Phillip Haire, the 19-year-old who’s accused of twice driving by his own house on Palm Coast’s London Drive Monday afternoon and twice firing a gun in the direction of his own parents and a Flagler County Sheriff’s deputy, turned himself in late Tuesday night at the Putnam County jail.
Haire was either heeding pleas by his mother, Jeneen Haire, to turn himself in, or buckling from pressure police agencies in three counties were exerting on him and associates, at least one of whom–Derek Hall, who was arrested with Haire in 2016 over a shooting on Belle Terre–was arrested in Putnam as a result of the 30-hour manhunt, and possibly a second in Flagler.
Haire turned himself in at 9:25 Tuesday evening, Sheriff Rick Staly, clearly relieved, said in a hastily called news conference in front of the Sheriff’s Operations Center in Bunnell tonight.
“Thankfully no one was hurt in this incident, but we have a very serious felon now in custody, and the community can rest that he’s no longer out there and a danger to anyone in many counties,” Staly said. “I have talked to Sgt. Reynolds to let him know that the suspect is in custody, and he and his wife are much relieved in that.”
Sgt. Phil Reynolds was the sheriff’s supervisor who’d responded to 11 London Drive, where Haire had previously lived, and where his parents and family have lived for over 10 years, after his mother called 911 for help, fearing that he was going to commit harmful acts. Reynolds was conducting his investigation at the house when Haire drove by and fired his gun, then drove by again and fired again. Staly said at one point Haire’s father went into the house, retrieved a gun, and fired some shots at his son as he drove off. Reynolds then disarmed the father.
Earlier in the afternoon, his mother in an an interview pleaded for him to turn himself in and said: “I don’t want my child to be shot dead, I want my child to get help.” She said her son was suffering from mental issues since himself getting shot in the stomach in a confrontation two years ago near the house.
Staly, however, doesn’t buy the mental-illness matter–only that Haire has been at the center of more than three dozen police calls to the London Drive house in the last few years, and that he made the decision, the Sheriff said, to twice shoot at a sheriff’s deputy.
“I think the help that he needs is the Florida state prison system, and that’s where he belongs,” the sheriff said. “He made decisions in this case to go to his family’s house and shoot it up with a marked police car in front, and a uniformed sheriff’s sergeant there. He drove by the house, shot it up once, made a U-turn, drove back and shot it up again, all within a matter of seconds. To me, and I’m not the attorney and I’m not a mental health counselor, but that certainly shows intent, and I would suspect that would show right from wrong, but that’s up to the State Attorney and the legal people to determine that.”
Staly said that anyone who points a gun at a sheriff’s deputy will “probably get shot,” so his deputies were prepared to handle Haire, who had “already demonstrated to take deadly force” against police, to use force if necessary.
Dispatch notes indicate that Jeneene Haire had called for a deputy at 1:40 p.m., saying Phillip was calling and threatening family members. A deputy responded at 2:29 p.m., according to the dispatch notes, and was told that Phillip wanted to fight his step-dad, as the two had not gotten along for a long time. “Jeneen just wanted to make LEO aware of the incident and also had questions on how to obtain a no-contact order,” the deputy reported. The shooting took place about two and a half hours later, when Reynolds was at the house, following up on the other deputy’s investigation.
Immediately after the shooting, Haire drove off, but soon crashed the vehicle he was driving–a 2006 Pontiac Grand Prix (with 2017 plates) his mother said was borrowed from a friend–on U.S. 1. Palm Coast resident Samuel S. Nutter was driving by. He stopped, as the Grand Prix was blocking both travel lanes. Haire approached him, firearm in hand–according to a sheriff’s incident report–told Nutter he needed his keys and his car and didn’t want to have to shoot him. Haire took the 2013 Ford Fiesta, made a U-turn in the median and drove on north.
“While he didn’t shoot at me, indirectly he shot at me, because that’s one of my deputies.”
The sheriff said the broader investigation was not over, and that he was considering it part of a larger case connected to drugs and gangs. There were few details about that, however, other than reference to an arrest from a fugitive from St. Johns County who may or may not be related to the Haire case. (“We had reason to stop a vehicle that resulted in this arrest,” the sheriff said.)
Tuesday evening though, Staly was grateful the incident had not escalated further.
“I’ve got a sergeant and his wife that, the sergeant just by the grace of God went home yesterday,” he said. “It could have been completely different. We could have been planning a funeral right now instead. So this is a critical incident, it’s a high-profile incident, but our agency performed very well. Our communications center, dispatchers, handled this emergency yesterday when the sergeant called emergency, I need help, shots fired, and at that point they did not know if they sergeant had been struck or not. So that’s very tough and traumatic on the dispatchers, because they’re in a building wondering if he’s OK, and if they’re going to go home. So we had some counseling available today for our dispatchers and the employees involved, just in case they felt that they needed it.”
Staly said he guaranteed Haire’s safety. “I have very professional deputy sheriffs that work our jail,” he said. And so I have no concern about his safety in our jail.”
On a more personal note, Staly reflected about why he took the incident personally, as he had himself been shot in the line of duty early in his career, in 1978. “No flashbacks, but I know the risk out there, I understand the risk, and because I’m the sheriff and I can’t answer every call, I have deputy sheriffs to support, myself and the community. So they are legally my alter ego. So while he didn’t shoot at me, indirectly he shot at me, because that’s one of my deputies.”
Resident says
Good riddance. 3 dozen police involved incidents at that house?!?!?
That is completely insane.
Dee K Griggs says
Between this man shooting at his house and the Gore ‘s family tragedy. I believe it is time for Flagler County or if it is a Fl law , for the laws to be changed, and parents not be forced to take out ejection or eviction papers and go through that process when there is problems with adult children living in the house , whether they have never moved out or parents were kind enough to allow them to return during a time of need to, and things not work out. For family to have to go through a legal process to have family move out is a difficult and often financial strain. If asking someone to move out of your home, one call to police for situational problems that won’t inprove, and they are seeking police to intervene in their part to have the adult family member move out that is not on a rental lease or mortgage note, should be enough. Especially when the person asked to leave contributes nothing financially or any other way, and bankrupt the emotional status of the home.
I am glad this Phillip turned himself in, that the manhunt is over, that he did not have to force law officials into taking his life, and that whatever firearms he had is no longer in his possession and I hope the firearm was also turned in.
Congratulations once again to Flagler County Sherrifs Department.
Pj says
Oh please! Mental illness?
Wants to fight his step-father, shoots at a deputy once and the drives away makes a uturn, then shoots again at the deputy then flees? The situation is so bad that the step-father goes to get a gun to defend himself. If front of a deputy no less. What colossal bullshit…please move out of the L section!
Tired of it says
So glad the thug is off the streets. Now lets hope the weak judges give him a long, long sentence.
Realist says
I originally did not support Sheriff Staly when he ran but I am certainly very proud of him . I realize he is a true professional and glad he won. I think Flagler county is better for his election and will support him if he runs for another term.
Lazaruis says
Glad he turned himself in .
One less gunman on the streets
To all officers
Thank You for your service
Proud To Be American says
Thank you to all our men and women in blue for your relentless effort in getting this dirtbag off the street. This POS shot at his parents and an outstanding man a Sergeant from our own FCSO. Theres no excuse here, hes lucky it ended peacefully. For those of you cupcakes who dare criticize Sheriff Staly, Shame on you. Sheriff Staly unfortunately knows first hand what its like to be shot in the line of duty. Hes not a pencil pusher, he gets out there and has his officers backs. As do I. Wake up America the worlds not all ferries and rainbows.
Outlaw to in an Inmate says
Haire’s mother is distraught like many mothers would be. But I strongly disagree that him being shot has contributed to his mental issues. Long before that he was spiraling out of control, terrorizing the neighborhood along with his young adult friends who took their cue from him. All of YOU adults close to that family in one way or another who continue to make excuses in behalf of that monster shame on you. I don’t care if your kid grew up with him or not. If you listen to the 911 call it basically exposes that HIS family had their limit. His past victims as well as those of us in the neighborhood had already had our limit; of being threatened, observing drug deals, gunshots at night, Philip throwing temper tantrums in the middle of the street and so on. Some of us complained on and off the record to law enforcement to no avail. This isn’t about section 8 and race; to my knowledge Philip Haire Sr. isn’t even black. This should be about catching a problem early and if someone needs mental help especially at an early age letting them hustle and smoke out of your garage, while you polish the rims on your drop top and dodge charger ain’t helping. Dude should have been in court ordered “SOMETHING”. If a driver’s license is suspended or if a person doesn’t pay child support its instant jail. But for some reason a repeated drug dealing violent offender can constantly beat his charges until finally he and his father turn the street into the OK corral with a handicap mother and cop in the middle. Thank you to all those the adults who didn’t cooperate when the police were investigating Haire’s shooting in the first place when asked to assist. Maybe this could have all been headed off back then.
Brian says
This is a great resolution to this manhunt in that no law enforcement officers or citizens were hurt or killed. Sheriff Staly hit the nail on the head – “I think the help he needs is in the Florida state prison system, and that’s where he belongs.” 25 to life sounds about right…good riddance!
The Geode says
I was kinda hoping he “resist arrest”. Then again, THIS is the type of garbage people will get up in arms and march for…
GT says
If the DA put him in jail last year when he was shooting up the city we wouldn’t be dealing with this mess.
BlueJammers says
Thank you, FlaglerLive, for excellent coverage of this sorrowful incident.
Just the truth says
This guy is lucky he wasn’t shot and killed, which if that had happened he brought it on himself. Mental illness, NOT how about just a bad rotten egg, that needs to be in prison and never again allowed to walk the streets as a free person.
W.Ryan says
Having this kid off the streets and possibly being put away for a long time is the best news I’ve heard in weeks. The funny thing is how I feel to how this story and the comments here on Flaglerlive unfold. Surely it is possible that there is an underlining story that this kid is mentally unstable. His actions alone proves that. He must be mad. But as it goes this kid is an animal or subhuman that compassion and concern for the mental angle is put aside by Staly. Mental illness is prevalent in the African American community. My mind would change if he got the same treatment as Dylann Roof and I’m not just talking about buying him a sandwich.
John F. Pollinger says
Outstanding resolution to a dangerous situation that could have ended much differently. Kudos to the Sheriff, the agency and the investigative techniques used. He realized there was no other alternative than to surrender himself.
Freddy says
A little shit off the streets.
Sw says
Bye bye idiot
Mark says
Don’t worry, the “little shit” will be freed by our great Palm Coast legal system after they slap him on the wrist.
Mark says
@Brian
He isn’t in prison yet. Just in the local lockup.
Matanzas Resident says
As a resident of Matanzas, I have to wonder why this home was not under surveilance. You could see the drug dealing going on all hours of the day. I stopped leaving the subdivision via that route for fear of something happening. After reading this, it could very well have happened. What do they say to us, if you see something, say something. I wonder how many neighbors who live on that block called and complained. We need a real good drug/gang task force in this city. This guy should have been on the radar and locked up way before this happened.
lenamarshall says
We all know why this house was under surveillance; too bad at one time Phillip was a good kid !
lenamarshall says
Mark,the court case will take six months
Dave says
I’m glad this guy turned himself in, now that the smoke had cleared I bet the sheriff wishes he would have acted with a cooler head, can’t have copes out there loosing there cool and showing emotion
anomynous says
I too chose to NEVER take the route home that would take me driving past this house. Instead I’d go down to Londonderry to get home. That is sad..
The residents in the L section are sick of these punks. We live in Palm Coast, not Brooklyn, Chicago or Detroit. The gangs in this town have not only taken over our town but also our kids.
We do call the police. But it takes the 15 mins just to get here. Often these parents defend their kids.
We’ve had:
shootings
Swat teams
home robberies
car break ins
graffiti
fires set in our woods next to our homes
threats
vulgar name calling to adults by these punks
trespassing.
Not to mention the threats to the good kids by these punks/bullies/wannabe gangsters.
We need transparency, we need to be warned by FSCO when there is an incident. .Half the time the incidents are not even reported by the news.
ENOUGH. IF FSCO can’t handle the ongoing threats then maybe it’s time to get our own police force. It’s time people.
anonymous says
btw I do appreciate Staly’s handling of this entire matter & that the officer is ok.
I just think what they’re doing or not doing, is not enough. It’s out of control. It was before Staly even took office.
Mark101 says
Now if our courts can put him where he belongs and that is NOT back on the streets. Do the right thing Courts, lock him up.
Sad says
It’s sad that all the racist come out to post on this article but none of those racist show up for the old white man who executed his son. Good men don’t execute their children. Being white doesn’t make you a good person either. Sorry to bring you ignorant people back to reality.
The Geode says
Like an idiot, I went back and read all the comments looking for ONE that mentions “race”. Surprisingly, there were NONE. As a black man, I won’t deny racism, systematic or otherwise. However, I get SO FUCKING TIRED of people crying the proverbial “race wolf”.
FUCK Phillip Haire. He was/is a menace and needs to be segregated from society. …just like that guy who shot his son REGARDLESS OF RACE
W.Ryan says
@ The Geode says: Thank you Clarence for your sharp observation. Uncle Rufus would be proud of your statement!
The Geode says
Why? Because I don’t subscribe to the “just because he’s Black – I must stand in defense no matter what”, mantra? Or, because I had the audacity to say I didn’t see any RACISM where none existed? You are the type who must castigate someone whose opinion doesn’t fit YOUR narrative and feel compelled to hurl insults rather than bother with cognitive thinking. Besides, I’ve been called worse by better people…