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Prisons chief to seek revamp of health care contracts

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TALLAHASSEE — Florida Department of Corrections Secretary Julie Jones announced Friday she intends to rebid contracts worth about $1.4 billion with private companies to provide health-care services to the state’s 100,000 inmates.

Jones’ announcement came amid increased scrutiny of Florida’s prison system, the third-largest in the country, after reports of guards abusing inmates, a rising number of unexplained inmate deaths and lawsuits from investigators who claim they were retaliated against after exposing wrongdoing.

Lawmakers have recently focused on problems with medical services provided to inmates by Wexford Health Sources and Corizon Health. The for-profit companies took over prison health care nearly two years ago after a drawn-out court battle over outsourcing ordered by the Legislature in 2011.

Jones has been highly critical of the state’s current five-year deals with the companies and began exploring ways to rebid or cancel the contracts shortly after taking over as head of the department last month.

Under the current agreements, Wexford is being paid $48 million a year until Dec. 20, 2017, to provide health services to about 15,000 inmates at nine prisons in South Florida. Corizon, which provides health care to more than 74,000 inmates in North and Central Florida as well as part of South Florida, receives $229 million per year. The Corizon contract was set to expire on June 30, 2018.

Rebidding the contracts is expected to drive up costs because the department will want more services.

“We are anticipating a cost increase. But we’re also adding electronic health records, liquidated damages and other enhancements to the contract that will help us in the delivery of health care services,” department spokesman McKinley Lewis said.

Evers sees problems during tour: Senate Criminal Justice Chairman Greg Evers ordered Jones to redo the current contracts after he visited several prisons in his Panhandle district and found they were understaffed by doctors and nurses, a common complaint in other states where Tennessee-based Corizon does business.

Staffing was one of a variety of issues Jones outlined in a news release Friday announcing her intention to open a contracting process known as an invitation to negotiate “prior to the beginning of 2016.”

Jones is seeking “enhanced elements” to the current contracts that will include “the ability to ensure that appropriate staffing is provided by our contractors that enables a proper mix of administrative and institutional-level direct care, the presence of medical staff who possess the proper skills and qualifications to provide quality care to our inmate population and clinical oversight and supervision.”

Jones wants the contractors to perform internal audits of staffing levels, which will also be monitored by the state Correctional Medical Authority and the department’s health-services staff.

She also intends to demand higher penalties for the companies if they fail to meet minimum staffing or standard-of-care levels.

In addition, the secretary is asking companies to use electronic health records “to support decision making and improve provision of comprehensive medical, dental and mental health services while ensuring continuity of care,” she said.

Last year, 346 of the state’s 100,000-plus inmates died behind bars. More than half of those deaths —- 176 —- were initially unclassified, meaning state investigators had no immediate explanation for the causes of death. According to the Department of Corrections website, 146 inmates died due to heart attacks, cancer, gastrointestinal diseases or other medical problems.

“I am confident in the ability of this department to meet the health care needs of our inmate population through a partnership with private health care providers. Through this procurement process, the department will take steps toward being better able to ensure that the health care services required to be delivered to our inmate population are done so in a professional, expeditious and quality fashion,” Jones said in the news release.

Evers was cautiously optimistic about Jones’ announcement.

“In the past year since the Florida correctional health care has become fully privatized, inmates’ deaths have increased a staggering 10 percent. I’m encouraged to see that FDOC is responding to this health care crisis in our health care system. It’s been a terrible deal for the Florida taxpayers. Floridians deserve better,” Evers, R-Baker, said. “It is my hope and expectation that this time FDOC will rebid these contracts in an open and transparent process that includes proper accountability and oversight. We will be watching this process very closely to make sure that FDOC is not giving us whipped cream and telling us it’s ice cream.”

Both companies have pledged to continue to provide services throughout the rebidding process.

“We are pleased to see Secretary Jones doing exactly what she promised to do when she took over leadership of the Department of Corrections —- making whatever changes are necessary to ensure the best outcomes for the state, its taxpayers, and its inmate population. This new procurement process will allow additional flexibility and increased cooperation between the state of Florida and its partners, and we believe we are well-positioned to continue as the state’s principal correctional health provider,” Corizon Health Chief Executive Officer Woodrow Myers Jr., said in a statement issued Friday.

Corizon, which employs 1,700 workers in Florida, is also “proud of the improvements we’ve made in recent months, for instance enhancing reporting on healthcare metrics and adding more staff at no additional cost to the state,” Myers wrote.

Wexford President Dan Conn said in a statement that his Pittsburgh-based company is committed to working with Jones.

“We are confident Wexford Health has been meeting the many requirements of our contract with the State of Florida and know the overwhelming majority of concerns expressed by the secretary and legislators don’t apply to the inmates under our care in Florida,” Conn wrote. “The opportunity to rebid the contract will give us a chance to take Florida prison health care to the next level and implement additional cost-saving clinical programs not possible under the current contract, such as discounted drug pricing programs and electronic health records. Wexford Health looks forward to continuing our partnership with the Department of Corrections now and into the future.”

Court battle over health care: The rebidding of the contracts is the latest turn in Florida’s decades-long struggle with inmate health care.

In the mid 1970s, lawyers launched a nearly 20-year court battle, known as Costello v. Wainwright, over prisoners’ health care, resulting in the appointment of a special master and nearly a decade of federal-court oversight of health services in the Department of Corrections.

The Correctional Medical Authority was created in 1986 as part of the settlement in the Costello case. The state’s prison health system stayed under federal oversight until 1993, when a judge decided that the federal government could relinquish its role as long as Florida remained committed to using monitors, like the authority, to ensure that prisoners’ rights were not being violated.

In the midst of deciding to privatize prison health care in 2011, lawmakers effectively shuttered the authority by eliminating its $717,000 budget. That same year, Gov. Rick Scott vetoed a measure that would have eliminated the agency altogether, calling it a “valuable layer of oversight.” The next year, House and Senate leaders allocated $580,000 to revive the agency, shrunk from 12 workers to six with an oversight board of seven governor-appointed members.

Critics of the revived authority say the agency no longer has the power it held when U.S. District Judge Susan Black agreed to end federal oversight.

Disappointment in the current health-care contracts began not long after the privatization was fully implemented in late 2013.

Less than four months before Scott, who pushed for the privatization, was re-elected last year, former Corrections Secretary Michael Crews quietly agreed to pay Wexford and Corizon another $3.2 million to stay on the job for another year.

Two months after he inked the contract amendments, Crews threatened to stop payments to Corizon, saying the company failed to follow through after audits revealed shortcomings in multiple areas, including medical care, nursing and staffing.

The threat of another Costello-like class action lawsuit and federal oversight is an additional incentive for lawmakers to try to rectify prison health-care issues, which one lawyer who represented the inmates said are worse now than when the case was settled.

“Once those bids come in, if the private health care providers can’t do it at a cost we can afford, then it may be cheaper because of the inadequate health care the inmates are receiving. The state may have to look at taking it back over,” Evers said.


Calhoun County police seeking escaped jail inmate

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BLOUNTSTOWN — The Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office is searching for an escaped inmate on Saturday.

William Lamar Mercer, a 49 year old white male, escaped from the Calhoun County Jail at 12:30 a.m. Saturday morning, officials said. Mercer is approximately 6-foot-1, with a medium build and blue eyes.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office at (850) 674-5049.

Snake shooter: 'I'm from Wewahitchka, we don't miss'

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PANAMA CITY — A woman who spent days in jail for shooting at a snake on school grounds said she wanted to clear her name following the dismissal of the charges.

April Demarco, of Panama City, was arrested in October for discharging a .380-caliber handgun on the practice football field of Bay High School, 300 E. 15th St., during a practice for the local Pop Warner football team. Demarco borrowed the pistol to protect nearby children after a group of parents found a water moccasin on the field. She was then charged with possessing a firearm and shooting it on school property, though police reported she missed the snake.

Those charges against Demarco were dismissed last week. Despite spending several days in jail, months going through the court system and receiving national media attention for the incident, Demarco said one detail from the case has nagged at her since the shooting.

“I killed that snake — that’s the main thing,” she said during an interview Friday. “I’m from Wewahitchka; we don’t miss snakes.”

Demarco said the moccasin became “extremely aggressive” after it passed over one of the other parent’s feet at the practice. Demarco and another woman kicked at the snake and attempted to call for assistance from coaches and other bystanders for 20 minutes as the snake neared the children’s area. After receiving no help, Demarco took the initiative, borrowed a gun and shot the snake in the head, she said.

“Someone had to do something,” Demarco said. “All I knew was that it was going to bite me, my daughter or someone else’s child.”

Demarco also said, being a knowledgeable gun owner, she exercised caution before the shooting. She said she discretely hid the gun because she did not want to alarm the nearby children. And they told the kids the noise of the firearm discharging was a firecracker.

“We even had cupcakes at the end of the practice for one of the kids’ birthday,” Demarco said.

Demarco was arrested the following day when another parent reported the incident. She faced felony charges for firing a gun on school grounds. The charges have since been completely abandoned.

 “I’m not a bad person,” Demarco said. “I was just protecting the children.”

Wasps strike again: Audubon Society fundraiser canceled

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PANAMA CITY BEACH — The last film in a series presented by the Bay County Audubon Society, ‘Rediscovering Ancient America,’ has been canceled due to the wasp infestation at Arnold High School’s auditorium, where the film was set to be presented on Thursday.

The film series was presented as a fundraiser for the Audubon Society.

For more information, contact the Audubon Society at (850) 871-1736.

Fire departments vie for millions in surplus equipment

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BRISTOL — A handful of rural fire departments in the state have seen an equipment infusion.

The Florida Forest Service allocated $11.2 in federal surplus equipment to rural fire departments in 2014. The city of Bristol volunteer Fire Department was the only area department to receive equipment this year, receiving a 3-kilowatt generator and a draft pump.

Surplus equipment can include surplus military items like former four-wheel drive cargo trucks that can be converted for fire department uses. The Concord and Havana volunteer departments in Gadsden County each received cargo trucks and used them to rescue seven people during Dec. 27 flooding event on the Ochlocknee River.

“For $16,000 or $20,000 you can build a fire fighting unit,” said Matt Wendell, Florida Forest Service fire resources manager.

That was one of the reasons Jackson County Fire Chief Scott Birge has requested former cargo trucks for this year. He wants to convert them by placing the beds of current trucks, equipped with water on top.

“The forest services’ federal surplus and matching loan program are considerable resources we like to draw on,” Birge said.

Jackson County was one of several Panhandle counties and municipalities that have used the program in the past. Other fire departments participating include the Blountstown Volunteer Fire Department (VFD), Bonifay VFD, Chipley VFD and Ebro VFD.

Fire damages mobile home

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SPRINGFIELD — A Springfield mobile home was damaged Monday after a morning blaze.

Although three adults and seven children occupied the mobile home, no one was injured in the fire at 409 School Ave.

Several fire crews arrived at about 10:50 a.m. Monday to flames leaping from one bedroom window of the mobile home. Springfield Fire Department Chief Michael Laramore said the fire was under control minutes later, but one room had already been completely gutted by the fire and the rest of the house had signs of heat and smoke damage.

In a closet of the most severely damaged room, the family had stored away a faulty heater Monday morning, Laramore added.

“It was sparking, so they unplugged it and shoved it away in a closet,” he said.

The home wasn’t a complete loss, though, only suffering about 20 percent damage from the fire and 20 percent damage from heat and smoke. The family lost several possessions in the blaze, including childrens’ clothes. The American Red Cross offered to shelter the family for three nights and provide any clothes and shoes available to the children.

4 charged with tax fraud

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PANAMA CITY — Four people have been indicted on federal charges of tax fraud and identity theft, according to a U.S. Department of Justice news release.

A federal grand jury indictment, unsealed Monday, charged Jermaine Winters, 38, of Coleman; Senora Cotton, 24, of Chipley; Rosetta Presley, 22, of Chipley; and Fontella Keith, 47, of Chipley; with conspiracy, wire fraud and identity theft in connection with the electronic filing of false federal income tax returns.

The indictment alleged that, between July 2011 and July 2012, the four defendants used the stolen identities of assisted-living facility residents, clinical laboratory patients, and others, in an attempt to steal more than $118,000 from the U.S. Treasury, through the electronic filing of fraudulent tax returns.

Keith is alleged to have stolen the personal identifying information of patients at the Dogwood Inn, an assisted-living facility in Bonifay, where he worked. The indictment alleged that Keith gave this information to Winters, Cotton and Presley, who then filed the fraudulent tax returns. The defendants also are alleged to have used the personal identifying information of patients from Sun Laboratory Services, a clinical laboratory in the Tampa-area, to file additional fraudulent tax returns. The defendants allegedly caused the U.S. Treasury to pay fraudulent income tax refunds by loading refunds onto prepaid debit cards mailed by various financial institutions to addresses in the Northern District of Florida.

The arraignment for Cotton and Keith was Monday before Magistrate Judge Larry A. Bodiford at the U.S. Courthouse. An arraignment has not been scheduled for Winters or Presley.

Calhoun County escapee captured

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BLOUNTSTOWN — Law enforcement officers have ended the search for an escaped convict who broke out of jail over the weekend, according to the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO).

Officials with the CCSO announced the capture of 49-year-old William Lamar Mercer, of Fountain, in Jackson County Monday at about 5:30 p.m.

Details of the circumstances of the capture were not available Monday night.

Mercer, who had a history of violent crimes, escaped from the Calhoun County jail early Saturday morning. Although Mercer was not believed to be armed, authorities suspected he could be dangerous because of his criminal record, according to Sheriff Glenn Kimbrel.

“I wouldn’t want to have him over to dinner with me or any of my citizens — especially uninvited,” he said.

Kimbrel said authorities knew of Mercer making contact with a Calhoun County resident as recent as Sunday morning, but most leads on the escaped convict’s whereabouts went cold as authorities suspected Mercer may have left the area for a surrounding county.

The search then shifted to Jackson County late Monday afternoon, due to a tip from a citizen. The Jackson Correctional Institution and the Apalachee Correctional Institution K-9 Tracking Teams caught up to Mercer Monday evening, officials reported.

CCSO reported that Mercer could have escaped through the county jail’s kitchen area Saturday morning after breaking a lock.

He had been institutionalized after being arrested Jan. 10 on charges of purchasing and delivering methamphetamine. Mercer also had a previous criminal history including bank robbery and armed burglary charges, officials said.

No additional charges had been listed to Mercer’s court records in Calhoun County as of Monday night.


UPDATE: Appeals court considering warrantless cellphone tracking

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ATLANTA (AP) — Now that the cellphone in your pocket can be used to track your movements, federal appeals judges in Atlanta are considering whether investigators must get a search warrant from a judge to obtain cellphone tower tracking data in a case that highlights the courts’ effort to keep up with changing technology.

The issue stems from the Miami case of Quartavious Davis, who's serving a 162-year prison sentence for a string of violent armed robberies. Lawyers for Davis appealed his sentence, arguing investigators should have gotten a search warrant to obtain cellphone tower data used at trial that placed him near six of the robberies.

A three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in June agreed with Davis’ lawyers, writing that getting the records without a search warrant violates the Fourth Amendment ban on unreasonable searches and seizures because people have an expectation of privacy in their movements that extends to cell tower data.

However, the panel declined to overturn Davis’ convictions and sentence, citing a “good faith” exception that says authorities can't be punished for relying on a law that is later found to be unconstitutional.

Even though federal prosecutors won the underlying case, they asked for a full-court review of the panel's decision, saying the search warrant requirement could be a concern for prosecutors going forward. The request was granted and the full 11-judge court heard oral arguments Tuesday.

David Markus, an attorney for Davis, argued government investigators should be required to demonstrate probable cause to a judge to get a search warrant, rather than being allowed to use a court order with a lower burden of proof.

Government investigators obtained and analyzed 67 days’ worth of tower data for four suspects in the robbery case, including more than 11,000 data points for Davis alone. That effectively allowed them to pinpoint his general location an average of every eight minutes, Markus said. Investigators should have gotten a warrant to obtain the data for the specific days of the robberies, he said.

Amit Agarwal, a federal prosecutor from Miami, argued investigators should be allowed to get the records with a court order as long as those records are collected and maintained by a third party — in this case a cellphone service provider — within the normal conduct of business. He noted that other records — including those kept by credit card companies, airlines and hotels — provide detailed information about a person and can be obtained with just a subpoena.

Judge Frank M. Hull appeared sympathetic with Agarwal's argument on that point. She also seemed skeptical that a person's expectation of privacy was violated by the cell tower records, given that the records used in the case didn't pinpoint an exact location but instead placed a person within a mile radius of a tower.

Judge Adalberto Jordan seemed concerned that technological advances could soon mean a person's location can be tracked more exactly simply because the person is carrying a phone, even if the person isn't making or receiving calls, and that those records could be available without a warrant. It's “troubling” to think the government could, in this way, physically track a person without his knowledge, he said.

The case has drawn wide interest from civil rights and other groups, with briefs in support of the search warrant requirement filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the Center for Democracy & Technology and the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

Hibernating pet tarantulas stolen from crawlspace of house

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AUSTELL, Ga. (AP) — A metro Atlanta man told police a spider thief snuck into a crawlspace under his home and stole five of his 18 pet tarantulas.

Austell police say they've issued an arrest warrant for a man accused of possessing the arachnids.

Dwayne Melton tells WSB-TV the spiders live beneath his Austell home in individual containers, where they hibernate during the winter until spring arrives.

Melton said he didn't know his spiders were missing until he got a phone call from Animart Pets in Austell, where employees said someone had just sold five tarantulas to the business. Melton then identified the spiders as his and police began investigating.

It wasn't immediately known when the theft happened, and details about the suspect weren't available.

Man charged in robberies following high-speed chase

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PANAMA CITY — A man suspected in multiple robberies was arrested and charged following a high-speed chase on Monday, the Panama City Police Department reported.

Willie Boston Jr., 37, was charged with multiple robberies in Chipley and Panama City as well as fleeing and eluding, resisting arrest without violence and leaving the scene of a crash, according to a PCPD press release. Boston had been residing with his father in Chipley and authorities from Washington County also assisted in the investigation, PCPD said.

Boston was located by officers, who then attempted to make a traffic stop. Boston fled and the chase reached speeds of 70 miles per hour on local roads, PCPD said. Boston crashed into a guardrail at the intersection of Highway 390 and Lisenby Avenue and fled on foot into a wooded area before being captured, PCPD said.

Boston is suspected of robberies at a Chevron gas station on Highway 98 and Molitor Avenue as well at the VJ Mart located in the 2200 Block of Frankford Avenue and the American Quality/Value Lodge on West Highway 98 in Panama City.

He also will face charges related to the Jan. 31 armed robbery of the Tom Thumb on Main Street in Chipley and the Feb. 8 armed robbery of the Marathon gas station, commonly called the Courthouse BP, located on Jackson Ave. in Chipley, authorities said.

Anyone with more information on this case is asked to call the PCPD at (850) 872-3100, or they can report their tips anonymously to CrimeStoppers at (850) 785-TIPS.

Burglars sought in Washington County

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CHIPLEY — Sheriff Bobby Haddock is asking for the public’s help in solving a string of burglaries that have plagued Washington and sister counties for the last few weeks resulting in thousands of dollars in stolen property, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office announced Tuesday.

“We want to solve these cases, but we need that one tip,” Haddock said. “We are asking that if residents see anything that seems suspicious, call 911. Secondly, do not try and confront these people, call us and let us do our job.”

WCSO suggests residents should be on the lookout for vehicles driving slowly on streets where the occupants appear to be looking around. Look for vehicles pulling into driveways and the occupants knocking on doors. It would be helpful for all suspicious behavior to be reported.

“We will exhaust every available resource to find those responsible for these burglaries, but we need the community to continue to work with us until we get these thefts resolved” Haddock said. “One of the ways you can help is taking the critical steps to make your home less inviting to the bad guys.”

Couple sleeping in dumpster rescued from garbage truck

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PANAMA CITY — A homeless couple and their puppy were pulled to safety Tuesday morning after the trash bin in which they were sleeping was emptied into a trash-compacting truck, according to officials.

Panama City Police responded to a parking lot near East First Court and Everitt Avenue at about 8 a.m. Monday to a call for help removing a woman from the back of a garbage truck. The truck driver had been able to get a man out of the truck, but the woman and a puppy still were buried under piles of trash, according to PCPD reports.

“The garbage container was full of trash, and I was unable to see or hear the female,” police reported. The Panama City Fire Department “was able to find the female, conscious and able to stand, after removing a large amount of trash.”

Crews dug through trash for about 20 more minutes before finding the couple’s puppy afraid but unharmed, officers said.

Officers identified the couple as Christopher and Jessica McCormick. Christopher McCormick told police the two are homeless and crawled in the large trash bin behind Catholic Charities, 2922 U.S. Business 98, the previous night when it began to rain. He said the couple went to sleep but later were startled awake as the garbage truck emptied the trash bin into its trash compactor.

The driver said he was on his way to the next stop at the paper mill when he heard someone yelling from the back of the truck, and he pulled over. Christopher McCormick said he was able to climb up a mattress and get the driver’s assistance out of the truck, police reported. Jessica McCormick was still trapped in the trash.

EMS and fire crews arrived to help, and the couple was taken to a local hospital to treat minor injuries. Christopher McCormick was limping and had a scratch on his head. Jessica McCormick was complaining of an aching back and was placed in a neck brace as police interviewed her, police said.

The puppy was to be taken into Animal Services until the couple’s release from the hospital.

Officials with Bay Medical Center said Tuesday afternoon the pair had been discharged. The couple could not be reached for comment late Tuesday.

Man hiding in school restroom later arrested

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PANAMA CITY BEACH — Investigators have arrested a Panama City Beach man after teachers at Arnold High School spotted him hiding in the women’s bathroom watching young children from the day care on campus use the restroom, according to the Bay County Sheriff’s Office.

Melvin Gullion, 52, brought a friend’s grandchild to the day care Monday morning and, after leaving the child with day care workers, asked where the bathroom was located. He allegedly did not enter the men’s bathroom, but instead went into the women’s bathroom and hid in the handicap stall, BCSO reported.

The day care workers, accompanied by a 14-year-old assistant, brought a group of children into the women’s bathroom to use the facilities, and one of the teachers spotted Gullion in the stall with his pants and underwear down around his ankles, according to law enforcement. Gullion was allegedly peering out between the cracks in the stall door and masturbating as the teacher confronted him, officials said.

Gullion got dressed and ran out of the bathroom and left the campus, investigators reported.

Contact was made with a friend who later drove Gullion back to Arnold to meet with BCSO investigators.

Investigators spoke with Gullion and arrested him. Gullion, of Panama City Beach, was charged with exposure of sexual organs, voyeurism and lewd and lascivious exhibition.

Gullion was previously arrested on one count of lewd and lascivious acts in the presence of a child under 16 years of age in 1993. The charge was dropped.

In an emailed statement, Pamela Fleege, executive director of Early Education and Care Inc., said no children saw Gullion in the restroom.

The agency has five classrooms at Arnold High: two Head Start and three Early Head Start. The agency’s procedure is to check all bathrooms before the children are allowed to use them and they are accompanied by an adult, she said.

UPDATE: Missing teen girl located, returned home

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PANAMA CITY BEACH — The Bay County Sheriff’s Office announced missing teenager Jenny Rosebush was located Tuesday night and has been safely returned to her family.

Rosebush, 16 was previously last seen at her home in Panama City Beach on Feb. 16 wearing black yoga pants and a gray and black striped hooded sweatshirt. Two days after her disappearance, she posted a picture of herself and an unknown man on Snapchat, according to the BCSO.
BCSO announced her return in a press release Wednesday morning.


3 arrested in NY, Florida in plot to join Islamic State

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NEW YORK (AP) — Three men accused of plotting to travel to Syria to join the Islamic State and wage war against the United States were arrested on terrorism charges Wednesday, federal officials said.

Akhror Saidakhmetov, a Brooklyn resident and citizen of Kazakhstan, was arrested at Kennedy International Airport, where he was attempting to board a flight to Istanbul, authorities said. Abdurasul Hasanovich Juraboev, a resident of Brooklyn and citizen of Uzbekistan, had a ticket to travel to Istanbul next month and was arrested in Brooklyn, federal prosecutors said. Abror Habibov, accused of helping fund Saidakhmetov's efforts, was arrested in Florida.

They are charged with attempt and conspiracy to provide material support. If convicted, each faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.

The men were in custody, and it was not clear if they had attorneys who could comment on the charges. They were scheduled to appear in federal court later Wednesday.

Federal prosecutors say Juraboev first came to the attention of law enforcement in August, when he posted on an Uzbek-language website that propagates the Islamic State ideology. Officials said they believed he planned to travel from Turkey to Syria to join the terror group. Prosecutors say he, along with Saidakhmetov, also threatened an attack in the U.S. if they were unable to join the Islamic State.

The Islamic State group largely consists of Sunni militants from Iraq and Syria but has also drawn fighters from across the Muslim world and Europe.

Federal officials have expressed alarm at the idea that Americans could travel to Syria to fight alongside the Islamic State or train there and return to the United States to carry out attacks against the homeland.

PCPD seeks missing teens

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PANAMA CITY — The Panama City Police Department is searching for two missing teenagers.

The pair has been missing since Feb. 5, according to missingkids.com.

Julie Sims, 14, and Sara Sims, 13, both dependents of the state of Florida, are believed to possibly be in the company of an unknown male juvenile, police said. Julie Sims is 5-foot-4, 140 pounds with light brown hair and green eyes. Sara Sims is 5-4, 110 pounds with brown hair and hazel eyes.

Anyone with information is asked to call PCPD, at (850) 872-3100, their local law enforcement agency or the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at 1-800-843-5678 (1-800-THE-LOST).

BCSO issues scam alert

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PANAMA CITY — Officials issued a scam alert Wednesday to remind the community about the prevalence of telephone scams involving utility companies.

The Bay County Sheriff’s Office announced several complaints have been received recently about a caller claiming to represent Gulf Power Company and demanding immediate payment of a delinquent bill, BCSO said. The victim is intimidated into paying when the caller threatens to have the power cut off within 30 minutes.

Victims are usually given two options for payment: a credit card or the use of Green Dot cash cards.

If contacted by telephone by anyone claiming to represent a utility company or a governmental agency like the IRS, ask for a contact number and hang up, BCSO advised. Always contact the agency or company to verify any request for payment.

Man charged with arranging meeting with child

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PANAMA CITY BEACH — Police have arrested a man who they said was going to meet what he thought was a child to engage in sexual contact, according to officials.

Jon Edwin Spears, 52, was arrested Wednesday after he allegedly sent nude digital images of himself to who he believed to be the child but was actually a Panama City Beach Police Department investigator, officials said.

Spears, of Panama City Beach, has been charged with traveling to meet a minor to engage in any unlawful sexual conduct, solicitation of a minor with an electronic device to engage in any unlawful sexual conduct, transmission of harmful material to minors by an electronic device and unlawful use of two-way communication device.

The charges stemmed from an investigation in which Spears established contact over the Internet with what he believed to be a 14-year-old male child, however Spears was actually communicating with a PCBPD investigator.

During their talks, Spears allegedly sent nude digital images of himself to who he believed to be the child. Spears then allegedly wished to meet the child at a local retail store so he could purchase underwear for the child, and Spears asked the child to go to his home to have sexual contact. But when Spears arrived at the store to meet with the minor, investigators placed him under arrest.

Spears was taken to the Bay County Jail.

Nelson wants federal probe of reform school deaths

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PANAMA CITY — A Florida lawmaker has called for a federal investigation into the former Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys in Marianna where scientists have exhumed dozens of children’s graves, officials announced Wednesday.

U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., in a letter Tuesday asked the U.S. Department of Justice to probe allegations of abuse and mistreatment at the infamous Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys in Marianna. State law enforcement officers conducted their own investigation five years ago and concluded there was no criminal wrongdoing. However, Nelson said new forensic information has cast doubt on that finding.

“Given new information about wards of the shuttered reform school, and a long history of mistreatment allegations surrounding the Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys in Marianna, Florida, I believe the department is uniquely positioned to provide an outside and independent review,” Nelson wrote to Attorney General Eric Holder.

Specifically, Nelson is asking the Justice Department to look into the deaths and burials of numerous boys at the reform school by simply broadening the department’s ongoing probe into the more recent deaths of inmates in Florida’s prison system.

Concerns about the reform school lingered even after the 2009 Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigation and up until the state shut it down in 2011, reportedly for fiscal reasons.

Scientists from the University of South Florida, who have spent months excavating unmarked graves on the school grounds, say they have found 51 bodies buried there — 20 more than state police reported in a 2009 investigation.

“Having brought USF’s initial research to the Justice Department’s attention in 2012, I remain troubled that university researchers have uncovered information not contained in the state’s 2009 report,” Nelson also wrote.

Nelson first became involved in the issue in 2012 after a Polk County man asked for the lawmaker’s help in locating his uncle’s remains, believed to be buried on the school campus. He has since been a high-profile and vocal supporter of USF’s investigation, pushing for state permits and lining the scientists up for a Justice Department grant for the use and collection of DNA to identify bodies found.

To date, USF has identified the remains of five of the young boys.

“As the Justice Department works to provide answers and closure for the families of Florida prison inmates whose deaths may have stemmed from potential violations of their constitutional rights, I hope you will do the same for the families of these deceased young wards of the state,” Nelson concluded.

Sen. Nelson's letter:

The Honorable Eric H. Holder, Jr.

Attorney General

U.S. Department of Justice

950 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20530

Dear Attorney General Holder:

I am writing to respectfully request that the U.S. Department of Justice examine new evidence about the deaths of youth at a now-defunct Florida reform school as part of the agency’s ongoing probe of more recent inmate deaths in the state’s prison system. Given new information about wards of the shuttered reform school, and a long history of mistreatment allegations surrounding the Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys in Marianna, Florida, I believe the department is uniquely positioned to provide an outside and independent review.

Earlier this month, researchers at the University of South Florida (USF) reported that they have found the remains of 51 individuals buried on the grounds of the reform school. This contrasts with a 2009 Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) investigation concluding that 31 individuals were buried on the school grounds. Having brought USF’s initial research to the Justice Department’s attention in 2012, I remain troubled that university researchers have uncovered information not contained in the state’s 2009 report.

I am grateful for the assistance the department already has provided USF through a 2013 grant from the National Institute of Justice, which has helped fund the forensic research - research that indicates children at Dozier suffered from nutritional deficiencies, lack of dental care, and underdevelopment. In one grave, officials discovered what they think may be a buckshot. Yet in 2012, when the FDLE was asked to comment on the university’s initial findings, officials characterized them as just “an academic research study” with a different standard and scope than a law enforcement investigation. Local law enforcement, meantime, has expressed no interest in investigating. Thus, a federal investigation may be the best alternative.

As the Justice Department works to provide answers and closure for the families of Florida prison inmates whose deaths may have stemmed from potential violations of their constitutional rights, I hope you will do the same for the families of these deceased young wards of the state. I am enclosing a copy of USF’s 15-page report detailing its findings. Please feel free to contact me with any questions. I appreciate your consideration of this request.

Sincerely, Bill Nelson

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