Independent News‘Crime’ Archives
Woman tasered over trying to buy too many phones. Thank goodness, it was not in Pensacola (video)
A woman trying to buy too many iPhones at a New Hampshire Apple store and ends up being Tasered by police outside the store. See here.
Florida Voices: When mandatory sentence does not fit the crime
On Thursdays, I write a column for the website Florida Voices, which is picked up the Tampa Tribune for its community papers and other papers across the state. This week about Escambia County native Stephanie George, who is serving a mandatory life sentence without parole, because her [...]
College warns students about date rape
The University of West Florida Police Department received a report of a sexual assault, possibly a date rape, which occurred in the early morning hours Dec. 4, 2012 in a Residence Hall. The university has issued the following warning: To protect yourself, do not leave drinks unattended and [...]
What happened at WalMart on Blue Angel….we want your accounts of the arrest
On Thanksgiving night, a local woman, Annette Bennett, was arrested at Wal-Mart and charged with disorderly conduct, resisting an officer without violence and trespassing after a warning. The arrest stemmed from Bennett allegedly taking a cell phone from a display before the item was scheduled to [...]
Typical Escambia County robbery: house shoes, robe, yellow gloves and boxers on the head
State Attorney Bill Eddins announced today that Joseph Daniel Flowers was sentenced by Judge Gary Bergosh to a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years state prison. Flowers was convicted in October 2012 by an Escambia County Jury of Robbery with a Firearm, three Counts of Trafficking in Illegal [...]
Crime, Code Enforcement and District 6
By Shelby Smithey... Crime and code ordinances were hot topics at Mayor Ashton Hayward’s “Taking City Hall to the Citizens” town hall meeting last night for residents in district 6. Hayward held his 14th town hall meeting since he took office at the E.S. Cobb Neighborhood Resource [...]
Another body found in the woods. Sigh, another weird Pcola trend
NorthEscambia.com reports human remains were discovered about 4 p.m. yesterday in a wooded area in Cantonment by a person clearing the land off off Well Line and Santa Rosa roads. According to ECSO spokesperson, the remains has been there for some time and it will take an autopsy to determine sex, [...]
Hackers hit Northwest Florida State College, steal 300,000 ids
AP is reporting that Northwest Florida State College, which is in Niceville, has been hit by computer hackers that gained access nearly 300,000 names, Social Security and bank routing numbers of students, teachers, staff and retirees.Read AP.
Body found on nature trail Billy Shores
Official statement from the University of West Florida: On the evening of Thursday, Oct. 4, 2012, the UWF Police department responded to the Edward Ball Nature Trail to investigate the discovery of human bones. The discovery was made approximately 25 feet off of the nature trail's boardwalk in an [...]
Buzz: Former PNJ reporter found encased in concrete
A tip to the Pensacola Police Department has led to Winder, Georgia police finding a man believed to be Sean Dugas dead and encased in concrete. Pensacola twins, Christopher Lynn Cormier, 31, and William Cormier, are being held on suspicion of concealing a body, but have not yet been formally [...]
Violence continues
An investigation continues into a late-night incident that injured two men while they were sitting on a porch in Pensacola. The incident occurred around 11:50 p.m. in the 500 block of East Fisher Street, said Officer Michael Fraser. A motive for the incident remains under [...]
Official arrested being paid to raise money for festival
Okaloosa County Commissioner James F. Campbell was arrested today and charged with four counts of official misconduct and four counts of perjury. According to the arrest report, Campbell, who was elected in 2004, received more than $10,000 in payments from the Boggy Bayou Mullet Festival under [...]