A 15-year-old resident of Palm Coast’s Seminole Woods faces a half dozen charges, among them illegal possession of firearms by a delinquent and grand theft of a firearm, after his grandfather found what amounted to a small arsenal in the teen’s bedroom, and deputies found more weaponry in the car he was driving around Palm Coast Wednesday.
Wednesday evening, a 61-year-old resident of Seven Wonders Trail in Palm Coast called the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office to report finding firearms in his own grandson’s bedroom: a 9mm semi-automatic Tec-DC9 pistol, a .223 rifle, and 193 rounds of ammunition. The grandson, a 15-year-old boy (TC), was not at the house at the time.
The grandfather was prompted to look in the room earlier when his grandson was there, and when he heard “the sound of a wall being bumped and a crackling noise” coming from the bedroom. Soon after that, TC and a friend left, TC telling his grandfather that he was going to meet a girl and would return later.
The grandfather had had issues with his grandson before, such as holes being punched in the wall. So he looks in there every couple of weeks to check for damages–and to check for drugs. He went to the bedroom to investigate, opened a closet door and spotted a rifle case on a top shelf, and an “extremely heavy bag” on top of the case (as it was described in TC’s arrest report). He then called the sheriff’s office and placed the weapons on the dining room table.
The boy’s mother arrived at the scene when deputies were at the house. By then the boy’s grandfather had given permission for deputies to conduct their own search. They located a Ruger 9mm magazine under the mattress, a water bong that appeared to have hashish oil residue, THC oil, and various paraphernalia. The search also produced four magazines for the rifle, two of them empty, one of them with 490 rounds and another with five rounds.
The arrest report notes that “investigative techniques” determined that TC was in a Nissan Altima that an automatic license-plate reader detected traveling east on Palm Coast Parkway, and–after TC’s mother urged him by phone to return home–he was pulled over along Underwood Trail. TC was with a woman in the car, a rental TC’s mother had rented.
TC’s mother consented to having the car searched. The search produced a Ruger 9mm pistol under the front seat, with a magazine containing 10 rounds, two digital weighing scales, and “Dank Vapes: THC oil cartridges.
All the firearms deputies recovered, both at the house and in the car, had been reported stolen. TC agreed to speak with deputies, but that part of his arrest report is blacked out, as is usually the case with self-incriminating statements.
TC has previously been adjudicated a “delinquent” by the juvenile justice system, his arrest report states, having been arrested for grand theft auto and leaving the scene of an accident with property damage.
“This young man is on a fast track to serious trouble,” Sheriff Rick Staly was quoted as saying in a release issued this morning. “I’m thankful that his grandfather called us and alerted us to the firearms inside his bedroom. On top of that, there was another firearm with him inside the vehicle. It is very concerning that a 15-year-old had access to such an arsenal of weapons including some that were stolen. It makes you wonder what he was planning. I hope the juvenile court system deals swiftly and takes these offenses seriously before he ends up a career criminal and in prison, or hurts or kills someone.”
The 15-year-old was taken into custody and charged with two counts of Possession of a Firearm by a Delinquent, one count of Possession of Ammunition by a Delinquent, Grand Theft of a Firearm, Possession of Hashish, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, and No Valid Driver’s License. He was turned over to the juvenile justice system in Daytona Beach.
Algernon says
Can a 15 year old even obtain a “valid drivers license”?
Jim Seguine says
Scares me to think this person could set foot on a Flagler school campus next year.
I Can See says
I can see him being out of jail before the weekend, free on no bond, found guilty of almost nothing.
Then in and out of the system a few times, always released with almost no penalty.
Then eventually kills someone or ends up being killed himself.
Thomas Conrad says
His grandpa made a tough decision- the right decision.
I hope the Judge doesn’t go easy on the punk
ASF says
Wait a minute…This 15 year old was driving a car? Look for whatever gang he is involved with. He;s small potatoes–There is something bigger ad even more dangerous at play here.
Mickeyt says
No surpised, palm coast just keeps expanding to included all the bad eggs.
hawkeye says
apparently he didnt pay attention to all the gun laws and driving laws that the rest of us have to abide by
Trailer Bob says
Just incredible. As others have said on the prior post…how can he legally drive a car at 15? I notice the same patterns here in this county though…small bail amounts, short incarceration times, repeat offenders. This wannabe gangster will NOT learn to change with a slap on the back. The sheriffs seem to do their part of the job pretty damn well, it is the court system that needs to change. Vote them all out and put in some judges that understand that their duty is not to the criminal, but rather to the public and their security.
Dave says
That rough tho, being snitched on by your own family!? Not sure many people would be willing to do all that to their own family.
Mary Fusco says
Dave, someone should have snitched on him a long time ago, or parented him. He is a juvenile delinquent and is a danger to himself and those around him. How did he have access to a car that his mother rented and is responsible for? Seems that the grandfather is the only sane person in this dysfunctional family.
can'tfoolme says
@ Dave: If the family cares about him, they would “snitch”. It’s called intervention or TOUGH LOVE.
Dan Roz says
This person has it right. The influence this young individual had from another outside source is where this needs to go to find the reason a 15 year old would go to the extent to stick his neck out and risk ruining his life and future to be hiding guns. This was to impress some one else and to belong to a group or a club. These young kids know what’s going on and how bad what he was doing was. What ever the reward was was again to prove and to impress an older person who was using this kid and programming him which these days is called grooming…
DS says
The problem is our dysfunctional society. We place much; stress, responsibilities and laws that kids can’t be kids. Then we have laws to make responsible parenting almost impossible. Believe me I know I have a 12 year at home now. Thank God he is not involved with anything like this. Yes at this point and earlier kids like this need to go to jail. But his mother should as well for renting a 15 year old kid with a record a car. Maybe if his parents or grandfather had some form of discipline such as legally whipping his back side and forcing him to stay home he would never have gotten into this type of trouble.
ron says
To the granpa- you have made a heartbreaking but needed call- People who disagree- This grandpa could be saving his grandsons life.