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Cops/Courts

Palm Coast Man Killed in Crash After Girlfriend Reported His Voyeuristic Video of Her 10-Year-Old Daughter

May 24, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 16 Comments

The crash took place after Miguel Moreno, 36, of Palm Coast, struck stop sticks at the intersection of U.S. 1 and Shores Drive in St. Johns County. (Google)

Palm Coast’s Miguel Antonio Moreno, 36, was fleeing cops Thursday evening after his girlfriend had reported finding a voyeuristic video he had taken of her 10-year-old daughter. His vehicle crashed after striking stop sticks on U.S. 1, ejecting Moreno. He died at the scene.

Previously Disgraced Scott DuPont, Running Again for Judge, Offers Orwellian Explanation of His Bar Suspension

May 24, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 3 Comments

Scott DuPont during his electoral run in 2016. (© FlaglerLive)

Former Circuit Judge Scott DuPont, who served in Flagler County and who is running against Judge Rose Marie Preddy, argues that while he was suspended from the Florida Bar as a result of inappropriate and scandalous conduct on and off the bench, he was still a member of the Bar during that suspension, therefore should still be eligible to run. Preddy’s lawyer argues the Florida Constitution says otherwise.

Sheriff Launches New Marine Unit Boat in Time for Memorial Day Weekend Patrols

May 24, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 5 Comments

sheriff's water patrol

The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office received a grant from Florida Inland Navigation District (FIND) to fund a new patrol boat which will allow for enhanced patrol along the intracoastal waterway, marine search and rescue efforts, law enforcement operations, crime prevention and boater safety and education along the intercoastal waterway and saltwater canals.

Flagler Sheriff’s Deputies Rescue 1-Year-Old Child Locked in Car for 8 to 10 Minutes

May 21, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 2 Comments

The vehicle after the sheriff's deputy smashed the rear window. (FCSO)

On the afternoon of Monday, May 20, Flagler County Sheriff’s Office (FCSO) deputies rescued a 1-year-old child that was locked inside a vehicle with the engine off and all windows closed.

‘No Credible Threat to Flagler Schools’ as String of Menaces Take Toll on Students, Parents and Faculty

May 21, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 2 Comments

Lashakia Moore

Flagler Schools Superintendent LaShakia Moore said today that while the series of phoned-in threats to district schools has taken a toll on students, faculty and parents, none were credible, and she would not give the caller the satisfaction of cancelling events. The district’s crisis-intervention teams have been spending time in schools.

Federal Appeals Court Will Decide Whether Florida Ban on Strippers Younger Than 21 Is Constitutional

May 20, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 7 Comments

constitutionality dancing

A panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is scheduled to hear arguments June 6 in Jacksonville about whether a city ordinance barring dancers under 21 in adult establishments violates First Amendment rights.

Flagler Sheriff’s SWAT Snipers in Top 10 at National Competition

May 20, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 1 Comment

The team. (FCSO)

The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office (FCSO) SWAT sniper team placed ninth out of 45 teams at the annual Snipercraft Challenge. This is the third year in a row that FCSO’s SWAT snipers have placed in the top 10.

‘It’s Not a Big Deal,’ Cop’s Son Said After Hit-and-Run That Left a Woman Dead. Court Denies Permission to Drive.

May 20, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 19 Comments

Jayden Ikaika Jackson.

Circuit Judge Terence Perkins denied a motion to allow Jayden Jackson, 21, to drive while on bond after hearing the prosecution describe the alleged callousness with which Jackson reacted when the car he drove collided with and killed Shaunta Cain on U.S. 1 in late 2022. Jackson allegedly told his passenger that he would not get in trouble.

13 Year Old Arrested in Daytona Beach in Copycat ‘Dare’ to Blow Up Buddy Taylor Middle School

May 17, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 8 Comments

Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly with Superintendent LaShakia Moore at this evening's press conference. (© FlaglerLive)

A 13-year-old adolescent was arrested by Daytona Beach police today and charged with making one call threatening to blow up Buddy Taylor Middle School in late morning today. Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly said the threat is believed to be a copycat following a week of similar calls threatening to shoot up Flagler County schools, shoot cops who’d respond to the threats or detonate bombs.

Bunnell Police’s Shane Groth, Chief’s ‘Right-Hand Man,’ Is Promoted to Lieutenant

May 17, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 3 Comments

7-year-old Sydnee Groth, Shane Groth's niece, pinned the Lieutenant's insignia on her uncle at a ceremony before the Bunnell City Commission on May 13. (© FlaglerLive)

In Bunnell, any change in a police department of 14 uniformed officers radiates disproportionately on a small town of 3,500, as did the promotion of Shane Groth to lieutenant–essentially, second in command–in a pinning ceremony before the City Commission earlier this week.

Emergency Order Will Criminalize Walking on Dunes in Flagler County; Flagler Beach’s Experience: Education Works

May 16, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 16 Comments

Flagler Beach has done a good job of keeping people off its dunes, Flagler County Attorney Al Hadeed says, but the northern part of the county needs more enforcement. (© FlaglerLive)

The Flagler County Commission on Monday is expected to approve an emergency order that criminalizes walking on dunes anywhere along the county’s 18 miles of shoreline. The penalty may be a $500 fine and 60 days in jail. The order reflects several pulses of urgency as dunes are being rebuilt with fragile vegetation taking root, and as erosion continues its relentless work. Flagler Beach criminalized walking on dunes years ago, but has never arrested anyone for it: education is key, its police chief says.

Baffled and Rattled, Flagler Community, Schools and Cops Grapple with Response to Bogus ‘Swatting’ Disruptions

May 16, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 4 Comments

Sheriff Rick Staly with Superintendent LaShakia Moore and School Board Chair Will Furry during a press conference this afternoon. (© FlaglerLive)

There are no arrests, no serious leads, no understandable motives behind the spate of “swatting” calls that have disrupted classes and activities at several schools in Flagler County over the last three days, caused immeasurable anxiety among students, faculty and parents, and caused law enforcement and other responders to expend untold work-hours and other resources. 

Lawyers for Judge Rose Marie Preddy File for Final Judgment Against Scott DuPont’s Qualification to Run

May 16, 2024 | FlaglerLive | Leave a Comment

Circuit Judge Rose Marie Preddy. (© FlaglerLive)

Lawyers for Circuit Judge Rose Marie Preddy, who sits in Putnam County, have filed a motion for a final judgment against Scott DuPont’s qualification to run again for judgeship as he is attempting to do against Preddy in this year’s election. DuPont was booted off the bench in 2018 and suspended from practicing law in 2019 after he was found to have acted with egregious misconduct during his 2016 re-election run and on several occasions in court, as a sitting judge in Flagler County or Putnam Counties.

Buddy Taylor Middle School Targeted by Suspicious Call for 2nd Day in a Row as Students and Buses Are Turned Away

May 15, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 22 Comments

The Flagler County Sheriff's Office's stepped up presence at Buddy Taylor Middle School this morning, where students were being turned away. (© FlaglerLive)

For the second day in a row, Buddy Taylor Middle School is the target of a suspicious called-in threat that’s resulted in a lockdown before school started this morning and the turning away of students arriving for class. 

Tornado Watch In Effect for All of Flagler County Until Afternoon as Rounds of Severe Weather Continue

May 14, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 4 Comments

The sun will come out, but probably not until after the day after. (© FlaglerLive)

The National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction center in Norma, Okla., issued a tornado watch for Flagler, St. Johns and 17 other northeast Florida counties–but not Volusia–until 1 p.m.. today. The watch is the result of a continuing series of severe weather outbreaks that have left a trail of power outages and a few deaths from Texas going eastward, and that may stretch at least to Wednesday, causing heavy rainfall, localized flooding, damaging winds and isolated tornadoes.

36-Year-Old Woman Crossing Moody Boulevard Critical After Collision with Car

May 13, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 6 Comments

West Moody Boulevard near North Forsyth Street in Bunnell. (Google)

A 36-year-old woman who was on foot on West Moody Boulevard in Bunnell was in critical condition following a collision with a car shortly after midnight this morning.

2-Year Investigation Leads to Arrest of P-Section Bomber Who’d Left Trail of Violent and Disturbing Letters

May 10, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 5 Comments

The pipe bomb after the explosion. (FCSO)

Late Thursday, Flagler County Sheriff’s deputies arrested Jason Robert Burns, a 49-year-old resident of 9 Bronson Lane, on a first-degree arson charge and a charge of possessing explosives, both first-degree felonies, each with a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison. He is accused of setting off a pipe bomb outside a house in Palm Coast’s P Section in 2022, and had left a trail of handwritten letters filled with grievances and veiled threats and slanders against his ex-wife.

Brendan Depa’s Sentencing Will Not Resume Until Aug. 6, Giving Defense Time to Recover from Bad Day

May 9, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 18 Comments

Brendan Depa, center, with his attorney, Kurt Teifke, right, in court on May 1. (© FlaglerLive)

The defense for Brendan Depa, the 18-year-old former Matanzas High School autistic student to be sentenced in the beating of his teacher’s aide, faces a steep climb back from a prosecution case that portrayed Depa as a willful, intelligent, chronically violent man who knows right from wrong and who knew what he was doing that day at Matanzas. The prosecution is developing an argument that sidelines Depa’s autism as irrelevant, and calls prison time essential. The defense has yet to make its case.

At Law Enforcement Memorial, Solace in the Language of a Flag and the Bond of Shared Loss

May 9, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 5 Comments

Bunnell Police Chief Dave Branon, sitting with the family of the late Sgt. Dominic Guida, who died in 2021, comforts David Alfin, Palm Coast's mayor and the father of Alfin, an FBI agent killed with his partner while serving a warrant in South Florida the same year. In front of Alfin is Carlo Celico, whose son FRank, a sheriff's deputy, died in 2011. (© FlaglerLive)

Some 150 people and law enforcement officers from different agencies turned out for the annual Law Enforcement Memorial Service hosted by Sheriff Rick Staly in Bunnell Wednesday evening. Earlier in the day the sheriff had unveiled a memorial plaque to Perry Hall, for whom the county jail is named, and who was the county’s first fallen officer, on Aug. 21, 2027.

Recording Someone Without Permission Is Illegal in Florida. What If the Recorder Is in Ohio?

May 8, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 6 Comments

secret recordings florida

Justices are grappling with whether gamer David Race, who lives in Ohio, violated Florida law when he secretly recorded fellow gamer Billy Mitchell without the Broward County resident’s permission. Florida is one of 11 states that require all parties to consent to being recorded.

Flagler Schools Paid Former Indian Trails Middle School Teacher $40,000 to Settle Discrimination Lawsuit

May 8, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 8 Comments

JaWanda Dove, now a dean at Rymfire Elementary, seen here in an image from a brochure by the African American Entrepreneurs Club, where she was a guest speaker in 2018.

The Flagler County school district paid JaWanda Dove $40,000 to settle a federal lawsuit Dove filed in 2020, alleging that as a Black teacher at Indian Trails Elementary, she had repeatedly been passed over for promotion by white applicants. Dove transferred to Rymfire Elementary last year, where she was promoted to dean and where she remains. Dove had been seeking Dove is seeking $100,000 in back pay and benefits, and an appointment as assistant principal. 

DeSantis Lawyer Argues Governor’s ‘Executive Privilege’ Places Him Above Public Record Law

May 7, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 28 Comments

The DeSantis administration argues that some of the governor's records may be blurred from public view. (© FlaglerLive)

In a case that could have far-reaching implications for the state’s public-records laws, an appeals court heard arguments Tuesday in a challenge to a judge’s ruling that “executive privilege” shields Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration from releasing records. During Tuesday’s arguments before a three-judge panel of the Tallahassee-based 1st District Court of Appeal, the plaintiff’s attorney said that the constitutional right to public records does not include an exemption for the governor’s records.

With 2 Young Children in Car, Woman Heads to Ex-Boyfriend’s House and Shoots at Resident to Scare Her

May 7, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 11 Comments

Tasia R. Cooper

Tasia R. Cooper, a 25-year-old Bunnell resident, faces three felony charges, including two counts of child abuse, after allegedly driving to a property on Coconut Boulevard in Daytona North–the Mondex–and firing a gun in the direction of the occupant while two children were in the car with Cooper on Monday.

County Judge Andrea Totten Is Considering Applying for a Circuit Judge Appointment as Perkins Retirement Looms

May 7, 2024 | FlaglerLive | Leave a Comment

Judge Andrea Totten with Clerk of Court Tom Bexley in their joint appearance on Free For All Friday last week. (WNZF)

With Circuit Judge Terence Perkins retiring in September, and opening a spot among the Seventh Judicial Circuit’s 27 circuit judgeships for appointment, Flagler County Judge Totten is considering applying, she said in a radio appearance on Friday.

Palm Coast Woman and 2-Year-Old Child Killed in I-95 Crash South of County Line with Volusia

May 7, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 13 Comments

The crash seen through a Florida Department of Transportation surveillance camera.

A 38-year-old Palm Coast woman and a 2-year-old girl traveling with her died in a three-vehicle crash on I-95 Monday afternoon, a mile south of the intersection with U.S. 1. Three other people involved suffered serious or minor, but non-life-threatening, injuries.

Judge Perkins Appears Before Flagler Commission in Recognition of Drug Court Support from County

May 6, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 4 Comments

Circuit Judge Terence Perkins collecting himself after what had been an emotional segment of a Drug Court graduation ceremony in April 2019 at the Flagler County courthouse. The judge appeared before the County Commission this morning, with many of the personnel who make up the Drug Court administration, to accept a proclamation and introduce the participants. (© FlaglerLive)

Circuit Judge Terence Perkins made a rare appearance before the Flagler County Commission this morning to accept a proclamation marking Drug Court and “Problem-Solving Court Month,” introduce many of the administrative participants of drug court to commissioners, and, as long as he was at it, invite Commission Chairman Andy Dance to be the next Drug Court graduation speaker.

18-Year-Old Man Shot in the Arm Near Flagler Beach Fire Station; Alleged Assailant at Large

May 5, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 19 Comments

The scene outside the Flagler Beach Fire Department this evening. (© FlaglerLive)

An 18-year-old man was shot in the arm in the vicinity of the Flagler Beach Fire Department and taken to the hospital with the non-life-threatening injury this evening, Flagler Beach Police Chief Matt Doughney said. The assailant fled the city and is unknown and at large for now.

Reporters Without Borders Condemns Wave of Arrests and Violence Against Journalists Covering Campus Protests

May 5, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 6 Comments

KXAN photojournalist Carlos Sanchez was arrested covering a protest in Austin, Texas. Image: KXAN

Four journalists have been arrested by police and four others attacked in the course of covering university campus protests in the past week. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemns this wave of arrests, criminal charges, and violence against journalists and urges law enforcement agencies and school administrators to protect and respect the rights of all journalists, including student media.

At Brendan Depa Sentencing, Prisons’ Mental Health Chief Draws Bizarrely Rosy Picture of Services Awaiting Him

May 3, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 17 Comments

brendan depa

To hear Suzonne Kline, chief of mental health at the Florida Department of Corrections, mental health services in Florida prisons are so extensive, so thorough, so attentive, you’d want to get imprisoned just to get a piece of them. She testified during the first portion of the sentencing hearing of Brendan Depa, the former Matanzas High School autistic student who pleaded to severely assaulting his teacher aide, and is facing the possibility of prison time. Kline’s testimony was a tactical success for the prosecution.

Man, 24, Accused of Fabricating Stabbing by Homeless Person and Wasting Untold Hours of Sheriff’s Resources

May 3, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 8 Comments

Chase Mott.

Chase Rollins Mott, 24, claimed he was randomly stabbed by a homeless man at a trailer park near Tomoka Marine on State Road 100. But No homeless person had attacked him, and there’d been no random assailant. He had done it to himself and fabricated or dissimulated the rest, while using up enormous law enforcement and public safety resources over a 10-day investigation. All along, Mott was on probation–and was violating his probation at the time of the alleged incident.

Flagler Sheriff’s Employees and Volunteers Recognized by Military, AmeriCorps and Points of Light

May 3, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 1 Comment

Sheriff Rick Staly, Chief Dan Engert, and Chief Mark Strobridge receive the Patriot Award. Deputy Jorge Fernandez de Lara (second from left) nominated them. Not present: Sergeant Eric Allen and Corporal Jay Rodenborn

On Tuesday, April 30, members of the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office (FCSO) were presented with multiple prestigious awards recognizing FCSO’s support of service members and volunteers.

Flagler Court’s Chris France and Melissa Distler Among Slew of Robes Retained Without Opposition

May 3, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 1 Comment

Circuit Judge Chris France. (© FlaglerLive)

Circuit Judge Chris France, who oversees civil and family court in Flagler County, and County Judge Melissa Distler, who was first elected in 2012, were both re-elected–or retained–without opposition.

When Is Punishment Enough for a Predator? A Child Rapist Makes His Case to End Probation, and Loses.

May 2, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 18 Comments

Lawrence Morton, right, with his attorney, Richard Zalesky. (© FlaglerLive via zoom)

Lawrence William Morton, formerly of Flagler Beach, served 20 years in prison and five on probation for sex crimes against six minors. He appeared before a judge Monday, seeking to end his probation five years early, as the law allows, arguing that he’s been a model probationer. The judge denied the motion in a case broadly illustrative of recurring requests by sex offenders and predators, and dilemmas faced by the court and prosecutors.

15-Year-Old Palm Coast Boy Critical After Electric Bike Collision with Pick-Up on Laramie and Lakeview

May 2, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 40 Comments

The intersection at Laramie Drive and Lakeview Boulevard in Palm Coast. A stop sign applies to traffic on Laramie. (Google)

A 15-year-old Palm Coast adolescent was in critical condition Wednesday evening after a pick-up truck collided with the electric bike the 15 year old was riding as he crossed the intersection at Lakeview Boulevard and Laramie Drive in north Palm Coast.

Florida Joins GOP Lawsuit to Kill Federal Protections for Transgender Students

May 1, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 28 Comments

anti lgbtq lawsuit florida

Republican State Attorney General Ashley Moody has enlisted Florida in multi-state litigation challenging new Biden administration regulations protecting transgender people from discrimination in schools, colleges, and universities.

Joan Naydich, Brendan Depa’s Victim of Beating, Details How ‘Everything Was Taken Away’ from Her

May 1, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 51 Comments

Joan Naydich on the stand today. (© FlaglerLive)

Joan Naydich, the former teacher’s aide at Matanzas High School, described how Brendan Depa destroyed her life at 10 o’clock that Tuesday morning in 2023, when the then-17-year-old special education student rushed her as she was leaving his classroom–after he spat on her–knocked her unconscious and pummeled her, all on video.

Trial of Andrew Mintz Over Crash in Flagler Beach Pushed to July

April 30, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 3 Comments

Andrew Mintz, right, in court today. (© FlaglerLive)

Several times delayed already, the trial of Andrew Mintz, the now-34-year-old Palm Coast man involved in an alleged high-speed pursuit that ended in a crash in downtown Flagler Beach, within a few feet of several elected officials and their family, has been delayed to July 15.

Jayden Jackson, 21, a Sheriff’s Deputy’s Son, Is Arrested in Hit-and-Run Death of Shaunta Cain on U.S. 1

April 30, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 16 Comments

Jayden Ikaika Jackson.

Jayden Ikaika Jackson, the 21-year-old son of a Flagler County Sheriff’s deputy, was arrested on Monday on a first-degree felony charge of hit-and-run causing the death of 51-year-old Shaunta Cain in late 2022.

Arrests and Threats of Expulsions of Students Protesting Gaza War Increase at Florida University Campuses

April 30, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 9 Comments

An image posted on social media by Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society.

Arrests of protesters on Florida university campuses increased this week, after tensions ratcheted up at the University of Florida and the University of South Florida during demonstrations about the war between Israel and Hamas. The arrests Monday of a dozen people at the two Florida universities came as pro-Palestinian campus protests draw attention across the country. The ACLU of Florida denounced the threats of expulsions, calling protest a fundamental right.

Man Accused of Woodlands Murder Judged Incompetent for Trial. State Hospital Won’t Take Him. Now What?

April 30, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 4 Comments

Charles Kidd Jr. (© FlaglerLive)

Charles Kidd, the 86-year-old former resident of 20 Blare Drive in Palm Coast’s Woodlands, where he is accused of shooting and killing 36-year-old Mark Ruschmeier last August, has been deemed incompetent to stand trial and ineligible for restorative treatment that could bring him back to court to face a second degree murder charge.

Bunnell Man and His Family Wake Up to Find Ex at Foot of His Bed With a Knife, Ready to Attack

April 29, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 12 Comments

melinda gould child abuse burglary

It is among the worst imaginable situations in one’s home: to wake up and see an armed, threatening assailant at the foot of the bed. It was even worse for R.G. and his family: his two young children were in the bedroom, as was his girlfriend. The assailant clenching a knife was his ex-wife, Melinda Gould, 40, who’d previously faced a stalking charge, and who earlier that night had been on the hunt for a gun. She now faces five felonies, one of them punishable by up to life in prison.

Chief Engert: How Flagler County Jail Stepped Up to Ensure Brendan Depa’s Continuing Education

April 29, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 7 Comments

Brendan Depa, in the orange shirt, arriving for a hearing in court last June, before his transfer to the Flagler County jail. (© FlaglerLive)

The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office and its jail were not responsible for the education of Brendan Depa, the former Matanzas High School student arrested over a year ago on a charge of aggravated battery of a school employee. Nevertheless, the jail, under the supervision of Chief Daniel Engert, has ensured that a team of volunteers and professionals have continued Depa’s education, with notable and continued successes.

1st Amendment Lawsuit Over Florida School District’s Ban of Children’s Book Cleared to Proceed

April 28, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 4 Comments

and tango makes three

A federal judge has ruled that two authors and a student can pursue First Amendment claims against the Escambia County School Board over the removal of the children’s book “And Tango Makes Three” from library shelves. But U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor, in a 27-page decision Thursday, dismissed allegations against state education officials and leaders of the Lake County school district.

Brendan Depa’s Sentence: Neither Vengeance Nor Mercy. Only Humane Justice.

April 26, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 41 Comments

Brendan Depa with his grandmother in 2020. (Depa family)

On May 1 Circuit Judge Terence Perkins will sentence Brendan Depa on a charge that carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison. The punishment will be nowhere near that: the sentencing guidelines don’t call for it, the incident doesn’t warrant it, and Perkins is not a hanging judge. The question is whether he will impose any prison time, and whether reason and justice, not mercy or vengeance, will prevail. 

Palm Coast’s Alan Avellan Sentenced to 3 Years in Prison Over Secret Videos of a Child and Overt Sexual Acts

April 26, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 3 Comments

Alan Avellan Jr.

Alan Avellan Jr., the 38-year-old Palm Coast resident arrested last year on charges of casting pornographic videos to a television that children were watching in his house, was sentenced to three years in prison followed by eight years on sex-offender probation, and was designated a sex offender for life. He pleaded guilty to eight felonies that added up to a maximum of 70 years in prison, resulting from his abuse of children’s privacy and his own inappropriate acts in their presence.

17-Year-Old Runaway from Wisconsin and Companion Found in Palm Coast and Arrested for Car Theft

April 25, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 9 Comments

Katie Stevens's arrest in Palm Coast Tuesday, after the car she was riding in was flagged as stolen, and the 17 year old she was traveling with reported as missing from Wisconsin.

A 17-year-old adolescent reported missing out of Green Bay, Wis., and an 18-year-old woman from that state were found in Palm Coast and arrested for grand theft auto. The vehicle belongs to the adolescent’s father, who had been traveling, and who’d locked away the keys.

Lawsuit Blames Flagler Schools’ Failure to Address Brendan Depa’s Known Needs and Risks Before Attack on Aide

April 24, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 39 Comments

Brendan Depa last July in court, where he is returning on May 1 for his sentencing. (© FlaglerLive)

Brendan Depa, the now-18-year-old former Matanzas High School student captured on surveillance video attacking his teacher’s aide 14 months ago, filed suit today against Flagler County schools, accusing the district of failing to properly address his behavioral end mental disabilities, to properly train the staff in charge, or to provide legally required educational supports. The failures led to a grave but foreseeable, violent incident, the lawsuit states, injuries to the aide, and the prospect for prison for Depa.

For Derrius Bauer, Co-Defendant in Circle K Murder, a Choice Between Risking Life in Prison and a Grim Deal

April 23, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 3 Comments

He was not on trial--not yet--but the picture of Derrius Bauer was repeatedly shown during the trial last week of Marcus Chamblin. (© FlaglerLive)

The guilty verdict and sentencing of Marcus Chamblin last week in the shooting death of Deon Jenkins did not end that case. Derrius Bauer, his co-defendant, is scheduled for trial in September. Bauer previously refused a plea deal or to be a witness for the state, against Chamblin. He is now paying the price of loyalty, having few options, none of them likely to foreclose on a fate similar to Chamblin’s.

Palm Coast Man Accused of Attacking a Woman, Then Breaking Into Her Ex’s Home and Attacking Him

April 22, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 5 Comments

Christian Michael Smith.

Christian Michael Smith, a 25-year-old resident of Quarter Horse Lane in Bunnell, faces two felonies, including one punishable by life in prison, on accusations that he briefly imprisoned and assaulted the mother of his child, then drove to the Palm Coast home of the same woman’s ex, with whom she also has a child, broke in, and assaulted him there.

The Dis-Education of Brendan Depa

April 19, 2024 | FlaglerLive | 41 Comments

Brendan Depa when he was at his ECHO group home. He wasbeen in detention at a juvenile jail starting in late February 2023, then at the Flagler County jail since turning 18 last August. He is to be sentenced on May 1. (© FlaglerLive)

Brendan Depa, the now 18-year-old former Matanzas High School student to be sentenced on May 1 on a first-degree felony count of assaulting a teacher’s aide, is alone being punished for what in fact amounts to a systematic and catastrophic failure, on the part of Matanzas High School and district officials, to follow Depa’s Individualized Education Program, which set out guidelines and requirements on how to contend with his mental health issues.

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