PENSACOLA — A former firefighter and emergency medical technician is accused of possessing child pornography, officials said.
Danny Ray Murphy, 37, of Milton, made a first appearance Friday in the U.S. District Court in Pensacola after a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging him with conspiracy, receipt and possession of child pornography, according to a press release from the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.
The indictment alleges that between November 2016 and January 2017 Murphy conspired with others to participate in Kik instant messaging communications that distributed child pornography images and videos. The indictment also alleges he received and possessed child pornography involving a minor under age 12.
Murphy is being held in the Santa Rosa County Jail. A detention hearing and arraignment are scheduled for March 15.
The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations, the Escambia County Sheriff's Office, the Pensacola Police Department, the State Attorney's Office for the 1st Judicial Circuit, and the North Florida Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force are investigating the case.
Murphy was employed on and off for a few years by the Pace Fire Rescue District until he was fired on Feb. 1, 2017, according to a fire district spokesman.
Murphy served as a relief, or fill-in, emergency medical technician with the Escambia County Emergency Medical Services Division since January 2016, county spokeswoman Amanda Taft said.
Taft said he is on administrative leave without pay during the investigation. Pending a negative outcome, Murphy would be fired.
1 dead, 2 hospitalized after crash
A head-on collision early Saturday morning on U.S. Highway 98 in Santa Rosa County has left a Navarre woman dead and two hospitalized in serious condition, according to Florida Highway Patrol.
FHP reported in a news release that Sherry Vitale, 56, of Navarre, was traveling east in the inside lane on U.S. 98 in a 1997 Chevrolet Cavalier at 12:50 a.m. when the front left of her vehicle crashed into the front of a 2011 Honda Pilot driven by 29-year-old Rachel Price of Gulf Breeze. Price was traveling west in the inside lane on the roadway.
The force of the violent collision caused both vehicles to rotate counter-clockwise and come to a final rest in the westbound lane of U.S. 98.
Vitale was pronounced dead at the scene, while Price and a 2-year-old passenger were transported to Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola, where they both are listed in serious condition.
FHP noted that all involved in the crash were wearing seat belts and alcohol was not involved. Charges are pending, according to the release.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: