It all began with what was supposed to be a routine check of a probationer in Palm Coast’s E Section.
Late Tuesday afternoon, the Flagler County Sheriff’s Safe Neighborhood Unit was preparing to conduct the check at the probationer’s home when a detective got a report that a green Ford Fusion that had been reported stolen was possibly in the driveway of the house deputies were about to visit.
A deputy actually spotted the Ford at a red light on Easthampton drive. It had been stolen from Volusia County. The Ford made a left turn and traveled north on Belle Terre Parkway. Deputy Joseph Barile was in pursuit, but when he activated his emergency lights, the Ford accelerated “and swerved in the grassy median and returned to the roadway almost striking the front of my vehicle,” Barile reported.
“I then activated my emergency siren in attempt to get the vehicle to stop. The vehicle did not stop and continued to accelerate, appearing to flee from law enforcement. The vehicle continued to flee through the intersection of Royal Palms Parkway. At that time I began to distance myself from the vehicle due to the reckless behavior. I then observed the vehicle travel off the east side of the road and travel on the sidewalk of Belle Terre Parkway. At that time for the safety of the public, the pursuit was terminated and all units involved terminated their lights and sirens in the area of Rymfire Drive.”
It is common practice among sheriff’s deputies to put prudence ahead of pursuits when there is a danger of harming bystanders.
As Barile continued north, he saw the Fusion appearing to be spinning in the median then against traffic on Belle Terre, near Ponce De Leon Drive. The vehicle then crashed. Several individuals fled from it, running north on the west side of Belle Terre Parkway, then west into the woods. Barile started pursuing them on foot.
“After a short distance in the woods, I observed a male near a wooden fence with his back to me,” the deputy reported. “I then drew my department issued Glock 22C to a low ready position and ordered the subject to show me his hands. The subject then turned around and was holding a young female juvenile in his arms. Due to prior incidents, I was able to immediately identify the male as [redacted]. I advised [him] to put the child down and keep his hands where I can see them. He complied with my orders and he was placed in custody.”
The child was later determined to be the suspect’s younger sister. She told police that she was on his lap the entire time the vehicle was fleeing, and he carried her into the woods while he was fleeing on foot. He advised at one point that he dropped her in the woods and thorns pricked her causing her to cry.
The girl was just 2 years old.
The other suspects Barile had spotted were still at large. A perimeter was established and K-9 units brought in. In the area of Rae Drive, a witness told police that he observed three black males fleeing on foot. He pointed the direction. K-9s tracked behind 63 Raleigh Drive, where they located one of the suspects, Kelvin Parks, 18, who was hiding inside a screened-in porch enclosure. The two other suspects—juveniles whose names were not released because of their age—were also found.
The residence was vacant and did not belong to any of the suspects. The three suspects were detained.
A search of the Ford revealed a clear plastic baggy of marijuana weighing 15 grams. It was wedged between the driver’s seat and the door. A Springfield 9mm handgun was also recovered from the back seat. The gun had been stolen from a vehicle on November 11, 2013, from 42 Rycliffe Drive in Palm Coast.
A girl was located still inside the Ford. She had not fled. She had to be extracted by firefighters. Once extracted, she was taken to Florida Hospital Flagler, but with no visible injuries.
A detective interviewed her at the hospital, where she said she’d asked the driver to let her out once the pursuit began but he refused. That was why she had not fled, she told police. All other suspects were taken to the Investigative Services Division for a recorded interview.
A.S.F. says
WHERE THE H*LL ARE THE PARENTS??? One of the juvenile suspects had his 2 year old sister in his company when he fled? CALL SOCIAL SERVICES RIGHT NOW!!!
PCer says
apples and trees
Florida Native. says
The wild west is getting even wilder. We need Wyatt Earp.
Shaquandaesha says
The parents? C’mon man!!! Mama be workin and baby daddy probably unknown
Red says
I am so glad I moved out of the R section. That area is being over run with degenerates! I have 2 sons, one went to Flagler and the other to Rymfire and both were constantly coming home with horror stories about the kids in their schools that live on that end of Palm Coast. We have since moved to a total different area with much better schools. No thug acting elementary school and High school kids. I wish these criminal oriented families would move!! It starts with the parents….if the kids are behaving this way so are the parents! Move Please!!
working man says
Section 8, this is the problem when the government is paying your rent you can live almost anywhere if we didn’t allow section 8 housing in our town the these people could not afford to live here they would have to move back to holly hill or daytona.
Charles "Bub" Robson says
What ya gona do when they come for you, bad boy.
The Truth says
I drove through this mess yesterday afternoon. I must say that our FCSO had a good handle on everything. I don’t think people realize how good of a job they do each and every day.
The scene was a mess – a few cars banged up on the side, an officer holding a baby, others standing on the side and the young man who’s picture is in this article was getting arrested and crying on the sidewalk. I also saw officers running into the wooded area to catch any other suspects that had ran.
I realize when you read things like this you get a bad vibe about our community, but I think we need to understand and appreciate our law enforcement and sites like FlaglerLive for getting us the information as quickly as we do. Many cities don’t have anything like FlaglerLive and don’t ever hear about these things except through word of mouth. Palm Coast is still a great city but it is not without it’s flaws, just like any other city in America.
Steve Wolfe says
I have to say, great job by FC Deputies again. I can’t thank them enough for the concern they have for our safety, and for capturing people who go out of their way to steal from others, and have no regard for the safety of the public, or even their own flesh and blood. I hope this little hood goes away for a long time.
Joey Paparazzi says
…as long as they don’t borrow my electric meter.
Newcomer says
I recently moved from Miami to get away from garbage like this…Lo and behold, it’s apparently following me. Although its not nearly as bad here as Miami and I hope it will never be, it’s the same old story;
juveniles with too much time on their hands, little supervision, and less education. Does one have to move to the middle of the country for some peace?
A.S.F. says
…You mean, that same middle of the country that has spawned recent news stories about football player gang rapes and school shootings? Youth violence is a problem all over this country..and unfortunately, these troubled kids seem to have little difficulty getting a hold of drugs, alcohol and weapons.
Mike says
We moved up from Miami 4 months ago too.
This is not nearly as bad. Miami is a complete and utter dump.
Here it seems only P and R sections are bad.
fruitcake says
New York City south…
m&m says
A.S.F. They were home schooled..
RHWeir says
It’s a short trip up I-95 or US1 from Volusia County. People of very limited means and some having very bad habits are making the trip up for the cheap rents. One way to handle this problem and many others is to simply limit the number of rentals allowed in an area.
Anonymous says
It’s not just limiting rentals that is necessary. Many hard working people are excellent tenants and take pride in the community. What needs to be limited, if not completely eliminated, is allowing Section 8 tenants who have no personal investment in the homes or comminity they live in since working taxpayers pay their rent. I don’t think the city should allow so many landlords to accept section 8 tenants in Palm Coast and homeowners who want to rent their homes should have to file a formal application similar to a zoning variance so that neighbors are notified and can formally object to it.
A.S.F. says
The Palm Coast Observer noted that the above-mentioned suspect was being held on $3,000 bond. How do the courts come up with these ridiculously low figures? Any kid with gang connections could easily bail out on that amount. And to a drug dealer, that’s chump change.
Mike says
Want to be Gangsters, I would beat my son if he ever acted in any unrepectful manor, period
Paul Anderson says
How do children do this to themselves and their parents? Now they are criminals for life.
Genie says
I can’t take my eyes of the picture of Kelvin Parks. He’s a baby. How in the world would he think it’s ok to steal a car? Somebody explain that to me, please.
Bob says
Baby? Come on. That is half the problem. These kids act as adults, and when caught, are coddled by the parents and the system. They are young adults, and time to grow up. Babies wear diapers, these kids need to face reality, do the crime, your doing the time, no hand slaps. It was their choice!
Lefty Wilbury says
The R-section, home to purple and Pepto Bismol-colored automobiles
with low profile tires with spinner rims.
Rymfire Drive should be renamed Gunfire Drive.
ryan says
Let’s not blame the parents and relieve these troublemakers of any blame. By blaming the parents these kids won’t feel the consequences. they are little thugs that knew exactly what they were doing. I can’t believe this kid had his 2 year old little sister in the car who could have been killed in the crash or injured for life. Also, we don’t need anyone jumping to the defense of Palm Coast, which is what makes journalists less hesitant to report on crime because angry citizens email in that it ruins the image of the city, when the criminals do that and no one else. Good job Flagler Live and good job FCSO.
wake up says
bad things happen everywhere! The police here shut it down. Great job!! NOW PLEASE get them off the streets!
Unknown says
I am not defending the teens involved with this or any other teens or juvinalles that have caused trouble in the past or that will in the future but I will say that alot of kids get in trouble here in palm coast is that there is NOTHING in the county for kids to do that doesnt cost them an arm and a leg…..Yes we have parks but there all beat down and crappy if i must say. But then what else is there movies, bowling that cost you an arm and a leg… other then that what else is there? Kids cant go and hang out at stores with out getting bothered for soliciting or concern there going to rob the place. Are society has made it that all kids are going to do something bad even if there not. I remeber when i was riding my bike home from school and rode my bike through the target plaza and got pulled over when i was exiting the plaza and was send i was accused of stealing…. I only rode my bike through the plaza i didnt even stop. And blaming the parents? Come on alot of the times its not the parents but the social media and T.V. and all the negative crap the entertainment world is putting but ooo no were bad and stupid people to blame the goverment or the entertainment world no dont do that there the ones bringing all the money so no we dont want to down grade the lets just put it all on the parents and not on the kids causing the problems or the other negative things in this world nope its all the parents faults.
Genie says
@ Unknown: Good comments. My only question is why is it up to the city/county to entertain our kids? Nobody entertained me when I was growing up and believe me, the situation was the same then. You have a bicycle. Ever thought of going to the miles of beautiful beaches around here? How about many miles of bike trails?
Anybody “hanging out” in any store is going to be thought of as suspicious. You go, make your purchase and then move on.
Nobody said growing up is going to be easy. But now this kid is going to prison and his life is ruined. And he could have gotten his baby sister killed in the process.
Was it worth it?
A.S.F. says
@Genie says–Good points! On the other hand, I feel sorry for kids who don’t seem to see that it is worth their while to explore other avenues to a brighter future. We should be teaching our kids that delayed gratification is not only possible, but may be their only way out of a seemingly dead-end existence. We should all be doing everything we can to promote education, sports, community service, and a sense of satisfaction, self-esteem and belonging that doesn’t involve gangs, unprotected/indiscriminate sexual activity and/or abuse of drugs and alcohol. And, yes, it should start with the parents. When parents try and it isn’t enough, maybe we, as a community, can do more to try to “fill in the blanks.”
Michael Van Buren says
As a 26 year Deputy serving the citizens of Flagler County, I have to say that I genuinely appreciate those that have given positive comments to the men and women that serve on the front lines at the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office recently. These men and women risk their very lives every day and deal with so much stress and negativity than most of society even wants to think about. Palm Coast, (Just like the rest of the County) is seeing a dramatic increase in this kind of total disregard for the laws that keep us a civilized society.
To Joey Paparazzi, “That was a cheep shot that was uncalled for.” Walk a mile in someone’s shoes and then maybe, just maybe you will be qualified to comment.
As for me, I rarely ever comment on Flagler Live, and quite frankly don’t usually even check it unless I want to find out about a very recent event that has not been reported on traditional media outlets. (Kudos to flagler live on that one!)
I do feel the need to speak up about one thing, and that is the fact that we have very low bond amounts in Flagler County. if you were to get arrested in St Johns County you would probably expect to post 2 to 3 times (If not more) the amount of money for bond. Our judicial system needs to realize that we are not in Disney World, and it is time to catch up with the rest of the state. By doing so, not only will we have a better chance of people showing up to answer the charges levied agInst them, we might just be able to keep these violent and dangerous offenders off the streets.
This is my personal opinion and no way reflects the opinion or comments of the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office.
Steve Wolfe says
Any way I can get a ride along? I appreciate law enforcement, and want to learn more about what you guys do every day.
Michael Van Buren says
Steve,
Yes we do. Stop by our office in Bunnell or Palm Coast and ask for a ride along waiver. You will need to complete the form and provide ID. After a background check is done your ride along will be scheduled.
I would also recommend signing up for our next citizen’s academy if you want to see all the different parts that make up the agency. Contact Commander Weber for more information.