Two Pensacola men have been convicted of making and distributing the synthetic drug spice in Virginia. Burton Ritchie the former owner of the Psychedelic Shack in Pensacola and Benjamin Galecki the former CEO of Pensacon, were both found guilty in federal court on Monday. The two men owned a company called Zencense until 2012. Investigators…… MORE
Category Archives: Uncategorized
ATTORNEY PLEADS 1-23-17
A 56-year-old Escambia County accountant and attorney has pled guilty to filing false tax returns and tax evasion. Between 2010 and 2013, James Scheltema, reported no compensation on his 2011 and 2012 tax returns, despite receiving substantial compensation from stock issuance and the sale of stock. Scheltema tried to evade notice of stock sales by…… MORE
FRAUD SENTENCE 1-23-17
A 47-year-old Pace man was sentenced to 90 months in state prison on Friday after he was found guilty of conspiracy and mail fraud during a two-week jury trial. He was also ordered to pay a $1,200,000 forfeiture money judgment and $6,600 in restitution. Gary Tomey II, owned Children’s Charitable Services Incorporated which fraudulently solicited…… MORE
NEW ELEMENTARY SCHOOL 1-23-17
A ground-breaking ceremony was held Friday morning for the new Kingsfield Elementary School that will be at 900 West Kingsfield Road next to Ransom Middle School. The 135,000-square foot school will serve 800 students. Escambia County Superintendent of Schools Malcom Thomas said the school is being built to give relief to Pine Meadow and Beulah…… MORE
SEVERE WEATHER 1-23-17
The severe weather that moved through our area over the weekend produced plenty of wind, rain and some hail, but no injuries and no significant damage was reported. A lot of the reported hail fell across the North Escambia area Saturday night primarily near Walnut Hill. Some of the hail was said to be as…… MORE
INTERNATIONAL PAPER EXPLOSION 1-23-17
There was an explosion at the International Paper plant in Cantonment last night around 8:30pm. A black ash-like substance was reported raining down in the area around the plant and Highway 29 was closed. No injuries were reported and the extent of the structural damage has not yet been released. The cause of the explosion…… MORE
COUNTERFEIT MONEY ARREST 1-20-17
A Pensacola man is facing charges after Florida Highway Patrol Troopers found more than $1,000 worth of counterfeit money in his car. Troopers pulled over Justin Ledford on Interstate-10 in Escambia County Thursday afternoon and a search of his car revealed a large amount of fake cash. Ledford was arrested and charged with possession of…… MORE
SENTENCES COMMUTED 1-20-17
One of the 330 federal inmates convicted of drug crimes who had their sentences commuted by President Barack Obama, is from Pensacola. Trenton Copeland, a nonviolent drug offender, received a life sentence without parole in 2011. To be eligible for a commutation inmates had to have behaved well in prison and already served 10 years.…… MORE
PUBLIC WORKS GARAGE FIRE 1-20-17
A fire at the Pensacola Public Works garage on Palafox Street yesterday damaged five public works trucks . Escambia County Fire Rescue and Pensacola Fire Department were able to bring the fire under control. No one was injured and the cause of the fire is under investigation.… MORE
SILVER ALERT 1-20-17
The Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Department has issued a Silver Alert for a 76-year-old Santa Rosa County man. Joseph Harbison was last seen on Wednesday, January 18th at 6 p.m. in the Deaton Bridge area of Santa Rosa County. He was wearing a green shirt, blue jeans and military-style boots. He also wears glasses. Harbison…… MORE
