• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
MENUMENU
MENUMENU
  • Home
  • About
    • Contact Us
    • FlaglerLive Board of Directors
    • Comment Policy
    • Mission Statement
    • Our Values
    • Privacy Policy
  • Live Calendar
  • Submit Obituary
  • Submit an Event
  • Support FlaglerLive
  • Advertise on FlaglerLive (386) 503-3808
  • Search Results

FlaglerLive

No Bull, no Fluff, No Smudges

MENUMENU
  • Flagler
    • Flagler County Commission
    • Beverly Beach
    • Economic Development Council
    • Flagler History
    • Mondex/Daytona North
    • The Hammock
    • Tourist Development Council
  • Palm Coast
    • Palm Coast City Council
    • Palm Coast Crime
  • Bunnell
    • Bunnell City Commission
    • Bunnell Crime
  • Flagler Beach
    • Flagler Beach City Commission
    • Flagler Beach Crime
  • Cops/Courts
    • Circuit & County Court
    • Florida Supreme Court
    • Federal Courts
    • Flagler 911
    • Fire House
    • Flagler County Sheriff
    • Flagler Jail Bookings
    • Traffic Accidents
  • Rights & Liberties
    • Fourth Amendment
    • First Amendment
    • Privacy
    • Second Amendment
    • Seventh Amendment
    • Sixth Amendment
    • Sunshine Law
    • Third Amendment
    • Religion & Beliefs
    • Human Rights
    • Immigration
    • Labor Rights
    • 14th Amendment
    • Civil Rights
  • Schools
    • Adult Education
    • Belle Terre Elementary
    • Buddy Taylor Middle
    • Bunnell Elementary
    • Charter Schools
    • Daytona State College
    • Flagler County School Board
    • Flagler Palm Coast High School
    • Higher Education
    • Imagine School
    • Indian Trails Middle
    • Matanzas High School
    • Old Kings Elementary
    • Rymfire Elementary
    • Stetson University
    • Wadsworth Elementary
    • University of Florida/Florida State
  • Economy
    • Jobs & Unemployment
    • Business & Economy
    • Development & Sprawl
    • Leisure & Tourism
    • Local Business
    • Local Media
    • Real Estate & Development
    • Taxes
  • Commentary
    • The Conversation
    • Pierre Tristam
    • Diane Roberts
    • Guest Columns
    • Byblos
    • Editor's Blog
  • Culture
    • African American Cultural Society
    • Arts in Palm Coast & Flagler
    • Books
    • City Repertory Theatre
    • Flagler Auditorium
    • Flagler Playhouse
    • Flagler Youth Orchestra
    • Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra
    • Palm Coast Arts Foundation
    • Special Events
  • Elections 2024
    • Amendments and Referendums
    • Presidential Election
    • Campaign Finance
    • City Elections
    • Congressional
    • Constitutionals
    • Courts
    • Governor
    • Polls
    • Voting Rights
  • Florida
    • Federal Politics
    • Florida History
    • Florida Legislature
    • Florida Legislature
    • Ron DeSantis
  • Health & Society
    • Flagler County Health Department
    • Ask the Doctor Column
    • Health Care
    • Health Care Business
    • Covid-19
    • Children and Families
    • Medicaid and Medicare
    • Mental Health
    • Poverty
    • Violence
  • All Else
    • Daily Briefing
    • Americana
    • Obituaries
    • News Briefs
    • Weather and Climate
    • Wildlife

Suspect Who Once Eluded SWAT Team Escapes Again and Jumps In Bunnell Water Tank

November 10, 2016 | FlaglerLive | 18 Comments

Sean Monti in his latest Flagler jail booking photo, left, and his latest state prison photo. He was released from state prison in January.
Sean Monti in his latest Flagler jail booking photo, left, and his latest state prison photo. He was released from state prison in January.

When Sean Monti isn’t in prison-he’s spent half his adult life in state prison or county jail-he’s making a habit of getting chased by police in the strangest circumstances.


Almost two years ago he managed to evade an entire SWAT team after a stand-off in Seminole Woods. Today he sent deputies chasing him from the Flagler County Courthouse all the way to the Bunnell water plant across the street-and into a relatively small water filtration tank there, inside the plant’s operational building (not in the big, visible tanks outside), where he dove in. Deputies pulled him out and added burglary and criminal mischief charges.

The Bunnell water plant—which last made news when its water levels fell, shutting down the operation in September–is a secure facility normally strictly off limits to the public. How Monti managed to get into the plant may have exposed a vulnerability.

“He climbed the fence even though it had the barbed wire at the top,” Bunnell City Manager Dan Davis said. “He was persistent, he cut himself up and I don’t know how long it took him, we’re going to have to look at that and see if our fence is tall enough.”

Once he cleared the fence, he slipped into the operations building itself, climbed up a set of stairs and dove into the eight-by-eight, 9,000-gallon tank.

“The building itself, the garage door was wide open because there was a lot of activity going on,” Davis said, with one contractor working on an air compressor and the general contractor that built the facility going through punch-list items. “So we don’t always keep the building totally locked down and shut. If there’s only one guy there and he’s the operator, then yes, but this was a time when there was a lot of work going on. So once he was able to jump over the fence he was able to run into the building.”

The water had to be drained, the tank cleaned and the water replaced at a cost of around $500, according to Monti’s arrest report.  Davis later told the sheriff’s office that decontaminating and refilling the tank would take 72,000 gallons, and cost about $1,000.

bunnell water plant
Inside the Bunnell water plant. Click on the image for larger view. (© FlaglerLive)

Monti this morning was appearing in court to plead guilty on a petit theft charge dating back to May, when he was accused of stealing money from the purse of an employee at Metro Diner in Palm Coast, where he’d worked.

Deputies had been speaking with his long-time live-in girlfriend, who told them that about two weeks ago she’d had an argument with him. Monti, she told deputies, “then grabbed her, picked her up in the air, and threw her down on the tile floor because he was mad,” according to his arrest report. The alleged victim and Monti have a 7-year-old son in common. He witnessed the incident. The alleged victim told deputies she was scared of Monti and did not call police because they share a phone and he is always with her.

Florida Hospital Flagler confirmed to a deputy that the alleged victim, who had an arm wrap around her left arm and said it was broken, had been a patient there on Nov. 8, where she’d gone for a follow-up appointment. At that point deputies found out that Monti was in court on a previous charge. When they got there, he was walking out of the first-floor elevator.

At first Monti appeared compliant when deputies asked him to turn around and put his hands behind his back. But then he tensed up, and ran out of the courthouse-through the metal-detector zone that’s usually busy with bailiffs and security personnel. A deputy chased him, ordering him to stop, but Monti kept going. Another deputy continued the foot chase while the first decided to chase with his patrol car. The deputies then located Monti inside the water plant, suggesting that Monti at least for a while had the time to persistently try to make it over the fence and the barbed wire. A water plant employee had seen him run up the metal squares to the filtration tank.

Again Monti allegedly refused to come down until deputies had to retrieve him from the water tank to arrest him on charges of aggravated battery-domestic violence, burglary, and criminal mischief. He was also facing a grand theft and obstruction charge on a separate case. Monti, 42, of 16 Emmons Lane in Palm Coast, is being held without bond at the Flagler County jail.

In early March 2015, a SWAT team had gone to a house at Squash Blossom Trail in Palm Coast with an arrest warrant for Monti: he had violated a no-contact order with his girlfriend, and violated a pre-trial release agreement. The SWAT team was necessary because of his history of fleeing. But while a neighbor and deputies spotted him briefly at some point, he got away. He was arrested three days later by the Daytona Beach Police Department. He served a six-month prison sentence.

Monty was last released from state prison in mid-January. He’s served in prison from 2010 to 2013 and from 1999 to 2007 on a long list of charges, including burglary, escape, aggravated assault, armed burglary, cocaine possession and trafficking in stolen goods.

Support FlaglerLive's End of Year Fundraiser
Thank you readers for getting us to--and past--our year-end fund-raising goal yet again. It’s a bracing way to mark our 15th year at FlaglerLive. Our donors are just a fraction of the 25,000 readers who seek us out for the best-reported, most timely, trustworthy, and independent local news site anywhere, without paywall. FlaglerLive is free. Fighting misinformation and keeping democracy in the sunshine 365/7/24 isn’t free. Take a brief moment, become a champion of fearless, enlightening journalism. Any amount helps. We’re a 501(c)(3) non-profit news organization. Donations are tax deductible.  
You may donate openly or anonymously.
We like Zeffy (no fees), but if you prefer to use PayPal, click here.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Veteran says

    November 10, 2016 at 7:54 pm

    I’ll be drinking bottled water for a while!

  2. Ray says

    November 10, 2016 at 9:59 pm

    at least he’s clean now

  3. Jim says

    November 11, 2016 at 5:43 am

    Great the city residents just drank this creeps bath water !!

  4. Karen says

    November 11, 2016 at 11:44 am

    Yes…just a shame it costs so much to decontaminate the tank after his “cleaning”.

  5. Anita says

    November 11, 2016 at 1:08 pm

    We should put his particular skill sets to good use giving ISIL in Iraq something to do besides terrorizing women and children.

  6. Capt. Morgan says

    November 11, 2016 at 1:10 pm

    So he’s a ” Full Monti ” now ?

  7. anon says

    November 11, 2016 at 1:11 pm

    stop letting turds like this guy out.

  8. CAN'T SAY says

    November 11, 2016 at 3:06 pm

    But what about our water?

  9. Karen says

    November 11, 2016 at 5:06 pm

    Can’t Say; the water was flushed from the tank and then the tank was decontaminated.

  10. Sw says

    November 11, 2016 at 5:56 pm

    Cant find right phrase for this wingnut

  11. Jim says

    November 11, 2016 at 7:05 pm

    Rub a dub dub the prisoner just got clean in the CIty of Bunnell tub !!!!

  12. Ray says

    November 11, 2016 at 10:40 pm

    Love Veterans comment

  13. Shark says

    November 12, 2016 at 10:18 am

    Must be some well trained swat team!!!!

  14. footballen says

    November 12, 2016 at 10:32 am

    Wash rinse repeat. THAT is the problem. At what point does the system realize this turd does not belong outside of prison walls?

  15. USA Lover says

    November 12, 2016 at 12:21 pm

    Ewwww!!! I hope he didn’t pee in it.

  16. Outsider says

    November 14, 2016 at 10:14 am

    Maybe we can deport him.

  17. Katie Semore says

    November 16, 2016 at 5:54 am

    This man should become a lifer and a permanent guest of the state. He is a danger to society.

  18. FLnative says

    November 18, 2016 at 4:11 pm

    He was actually in the tank that is prior to disinfectant being added. That would have been sufficient, however to make sure nothing slipped past they still drained and cleaned the tank as a precaution. I would have done that as well. He could be charged with a federal crime under terrorism laws for tampering with and hindering the water treatment process.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

  • Conner Bosch law attorneys lawyers offices palm coast flagler county
  • grand living realty
  • politis matovina attorneys for justice personal injury law auto truck accidents

Primary Sidebar

  • grand living realty
  • politis matovina attorneys for justice personal injury law auto truck accidents

Recent Comments

  • R.S. on Ethics Opinion Recommends Restricting Flagler School Board’s Lauren Ramirez’s Business Activities in Schools
  • Jack on Local Police Collaboration With ICE Undermines Public Safety
  • MELENDEZ on Answering Lawsuit, Palm Coast Accuses Mayor Norris of Frivolously Weaponizing Court Against Gambaro’s Legitimacy
  • celia pugliese on Answering Lawsuit, Palm Coast Accuses Mayor Norris of Frivolously Weaponizing Court Against Gambaro’s Legitimacy
  • PC talks on Ethics Opinion Recommends Restricting Flagler School Board’s Lauren Ramirez’s Business Activities in Schools
  • Ray W, on ICE Arrests More Than 100 in Raid of Construction Site Near FSU
  • Ed P on ICE Arrests More Than 100 in Raid of Construction Site Near FSU
  • The Green Hornet... on Ethics Opinion Recommends Restricting Flagler School Board’s Lauren Ramirez’s Business Activities in Schools
  • Skibum on ICE Arrests More Than 100 in Raid of Construction Site Near FSU
  • Billy on Answering Lawsuit, Palm Coast Accuses Mayor Norris of Frivolously Weaponizing Court Against Gambaro’s Legitimacy
  • Sherry on ICE Arrests More Than 100 in Raid of Construction Site Near FSU
  • Villein on Flagler County’s Beach-Saving Plan All But Killed by Opposition to Sales Tax Increase Despite Last-Minute Switch
  • Tim Sharp on Answering Lawsuit, Palm Coast Accuses Mayor Norris of Frivolously Weaponizing Court Against Gambaro’s Legitimacy
  • JimboXYZ on When the Government Built Beautiful Homes for the Working Class
  • Billy B on ICE Arrests More Than 100 in Raid of Construction Site Near FSU
  • James on Answering Lawsuit, Palm Coast Accuses Mayor Norris of Frivolously Weaponizing Court Against Gambaro’s Legitimacy

Log in