Early Morning Wreck Claims Life Of Off-Duty Firefighter
June 22, 2024
An off-duty firefighter was killed in a single vehicle crash early Saturday morning.
The Florida Highway Patrol said the 27-year-old man was traveling south on a Highway 87 approaching the intersection with County Road 87A when his 2016 Ford F-150 let the roadway for an unknown reason just after 2:30 a.m.. The pickup truck then collided with a drainage ditch and a utility pole.
There were no other vehicles involved.
The driver, who was the only occupant of the vehicle, was pronounced deceased at the scene. The victim’s name has not been released.
He was a career firefighter for Escambia County Fire-Rescue and a volunteer for the Jay Volunteer Fire Department.
File photo.
Saturday Morning Fire Damages Molino Home
June 22, 2024
Fire damaged a home in Molino Saturday morning.
The fire in the 5700 block of Cedartown Road, just off Highway 95A, was reported about 7 a.m. Escambia County Fire Rescue firefighters arrived to find smoke coming from the single-story concrete block home.
There were no serious injuries reported, and the cause of the fire is under investigation.
For additional photos, click here.
NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Barbour, click to enlarge.
Century Woman Charged With Providing False Info During Traffic Stop
June 22, 2024
A Century woman is facing multiple charges after allegedly providing false information to deputies following a traffic stop near Walnut Hill.
An Escambia County Sheriff’s Office deputy pulled 28-year-old Jami Makala Owens over on Lambert Bridge Road near Velor Road.
Owens provided the deputy with a false name, date of birth, driver’s license number and social security number, according to an arrest report.
The traffic stop was conducted when a deputy pulled over two vehicles that appeared to be traveling together. One was driven by a man that had an outstand warrant for his arrest.
The sheriff’s office said Owens’ actual driver’s license was suspended in 2020, but the name and driver’s license number she provided came back at the time as being valid from Alabama.
She was charged with knowingly driving with a suspended license, obstruction of justice for providing a false name.
The incident occurred May 19 and Owens was arrested this week on an outstanding warrant. She remained in the Escambia County Jail Saturday morning with bond set at $6,500.
FWC Law Enforcement Report: Taking An Alligator Without A Permit
June 22, 2024
The Florida FWC Division of Law Enforcement reported the following recent activity:
ESCAMBIA COUNTY
Officer Hahr responded to an anonymous complaint regarding an alligator that was shot near Perdido Bay. The officer investigated and determined a homeowner in the area was unhappy with the presence of alligators around his dock and used a 22-magnum rifle to shoot an approximately five-foot alligator and retrieve it from the water. He was charged with taking alligators without a permit/license.
Officer Lugg and Waters and Lieutenant Corbin conducted a fisheries inspection on a vessel returning from offshore. The operator was found to possess over the bag limit of vermillion snapper. The operator was cited for the violations.
Officers Lugg and Waters and Lieutenant Corbin received a Wildlife Alert tip about an individual harvesting an oversized red drum at Bob Sikes Fishing Pier. Upon arriving, they located the individual who possessed a red drum that was 36 inches long. Additionally, the subject did not have a valid fishing license. The individual was cited accordingly.
Officer Waters responded to a call near Palafox Pier regarding a sinking pontoon boat that was a livery vessel. Upon conducting a livery inspection, the owner of the vessel was found to be operating a livery business without a FWC livery permit or boating safety signage. Other livery violations were found. The owner was cited accordingly.
Lieutenant Corbin was conducting boating safety and resource inspections at the 17th Ave. boat ramp. A vessel with fishing gear returned to the boat ramp without proper navigational lights. A resource inspection revealed an oversized red drum was located in a cooler on the vessel. The operator of the vessel claimed responsibility for harvesting the red drum. Another subject on the vessel did not have a valid saltwater fishing license. Both subjects were cited accordingly.
SANTA ROSA COUNTY
No report was submitted from Santa Rosa County.
This report represents some events the FWC handled during the time period; however, it does not include all actions taken by the Division of Law Enforcement. Information provided by FWC.
NorthEscambia.com photo.
Jay Office Of Santa Rosa Tax Collector’s Office Closed Until Further Notice
June 22, 2024
The Jay Office of the Santa Rosa Tax Collector’s Office at5259 Booker Lane in Jay will be closed until further notice due to the ongoing construction at the Jay Community Center.
The Milton, Midway and Pace offices are still accepting customers during regular business hours by appointment. There is currently no estimated time to reopen the Jay office.
Office locations and hours are outlined below:
Milton Office – 6495 Caroline Street (Highway 90), Suite E in Milton
Midway Office – 5841 Gulf Breeze Parkway (Highway 98), Suite B in Gulf Breeze
Pace Office – 4487 Chumuckla Highway in Pace
All offices are open Monday through Friday from 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. for services such as tags, taxes, hunting and fishing. Driver license services are available until 3:30 p.m. (cut-off time subject to change if capacity has been reached).
Update: ECFR Determines Cause Of Cantonment House Fire
June 22, 2024
Escambia County Fire Rescue has determined the cause of a fire that damaged a single-family home in Cantonment late Thursday afternoon.
ECFR said Friday that the fire was an accidental cooking-related fire.
Escambia County Fire Rescue responded to the home on Quarters Road, just south of Booker Street, about 5:15 p.m. and arrived to find an active fire.
It took just 11 minutes to bring the fire under control, but the home suffered significant damage. ECFR said the home will require extensive repairs before it can be reoccupied.
There were no injuries reported, and the American Red Cross assisted those displaced due to the fire.
The Cantonment, Beulah, Molino and Osceola stations of Escambia County Fire Rescue and the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office were among those that responded.
NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Barbour and ECFR (first photo below), click to enlarge.
Felony Aggravated Assault Charge Dropped Against Cantonment
June 22, 2024
A felony charge has been dropped against a Cantonment man accused of pointing a gun at his ex-girlfriend in February.
Avery Curtis Lockett, 26, was originally charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
The victim alleged Lockett fired a gun into a bathroom floor before pointing a gun at her following and argument.
Prosecutors dropped charges against Lockett, saying “there is insufficient evidence to prove the charge beyond a reasonable doubt,” according to a court filing by Assistant State Attorney Ki McInnis.
Blue Wahoos’ Morissette Excites Family, Sellout Crowd In Win Over Lookouts
June 22, 2024
written by Bill Vilona
His grandparents and other relatives were waiting near home plate to embrace Cody Morissette following the Blue Wahoos’ 6-4 win Friday against the Chattanooga Lookouts.
The reunion was part of what had Morissette sporting a big grin.
The Blue Wahoos’ second baseman homered and tripled in his first two at-bats, a breakout kind of game that helped build a 6-0 lead in the third inning. The pitching staff did the rest to finish the game, even the series, and delight a sellout crowd (5,038) at Blue Wahoos Stadium.
“It’s always nice having (relatives in town). And to be able to perform like that, it’s always fun,” said Morissette, who drove in a pair of runs with his two big hits. “We had a lot of good at bats up and down the lineup and we’ve got to keep doing that moving forward.”
The Blue Wahoos’ lead happened quickly, nearly as fast as replica home jerseys were distributed on a Giveaway Friday, sponsored by Pepsi. Fans began waiting more than three hours before the game to receive one of the most-coveted giveaway items in recent team history.
The win pushed the Blue Wahoos (37-29) to eight games above .500 with the season’s first half ending on Sunday, but it failed to narrow the playoff-qualifying chase.
The Montgomery Biscuits pulled away from the Birmingham Barons in their game Friday, enabling the Biscuits to have two chances now at clinching the Southern League South Division first half race with a 1.5 game lead on Pensacola.
The Blue Wahoos won first half divisional races the past two seasons en route to reaching the championship series. No matter how the weekend ends, the Blue Wahoos have produced winning records in four of the five half-seasons in the past three years – not an easy feat with all the constant roster changes each time.
“I think (this first half) could have been better,” Morissette said. “But we are a scrappy group of guys and put ourselves in a position to have a chance at this.
“Our pitching staff has been lights out all year. You know, the bats have been unlucky at times, and we’re figuring it out as a lineup and that’s all we can do. To be one and a half games out with two games to go is the kind of baseball you want to play.
“So whether we win it or not, we’ve put ourselves in a position to play at a high level and try to win this first half.”
Facing Chattanooga starter Rhett Lowder – the Cincinnati Reds’ No. 1 rated prospect – the Blue Wahoos immediately jumped to a lead.
Paul McIntosh singled and Joe Mack walked with one out in the first inning. Nathan Martorella then laced a two-run double.
Morissette led off the second inning with a home run just over the wall into the right field berm. In the third inning, Mack led off with a homer against Lowder, then Jacob Berry followed with an RBI single and scored on Morissette’s triple.
“I’ve been just kind of working on my swing as of late,” Morissette said. “Baseball is a lot of ups and downs and just trying to stay loose, free and easy up there. (Friday) I felt that for the first time and was able to put the bat on the ball in some big situations.”
Blue Wahoos lefthander Cade Gibson, making his second start since joining the Blue Wahoos, worked into the fifth inning in a solid outing, allowing five hits, no walks and seven strikeouts. Chandler Jozwiak followed the next two innings to earn his third win.
Three more relievers followed. The Lookouts scored three runs in the ninth off Patrick Murphy, but he struck out Nick Northcut with two runners on base in the ninth to end the game.
Pensacola Catholic grad Donovan Benoit made his first appearance in the series for the Lookouts. He pitched a clean eighth inning with one strikeout and joined the handful of former Pensacola area players to play in Blue Wahoos Stadium for an opposing team.
The Blue Wahoos will try to take a lead in the series on Saturday with Luis Palacios on the mound in a game televised on Blab TV.
GAME NOTABLES
— Blue Wahoos players, including relievers Dale Stanovich and Kyle Crigger, who later made scoreless relief pitching appearances in Friday’s game, helped distribute the replica jerseys to the massive throng of fans entering the ballpark when gates opened in at 5 p.m.
The entire supply of 1,000 jerseys provided by sponsor Pepsi, were gone in seven minutes. That is an unofficial record for a giveaway item in Blue Wahoos franchise history. The first arriving fans were at the ballpark before 2:30, setting up folding chairs and outside of the main gate.
— Helping bolster the sellout crowd were 778 fans who were part of a wide variety of groups attending the game. There were more than a dozen groups attending the game on the party decks.
— Ryan Laskey, who worked as a Pensacola Air Traffic controller for the past 14 years, threw out a ceremonial first pitch. He is moving on to a new position out of the area.
WANT TO GO?
WHO: Chattanooga Lookouts vs. Blue Wahoos
WHEN: Saturday, 6:05 p.m.
WHERE: Blue Wahoos Stadium
Three Injured In Head-on Highway 97 Crash In Walnut Hill
June 21, 2024
Three people were injured in a headp-on crash Friday afternoon on Highway 97 in Walnut Hill, and state troopers say criminal charges are pending.
The Florida Highway Patrol said a northbound pickup truck driven by a 59-year old Pensacola man was traveling into the southbound lane, hitting another pickup head-on near the Walnut Hill Community Center.
Firefighters used the Jaws of Life to extricate the passenger in the northbound picku that was airlifted to Sacred Heart Hospital, as was the driver of the other pickup in second Airare medical helicopter. Both were from Camden, Alabama.
The driver of the southbound truck was transported by Escambia County EMS to an area hospital.
FHP said no one in the crash was wearing a seat belt.
The Walnut and McDavid stations of Escambia County Fire Rescue, Escambia and the Atmore Fire Department also responded, along with the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.
Highway 97 was completely closed by the crash for about two hours.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Fire Damages Cantonment Home
June 21, 2024
Fire damaged a single family home in Cantonment late Thursday afternoon.
Escambia County Fire Rescue responded to the home on Quarters Road, just south of Booker Street, about 5:15 p.m. and arrived to find an active fire.
Initial reports indicated that the fire may have started in the kitchen of the small concrete block home and was quickly brought under control. There were no injuries reported.
The Cantonment, Beulah, Molino and Osceola stations of Escambia County Fire Rescue and the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office were among those that responded.
NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Barbour, click to enlarge.