Homicide Investigation Underway After Man Found Dead In Car Off Blue Angel Parkway
August 24, 2021
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a homicide.
About 6:20 p.m. Monday, ECSO deputies responded to a man down call in the 10000 block of North Loop Road off Blue Angel Parkway.
Once on scene, deputies discovered a 33-year-old male victim deceased with one gunshot wound. He was found sitting in the driver’s seat of a brown Chevrolet Malibu. The engine to the car was still running.
ECSO investigators are looking for anyone who may have witnessed this crime.
If you have any information about this incident, call Crime Stoppers at (850) 433-STOP or the ECSO at (850) 436-9620.
Man Charged With Home Burglary, Attempted Burglary Of Byrneville Community Center Arrested After Manhunt
August 24, 2021
A Flomaton man is facing charges after the alleged attempted burglary of the Byrneville Community Center and a home before leading deputies on a manhunt in Byrneville.
Tristan Lee Bell, 24, was charged attempted burglary of an unoccupied structure, burglary of an occupied dwelling, possession of burglary tools, possession of a controlled substance without a prescription, possession of drug paraphernalia, and resisting arrest.
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office responded to a reported open door or window at the community center. They arrived to observe a white male wearing an orange shirt standing outside the building. Deputies noted two window screens had been removed from two windows of the community center.
Bell picked up a gray backpack and took off running into a wooded area on the west side of Byrneville Road, according to an arrest report. A deputy that entered the woods reported finding the backpack, a screwdriver, cutting pliers, Bell’s wallet, his phone and an orange t-shirt that was wrapped around a sunglasses case that contained methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia.
A deputy spotted Bell exit the wooded area without a shirt and run south on Byrneville Road before he entered another wooded area. When K-9 deputies arrived on scene, Bell was seen running south on Byrneville Road in the area of McBride Road. As officers were setting up a perimeter, they were informed that someone was breaking into a residence in the 1000 block of Byrneville Road.
A responding deputy captured Bell as he allegedly ran from the corner of the residence, about a mile and half from the community center.
The occupant of the home told deputies he did not notice anything was going on because of a hearing difficulty.
According to the ECSO, the blade on the screwdriver recovered from Bell matched the pry marks on the windows at the Byrneville Community Center.
Bell remained in the Escambia County Jail with bond set ta $9,500.
New Look, New Uniforms Coming For The Tate High School Showband Of The South
August 24, 2021
UPDATE: The purchase has been updated to 250 each of marching coats, bibber trousers, and Aussie hats; and 12 drum major coats and 12 drum major Aussie hats.
A new look is coming next year for the Tate High School Showband of the South.
The new band uniforms from Fruhauf Uniforms in Wichita, Kansas, are expected to arrive next spring.
The band will receive 300 bibber trousers, 300 marching coats, 300 Aussie hats and uniform management software. The total cost approved by Escambia County School Board was $97,764, based upon current band membership. Of that, $28,000 will come from the district’s general fund, and the $69,764 will balance will be paid from school internal accounts.
Photos courtesy Casey Dull Photography for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
New RV Park Planned For Neal Road
August 24, 2021
A Molino woman is proposing to build an RV park on Neal Road in Cantonment.
If approved by the Escambia County Development Review Committee, the Magnolia RV Park will have 24 spaces will have septic tank service, water and electrical, according to an application filed by property owner Clorinda Baker. The access driveway will be concrete, while on-site driveways and RV spaces will be gravel.
The project will also include a 1,716 square foot building with an office, laundry, showers and bathrooms.
The Magnolia RV Park will be located on the north side of Neal Road, just west of Highway 95A on an 8.69 acre parcel. Plans call for 8.2 acres to be disturbed, with nine of 26 protected trees removed.
NorthEscambia.com graphic.
Deputies Believe Blackwater River Drowning Was Accidental
August 24, 2021
The Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office believes a Milton man drowned accidentally in he Blackwater River Sunday afternoon.
EMS found 40-year old Joseph Michael Rollo, 40, unconscious about 1:45 near Deaton Bridge. He was pronounced deceased at the scene.
Deputies said there were no indications of foul play, and they waiting for autopsy results to rule out any underlying health factors.
“It is believed the victim unintentionally fell into the water while on the river,” SRSO Public Information Officer Sgt. Rich Aloy said.
Motorcyclist Killed On Pensacola Bay Bridge
August 23, 2021
A motorcyclist was killed Monday night in a crash on the Pensacola Bay Bridge.
The motorcycle reported crashed into the rear of a construction vehicle as traffic cones were being placed in preparation for overnight lane closures and work on the bridge.
The name of the motorcyclist was not released Monday night.
The crash closed both north and southbound lanes on the bridge.
One Charged After Armed Robbery At Atmore Walmart
August 23, 2021
A woman was arrested shortly after the armed robbery of the Atmore Walmart Monday afternoon.
The armed robbery was reported about 3:15 p.m. at the store on North Main Street.
“Walmart officials said a female walked up to the service desk and advised the cashier she was armed with a weapon and demanded cash,” Atmore Police Chief Chuck Brooks said. “The female suspect then fled the store on foot with an undisclosed amount of cash.”
Atmore Police Department officers located the suspect in a wooded area behind Oak Hill Cemetery, which is adjacent to the store.
The suspect was identified as 30-year old Therease Antoinette Fletcher of Huntsville Alabama. She was transported to jail on a charge of robbery first degree.
Pictured: The Atmore Walmart Supercenter. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
Cantonment Man Convicted Of Home Invasion Robbery At Gunpoint Of Ex-Girlfriend’s Mother
August 23, 2021
A Cantonment man has been found guilty in the home invasion robbery of his ex-girlfriend’s mother last December.
Lloyd Christopher Lister, 50, was convicted of home invasion robbery with a firearm, false imprisonment with a firearm and grand theft auto. He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison when he is sentenced on September 28.
On December 20, 2020, the victim told deputies she had been inside her residence in the 400 block of Forrest Street with her daughter Autumn Lee Beede when she stepped out to smoke. A few minutes later, Beede came back into the residence followed by a white male holding a handgun while wearing a hoodie, gloves and mask on his face, according to arrest report.
The victim said the male suspect put the gun to her head, covered her face, zip-tied her wrists together and tied her feet with an extension cord. She was placed in a bathroom, and the door was tied shut with an extension cord. She was in the bathroom about 30 minutes before she could escape.
According to the ECSO, the victim stated the male said, “Don’t turn around or I will shoot you and ma’am, I don’t want to do that.”
As the masked man continued making demands, the victim and her daughter recognized his voice to be that of the daughter’s ex-boyfriend, Lloyd Lister.
The victim discovered her 2019 Kia Sorento was missing, along with her phone and a wallet containing a debit card, cash and checkbook. She called her credit union and discovered there were already unsuccessful attempts to use the debit card at an ATM inside a Tom Thumb on East Nine Mile Road, and the card had been used for a $139.07 purchase at Winn Dixie on Nine Mile Road. In a follow-up investigation, deputies obtained video surveillance of Beede and Lister using the victim’s debit card at both locations.
The ECSO said the victim made positive identification of both suspects from the videos.
Beede is awaiting trail on similar charges with a docket hearing set for September 28.
Van Loaded With Narcotics And Car Collide In Century
August 23, 2021
A cargo van loaded with narcotics and a car were involved in a crash at a Century intersection Monday morning, injuring one person.
The van belonging to a pharmaceutical transport company and the passenger car collided about 9 a.m. at the intersection of East Highway 4 and Freedom Road. The car came to rest in a wooded area on the west side of Highway 4. The van overturned into a wooded area on the opposite side of the road, spilling much of its cargo.
The driver of the car was transported to an area hospital by Escambia County EMS; the driver of the van was not injured.
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office stood by to ensure the security of the narcotics until the transport company arrived to retrieve them.
The Century station of Escambia Fire Rescue also responded, and the crash is under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Escambia District Did Not Release School Grades. But Now We Have Them.
August 23, 2021
EXCLUSIVE — Escambia County A-F school grades were not released this year by the school district because they did not opt-in to receive the grades from the state.
But now, for the first time, Escambia County parents can see the grade for their child’s school here on NorthEscambia.com. Those grades are below.
The letter grades were calculated by Rep. Michelle Salzman using test scores that were released by the state and the precise formula that would have been used by the Florida Department of Education (FDOE).
“I received a lot of inquiries about school grades from constituents, community leaders and media outlet,” Salzman told NorthEscambia.com ” I am extremely proud of our teachers, and these grades are a direct indication to the importance of having your children in school. Now that we know where we are, we can navigate together.”
A.K. Suter Elementary, Byrneville Elementary, Cordova Park Elementary, Hellen Caro Elementary, Molino Park Elementary, Pensacola Beach Elementary, Brown Barge Middle, West Florida High, and Escambia Virtual Academy were all A schools under Salzman’s calculations.
On the other end of the scale 11 schools received an F — Bellview Elementary, Ensley Elementary, Global Learning Academy, Lincoln Park Elementary, Myrtle Grove Elementary, Navy Point Elementary, O.J. Semmes Elementary, Sherwood Elementary, Warrington Elementary, Bellview Middle, and Workman Middle
Escambia County opted not to have the state calculate the school grades under a pandemic-related FDOE emergency order issued in April that gave that choice to school districts.
“This is the ultimate flexibility and reinforces the compassion and grace we have used throughout this pandemic in making these decisions,” Commissioner of Education Richard Corcoran said at the time.
“The state did not calculate a letter grade (for Escambia schools), and that was really important because that’s what people use in their assessment of the school is a letter grade. I have to say the commissioner was right on point with this because our test scores were impacted; they did drop,” Escambia School Superintendent Tim Smith said as the new school year got underway. “Had grades been assigned to the schools it would have been devastating so we knew that the possibility of that happening existed.”
“When a good school goes from a C to a D, that has a very dramatic impact on the school,” he said, adding that could be “some devastating news, some really demoralizing news”.
Escambia County school grades, as calculated by Salzman, were as follows for the 2020-2021 school year:
