office. The wording on the note has not been divulged.
There were no signs of forcible entry into the building or any damage, but a window had been left open during the long holiday weekend, Hobbs said.
The Molino Head Start Center is located next to the library in separate building at the Molino Community Complex on Molino Road.
Pictured: Escambia County Sheriff’s Office deputies and a crime scene unit on scene Monday at the Molino Head Start Center in the Molino Community Complex. NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Barbour, click to enlarge.
Man Charged With Using Fake Money To Buy Gaming System, Stealing Games From Walmart
November 27, 2017
A Cantonment man has been charged with passing fake “movie money” $100 bills to purchase a gaming system and stealing hundreds of dollars worth of video games from Walmart.
Cedric Levon White, Jr., 26, is facing multiple felony counts after the two unrelated incidents.
White allegedly responded to a Facebook Marketplace ad for a Wii U gaming system with four games for sale. When he met the woman selling the gaming system, he handed what she told deputies looked like two $100 bills folded up. After White waked off with the Wii, the woman reported that she unfolded the money to find that it was marked “For Motion Picture Use Only”.
A few days later, Walmart on Mobile Highway reported that a man later identified as White entered the store and selected two black backpacks valued at $15 each. He emptied the bags of all packing material. White then placed about 30 video games valued at $643 in shopping cart and then concealed them inside the two backpacks. He the used a fire exit to leave the store, Walmart reported.
White was charged with petit theft, felony passing a counterfeited bank note and felony grand theft. He was later released from the Escambia County Jail on a $2,000 bond.
Pictured below: An example of “for motion picture use only” money. NorthEscambia.com image, click to enlarge.
Lathram Chapel UMC Says Goodbye To Pastor Of 14 Years
November 27, 2017
Pastor Pam Avery presented her last sermon Sunday at Lathram Chapel United Methodist Church on Jack’s Branch Road. After nearly 14 years at Lathram Chapel, Avery has been appointed the assistant pastor at Gulf Breeze United Methodist Church. Avery is pictured top and inset. Pictured below: Avery’s last meeting with the Lathram Chapel Tuesday Morning Bible Study group. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
