Teen to be tried as adult in deaths
PENSACOLA (AP) – A 16-year-old boy will be tried as an adult in the home-invasion deaths of a Panhandle couple known for adopting numerous special needs children.
In a brief hearing on Tuesday, a judge ruled that Rakeem Florence will face an open count of murder. Florence is the youngest of the eight suspects arrested in connection with the July 9 deaths of Byrd and Mealie Billings, a Panhandle couple who had adopted 13 children with autism, Down Syndrome and other developmental disabilities.