A New Chapter: Sweet Tea Murders
Good morning, My name is Michael Earl Simmons, a retired police sergeant from the Pensacola Police Department. During my 30-year career serving the city of Pensacola, I spent part of that time as a detective investigating homicides. Law enforcement has been part of my life for as long as I can remember. When I was…
Sweet Tea Murders LIVE: An Evening of Pensacola Crime Stories
In the South, we like to take things slow. A glass of sweet tea on the porch…A warm breeze drifting in from the bay…Old stories shared as the sun goes down… But not all Southern stories are sweet. Some are dark. Some are tragic. And some still echo through the streets of downtown Pensacola more…
A Knife in the Night
A Pensacola True Crime Story A Pensacola Killing on Romana Street in 1922. Pensacola has always been a city of warm and humid nights, especially downtown. In May, the evenings begin to remind the folks that the long summer is knocking on the door. On evenings like that, the breeze drifts slowly off the bay,…
The Death of Sergeant “Chip” Shackleford
A Forgotten Pensacola Line-of-Duty Death – 1933 By Michael Earl Simmons On cold winter nights in downtown Pensacola, when the streets grow quiet and the glow from storefront windows reflects off the brick sidewalks, it is easy to forget how many stories once unfolded along those same streets. One of those stories ended in tragedy…
Sweet Tea Murders Live
A New Downtown Storytelling Experience Coming to Pensacola For more than thirty years, I worked the streets of Pensacola as a police officer, eventually retiring as a sergeant. During that time, I investigated crimes, including homicides, in neighborhoods and on streets that many of us still walk every day. But some of the most fascinating…
Frascati and Dueling Oaks
By Michael Earl Simmons “Honor, Blood, and the Crimes the Court Pretended Not to See” There is nothing quite like the sight of a mighty oak, its great branches stretching out over its domain like a king over his empire. Dripping with Spanish moss, the old oak has seen many changes over the years. That…
The Long Ride West: The Murder of John M. Tuggle (1921)
There are roads in the Florida Panhandle that remember things. They remember wagon wheels cutting through white sand. They remember mule hooves and the slow rattle of early automobiles. Travel along the trail through the tall pine forests and the humid summer atmosphere made for a long trip. The fragrance of pine mixed with the…
Bon Secour Shadows: The Murder of Leroy “Lee” Miller
Ever been to Bon Secour? If you haven’t…you have missed it. Its name means “Safe Harbor.” The town, located in Southern Alabama, is known for its fresh seafood. It is a quiet, southern, fishing village – the nostalgic kind you wish for, but don’t find often. It is like its own world. Insterestingly, five miles…
Blood on the Afternoon Paper
The Murder on South Palafox Street, Pensacola – July 1905 By Mike Simmons I have a friend named Richard Wood who writes stories about interesting crimes in West Florida. Richard has spoken to the Pensacola Police Historic Society about the Martha Beck murders. On July 8, 2023, he wrote an article that occurred in downtown…
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