Robbery Suspects Sentenced
December 7, 2016
State Attorney Bill Eddins announced the sentences imposed by Circuit Court Judge Thomas Dannheisser for two local robberies after a lengthy sentencing hearing held Monday, December 5.
D’Andre Jones, 20 years old on the date of sentencing, was sentenced to 15 years in state prison to be followed by 20 years of probation for carrying out the two robberies.
On October 18, 2015, Jones entered the Circle K located at 3013 E. Cervantes Street at 4:45 a.m. wearing a mask and armed with a sledgehammer. He was accompanied by 18-year-old Ian Garland, also masked. He ordered the clerk, who was working alone that morning, to open the cash registers. He emptied one register of its contents while Ian Garland emptied the other register. Jones also helped himself to some cigarettes. Garland grabbed $250 worth of scratch off lottery tickets.
Then, on January 30th, 2016, Jones again entered the same Circle K at 1:08 a.m. He was masked and he wielded an 18 inch craftsman wrench as a weapon. This time he was accompanied by Ian Garland and 18-year-old Brendan McClendon.
Each robber focused on a separate victim inside the store. Jones attempted to grab the purse of a customer and found himself in a fight as the customer decided to fight back by throwing her recently purchased 44 ounce cup of Diet Mountain Dew from the soda fountain on him and then engaging him through the use of her martial arts training. She kept control of his weapon hand and fought with him while the other two robbers focused on the store clerks.
Brendan McClendon confronted one clerk and grabbed all the money from the first cash register. Ian Garland confronted the other clerk and grabbed all the money from the second cash register. The customer resisting Jones released her grasp and surrendered her purse when the other robbers yelled they were leaving.
Three hours later, Brendan McClendon attempted to rob the Circle K on Quintette Road in Santa Rosa County without success. Shortly thereafter, the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office pulled over the black pickup truck the defendants were riding in and placed the three under arrest.
Judge Dannheisser sentenced both Ian Garland and Brendan McClendon to 10 years in state prison to be followed by 20 years of probation each.
Ian Garland and Brendan McClendon face punishment in Santa Rosa County for the attempted robbery of the Circle K on Quintette Road as well as a home burglary. Garland and McClendon will be sentenced in Santa Rosa County on December 16, 2016.
Century Updating 25 Year Old Land Development Code
December 7, 2016
The Town of Century is updated its aging Land Development Code thanks to a state grant.
The town received a $25,000 Division of Community Development’s Community Planning Technical Assistance Grant from the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity to update their LDC, which was adopted on April 29, 1991. The work is being done by Peggy Fowler and Associates, which submitted the only proposal.
The Land Development Code (LDC) essentially specifies what can be built where and how it can be used within the town limits.
The majority of the LDC has not been revised since it was adopted in 1991. It, according to Fowler, must be updated to ensure compliance with changes in state and federal laws and the goals and objectives of the Town Century Comprehensive Plan 2025.
The updates will also address any inconsistencies or duplications in the document, plus make the LDC more user-friendly and easier to understand with minor reorganization and the addition of tables and simple illustrations.
Most of the changes reviewed at Tuesday’s workshop were simple changes to clarify wording or bring sections into compliance with current state laws. Additional workshops will be held in February and April of 2017, followed by the presentation of a completed draft at public hearing in May 2017.
Molino Park First, Second Grades Present ‘The Littlest Christmas Tree’
December 7, 2016
Molino Park Elementary Schools’ first and second grade classes presented “The Littlest Christmas Tree” Tuesday night at the school.
NorthEscambia.com photo by Savanna Calhoun, click to enlarge.
Escambia County’s Top 5 Teachers Named
December 7, 2016
The list of finalists for Escambia County’s Teach of the Year has been narrowed to five candidates:
Jay Royals Pull Ahead Of Northview 59-53
December 7, 2016
Jay 59, Northview 53
Tied 40-40 going into the third period, the Jay Royals pulled ahead to beat the Northview Chiefs 59-53 Tuesday night in Bratt.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Molino Man Charged With Firing Rifle At Two People
December 6, 2016
A Molino man is facing felony charges after allegedly firing a rifle at two people.
Justin Michael Odom, 22, was charged with two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
Odom and another man, whose name has not been released, were reportedly involved in an altercation at a home in the 400 block of Lakeview Avenue in Cantonment before firing a rifle at the victims and their residence. Odom and the second suspect then fled the area in a Lincoln Town Car, according to an arrest report.
Bond for Odom was set at $25,000.
Alabama Burn Ban Lifted
December 6, 2016
The state of Alabama has lifted a statewide Drought Emergency ‘No Burn’ Order which has been in effect since early November.
“In recent days we have seen significant rainfall across our state and the Alabama Forestry Commission now believes the worst of the drought has ended,” Governor Robert Bentley said. “I want to thank the Forestry Commission and the dozens of local fire departments that have worked so hard to ensure the thousands of wildfires didn’t get out of hand. These men and women have worked long hours under intense conditions to prevent as much damage as possible. We will continue to work with stake holders across the state to help everyone recover from the drought.”
According to State Forester Gary Cole, “Although all counties in the state will return to having burn permits available, we should bear in mind that Alabama like much of the South is still experiencing extreme drought conditions this fall. The AFC will continue to monitor ground moisture levels throughout the state. If ground fuels become exceptionally dry again, it may be necessary to re-issue a Fire Alert or No Burn Order in affected areas.”
The AFC advises anyone conducting any type of outdoor burning to follow safety precautions such as not leaving a fire unattended until it is completely out, having the necessary equipment and personnel to control the fire, and having a garden hose or other water supply on hand for smaller debris burns. Any fire more than a quarter-acre in size or within 25 feet of a forested area requires a permit from the AFC. Burn permits may be obtained by calling 1-800-392-5679. Burning without a permit is a Class B misdemeanor, punishable by up to six months in jail and/or up to a $3,000 fine.
State Taking Escambia Popeye’s Death Penalty Case To U.S. Supreme Court
December 6, 2016
The state plans to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to revisit a landmark Escambia County case in which justices struck down as unconstitutional Florida’s death-penalty sentencing procedure because it gave too much power to judges, instead of juries.
Attorney General Pam Bondi’s lawyers will appeal a ruling by the Florida Supreme Court in the case of Timothy Lee Hurst, according to a motion asking a judge to put on hold a resentencing hearing for Hurst. That resentencing hearing was ordered by the Florida Supreme Court in October.
Hurst was sentenced to death for the 1998 killing of fast-food worker Cynthia Harrison in Pensacola. Harrison, an assistant manager at a Popeye’s Fried Chicken restaurant on Nine Mile Road where Hurst worked, was bound, gagged and stabbed more than 60 times. Her body was found in a freezer.
The state is objecting to the Florida court’s interpretation of the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision in January in the Hurst case, according to the document filed in Escambia County.
The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Hurst’s case found that Florida’s system of allowing judges, instead of juries, to find the facts necessary to impose the death penalty was an unconstitutional violation of the Sixth Amendment right to trial by jury. The court sent Hurst’s case back to the Florida high court.
At the time of the January ruling, Florida’s system allowed jurors by a simple majority to recommend the death penalty. Judges would then make findings of fact that “sufficient” aggravating factors, not outweighed by mitigating circumstances, existed for the death sentence to be imposed, a process known as “weighing.”
Florida lawmakers hurriedly rewrote the law this spring, requiring jurors to unanimously find that at least one aggravating factor exists before a defendant can be eligible for a death sentence and requiring at least 10 jurors to recommend death for the sentence to be imposed.
The new law, approved by Gov. Rick Scott, also required juries to weigh whether sufficient mitigating factors exist to outweigh the aggravating circumstances, but the law is silent about whether those decisions must be unanimous.
In October, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that the new statute was unconstitutional because it did not require unanimous jury recommendations about imposing the death penalty, something not addressed by the U.S. court decision.
The Florida court, in a 5-2 ruling, decided that the lack of unanimity in the state law runs afoul of protections guaranteed by the U.S. and state constitutions.
The majority also found that the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Hurst mandated that all findings necessary for imposition of a death sentence are “elements” that must be decided by a jury, and Florida “has a longstanding history of requiring unanimous jury verdicts as the elements of a crime,” the majority wrote.
But the state disagrees.
The Florida court interpreted the U.S. court’s earlier ruling in Hurst “to require jury findings of all aggravating circumstances; mitigating circumstances; and weighing rather than only requiring jury findings of one aggravating circumstance,” Senior Assistant Attorney General Charmaine Millsaps and Assistant Attorney General John Molchan wrote in the six-page request in Escambia County.
“The state of Florida believes this expansive reading to be in error and will seek discretionary review in the United States Supreme Court,” the lawyers wrote.
But defense lawyers said the state’s appeal is problematic because the Florida Supreme Court based its Hurst ruling in large part on the state’s constitutional guarantee to trial by jury.
“They’re unhappy with the result, and they’re unhappy with all of these death sentences being reversed. But they’re running into a problem: what’s the federal issue and what’s the state issue. The U.S. Supreme Court doesn’t have jurisdiction to decide what the state statute meant. That’s a question of state law,” lawyer Martin McClain, who has represented more than 250 defendants in death penalty cases, said in a telephone interview Monday.
In its Hurst ruling, the Florida Supreme Court concluded that “under the commandments of Hurst v. Florida, Florida’s constitutional right to trial by jury, and our Florida jurisprudence, the penalty phase jury must be unanimous in making the critical findings and recommendation that are necessary” before death can be imposed.
“I believe the U.S. Supreme Court is unlikely to interfere with a state Supreme Court interpreting state law and that state’s Constitution,” said Pete Mills, a 10th Judicial Circuit assistant public defender who is chairman of the Florida Public Defenders Association’s Death Penalty Steering Committee.
While the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Hurst did not address unanimity, the state’s appeal of the Florida court’s decision could be an attempt to get a federal ruling on the issue.
“I think they’re trying to get another bite at the apple,” said 5th Judicial Circuit Public Defender Mike Graves. “I don’t understand how they expect to get from here to there.”
by Dara Kam, The News Service of Florida with contribution from NorthEscambia.com
Flomaton Man Charged With Weekend Shooting Death
December 6, 2016
A Flomaton man has been charged with the shooting death of a mother of four Friday night in Pollard, AL.
Shannon Heath Bell, age 31 of Upper Creek Road, has been charged with manslaughter for the death of 36-year old Donna L. Martin. He was being held in the Escambia County (AL) Detention Center in Brewton with bond set at $25,000.
About 6:30 Friday night, authorities received a call about a gunshot victim in the Pollard area. The caller was experiencing problems with his phone connection, but was eventually able to relay that he wanted medical units to meet him at the intersection of Foshee Road and Highway 31. First responders arrived to find Martin suffering from a gunshot wound to her side. She was transported to D.W. McMillan Hospital in Brewton where she was later pronounced deceased.
The case remains under investigation and authorities said additional charges may be forthcoming. The case has been turned over to the district attorney and will be presented to a grand jury.
Two Tons Of Peanut Butter Collected During Recent Food Drive
December 6, 2016
Two tons of peanut butter was collected during a recent “Take a bite out of Hunger” peanut butter food drive.
UF IFAS Escambia County Extension collected 371 jars of peanut butter weighing in at 625 pounds, plus local peanut producers Rodney and Mike Helton donated three pallets containing 3,375 pounds of peanut butter in 4,500 jars.
The peanut butter will be donated to local food pantries.
Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.