The numbers across the community continue to point toward more gravity than relief, with infections still on the upswing, with few people and fewer organizations–including governments–returning to safety protocols essential to slowing the spread, such as masking and social distancing.
Cops/Courts
As Flagler Beach Grapples with Tawdry Pro-Trump Gatherings, City’s Wink to Surveillance Cameras Raises Questions
The weekly pro-Trump demonstrations featuring profane language in the heart of Flagler Beach has city commissioners concerned about the city’s image and the administration and police eying surveillance cameras they insist will not target the demonstrators, but be used as a tool in case of criminal activity. Others see a Pandora’s box.
Jamal Nejame, Ex-Flagler Beach Candidate, Arrested on Felony Charge of Shooting Into House With Children
Jamal K. Nejame, 72, a three-time candidate for mayor and city commission in Flagler Beach, where he was known as Jamie, was arrested on a felony charge of shooting into a dwelling. It is the third time Nejame has been charged criminally in Flagler in the last 12 years.
17-Year-Old Lifeguard in Flagler Beach Is Seriously Injured in Diving Accident While Training
A 17-year-old lifeguard was seriously injured during training on the beach around 2nd Street South in Flagler Beach Monday morning, injuring his spine. The lifeguards were practicing dolphin dives into the surf, running in from the beach, a routine exercise.
Former Florida Chief Justice Kogan: Why Florida Should Abolish the Death Penalty
In a compelling new interview conducted by attorney and filmmaker Ted Corless, the late Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice Gerald Kogan lists the numerous reasons why he believed Florida’s death penalty should be abolished.
Contrary to Viral Posts, Head Injury to 13-Year-Old Boy in Palm Coast’s R-Section Attributed to a Fall
A social media post that went viral about a 13-year-old boy getting severely hurt near Rymfire Elementary Friday was traced to an injury to Jacob D. Pelton, a resident of Palm Coast’s P Section, who told authorities he fell off his bike, but in murky circumstances.
FPC’s Shauntiana Stafford, 17, Killed Herself in 2019. Her Mother is Suing Flagler Schools, Charging Wrongful Death
Seemingly the first such lawsuit in recent decades in Flagler, the case opens a rare window into bullying issues behind normally restrictive student privacy laws, potentially revealing in detail the psychological and mental context of a student in the weeks and months leading up to her death, her relationship with school staffers, and the district’s responses in all its intricacies.
Their Boat Sank in Minutes 10 Miles Offshore of Flagler Beach: How 4 Men and 2 Boys Kept Their Cool Until Rescued
A group of six Palm Coast boaters off on a snapper fishing trip Saturday (July 10) rapidly sank two hours into their trip, 10 miles offshore. Quick action, level heads and a series of fortunate events led to their rescue by another fishing boat, then the Coast Guard. here’s their story.
Palm Coast’s Joseph Carroll, 42, Indicted on 1st Degree Murder in Overdose Death of Michael Burnett Jr.
Michael Burnett Jr. was 31 when he overdosed on drugs allegedly sold to him by Joseph Carroll, 42, and Allyson Bennett, 39, in 2018. Bennett this week pleaded to manslaughter, and faces up to 15 years in prison. Carroll was indicted on the first-degree murder charge, a capital felony, on Tuesday.
Palm Coast Fire Department and Mayor Recognize Firefighters who Saved Teen
The Palm Coast Fire Department (PCFD) recently recognized the efforts of firefighters for their actions in helping to save the life of a juvenile who had climbed onto the overpass of Palm Coast Parkway & I-95 bridge on Father’s Day. The teen was having a mental health crisis and was a threat to herself.
Sheriff Requests 10 Additional Deputies for Palm Coast, a 28% Policing Budget Increase Posing Dilemma for City
The Sheriff is asking for 10 deputies from Palm Coast and 15 from the county in line with a staffing analysis he commissioned last year. But Palm Coast’s budget for next year includes other costly priorities and assumes a slight tax increase as it is. The Sheriff’s request is complicating the city’s math and council members’ already strained dynamics.
When It Absolutely, Positively Doesn’t Have to Lead to This: Gun-Toting Road Rage Incident Lands Man in Jail
A 32-year-old delivery driver for FedEx was making deliveries in Palm Coast Thursday afternoon when, passing by the Brass Tap in the Island Walk shopping center, his way was blocked by another vehicle idled in the middle of the road. The man blocking his way then allegedly flashed a gun.
As Condo Tower Death Toll Reaches 90, Renner Says No Need for Immediate Changes to Building Codes
Rep. Paul Renner, a Palm Coast Republican set to take over as House speaker following the 2022 elections, pointed to the inability of the Champlain Towers South condo association to quickly address safety and structural repairs needed for the once 12-story building.
Councilman Barbosa Under Federal Investigation Following Allegation of Kidnapping and Extortion; Sheriff’s Investigation Deems Him a Fugitive
Palm Coast City Council member Victor Barbosa may be a fugitive from justice in Costa Rica, where he has been “considered armed and dangerous on the charge of Kidnapping,” according to Flagler County Sheriff Chief Dan Engert, who has requested that the Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigate the matter.
James Harris, Accused of Molesting Girl For 5 Years, Is Seeking Bond Waiver and Release from Jail
James Edwin Harris, the 61-year-old owner of Jimmy’s Hang Ten restaurant arrested a week ago on charges that he’d been molesting his step-daughter, has filed for a motion to be released from jail without a bond.
Flagler Sheriff’s Deputy Lentino Suspended Pending Investigation into Dating Violence Involving 21-Year-Old Woman
Flagler County Sheriff’s deputy Robert Lentino, 26, who has been with the agency three years, was relieved of duty–with pay–just before noon today pending an investigation of an allegation of dating violence against his 21-year-old girlfriend.
Florida Supreme Court Will Not Hear Constitutional Challenge to Mask Mandate
The Florida Supreme Court declined to take up a constitutional challenge to Palm Beach County’s decision last year to require people to wear masks during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Jimmy’s Hang Ten Restaurant Owner Jim Harris Charged With Molesting 14-Year-Old Girl
James “Jimmy” Edwin Harris, the 61-year-old owner of Jimmy’s Hang Ten, the restaurant in Flagler Beach, was arrested on late Friday night on two counts of molesting an under-age girl. He’s being held at the Flagler County jail on no bond.
Life in Prison for Leon Wiley for Attempting to ‘Erase’ Step-Daughter Through 6 Years of Depraved Abuse and Sadism
55-year-old Leon Norman Wiley Jr.’s three-hour sentencing hearing today included victim impact statements of shattering details from the step-daughter he’d raped, impregnated and pimped out since she was 12, from her mother, and even from Wiley’s own parents, who had no illusions about the crimes he’d committed, though they asked for some mercy.
13-Year-Old Soccer Player Files Suit Against Florida’s Just-Enacted Ban on Transgender Girl Athletes
A 13-year-old Broward County soccer player and her parents are challenging a a new state law that bans transgender female athletes from participating on girls’ and women’s sports teams, arguing that it is unconstitutional and “ignores basic medical science” about trans students.
William Kitts, Troubled Man With Arrest on Grave Charge, and a Few Lenient Breaks, Arrested Again
William Kitts had a charge of raping an incapacitated underage girl reduced to child abuse and was recently rearrested over a confrontation at a Flagler Beach restaurant. On Monday, he admitted to stealing a car from a 7-Eleven, where the owner had run in to get a drink.
Leon Wiley Admits He Raped His Minor Step-Daughter for Years But Says Jury Was Wrong to Convict Him
Leon Norman Wiley Jr., 54, was found guilty by a jury of raping his stepdaughter since she was 12, but he argued today that he was owed a new trial because none of the abuse took place in Flagler County. The judge rejected the argument. Wiley is to be sentenced Friday to what may amount to life in prison.
86-Year-Old Woman Refuses to Sign Over Deed to Her House, so Granddaughter Abandons Her in Palm Coast
Amber Lynn Dodd, a 26-year-old Deltona woman who abandoned her 86-year-old grandmother at a Palm Coast gas station late Saturday night and drove on, is now facing a felony elderly neglect charge, though she has not been arrested.
Derek Chauvin Sentenced to 22 1/2 Years in Prison for Murder of George Floyd
The sentencing marks a significant milestone in the effort to get justice for Floyd, who died begging for his life under Chauvin’s knee for more than 9 minutes on Memorial Day 2020. Three other officers present also face charges in Floyd’s death, with trials scheduled for next year.
County Administrator May Have to Pay Sheriff’s Lunch Back as Operations Center Is Again Delayed, Almost a Year
The opening of the 51,000-square-foot facility is now seen no earlier than the end of 2022, instead of next November. By then, the sheriff will have been exiled from the former Sheriff’s Operations Center on State Road 100 for almost four and a half years–longer than a full term in office.
Veni Vidi Vinci: Flagler Beach Detective Is Named Officer of the Year by Florida Police Chiefs Association
Flagler Beach Police detective Rosanna Vinci, on the job at the city for seven years, is the Florida Police Chiefs Association winner of the Lee McGehee Award for small Law Enforcement agencies statewide. The Flagler Beach City Commission will recognize Vinci at its meeting this evening, at 5:30 p.m., the association will do so next week.
Three 14-Year-Old Boys Arrested on Grand Theft Charge; Car Owner Had Left Key in Glove Box
Three 14-year-old Palm Coast boys were arrested early Monday morning at Holland Park and charged with grand theft auto, a felony, after they admitted to stealing a car from a Cole Place driveway. The owner of the car had left the key in the glovebox.
Florida Prisons Want to Ban Most ‘Routine’ Mail, Replacing It with Communal Email. Families Are Outraged.
Florida prison officials’ plan to replace prisoners’ “routine” mail with digitized versions viewed on tablet computers or communal kiosks has sparked an outcry among inmates’ families and advocates, who argue that preserving bonds with loved ones while prisoners are locked up dramatically increases later chances of success on the outside.
No Acquittal This Time for For L’Darius Smith as Jury Convicts Him of Aggravated Assault in Race-Tinged Confrontation
Two brothers, 63 and 59, had allegedly called L’Darius Smith the N word in a confrontation that began with one of the men complimenting him for his Batman jacket. He picked up a baseball bat–and a conviction for aggravated assault that may now send him to prison. Four years ago he was acquitted of charges of molesting his sisters when they were young children. He still faces a burglary charge.
Quietly, and Without Voter Say, Flagler County Readies to Raise Sales Tax on Everyone. Palm Coast Says No.
The Palm Coast City Council today rejected a request by county government to support raising the local sales tax from 7 to 7.5 percent. The rejection deals a blow to county government, which is looking to increase the tax to pay for law enforcement and fire operations, but it also replays tensions from 10 years ago when the county’s approach on the sales tax was equally clumsy and unilateral.
Terry McManus, Who Runs Flagler Beach’s City-Owned Golf Course, Is Guilty of Felony DUI and Faces Up to 5 Years
McManus, who was immediately taken into custody at the Flagler County jail, faces another trial on a felony insurance fraud charge later this year, and is battling a civil suit in a breach of contract case involving the golf club’s management company.
Crime Dropped By Half in Staly’s 1st Term, Giving Flagler 4th-Lowest Rate Among Florida Counties of 100,000 or More
Flagler County’s crime rate in 2020 fell for the 11th straight year, though it’s never fallen as sharply as it has in the last three, when it fell by half since 2017. In 2020, Flagler had the fourth-lowest crime rate in the state for counties of 100,000 or more people, aided in part by the pandemic.
Felon Released from Prison Months Ago, Resentenced 6 Days Ago, Carjacks 70-Year-Old Woman and Flees Cops
Angelo Walsh, 38, had been found guilty of domestic battery–he’d pounded his girlfriend with both fists–four days before a Saturday incident in which he carjacked a 70-year-old woman and sent deputies on a chase through Palm Coast with reckless disregard for other drivers–a charge he’d faced on a previous prison stint.
Deputies and Firefighters Talk a Suicidal 17-Year-Old Girl Off the Ledge at Palm Coast Parkway and I-95
Four public safety agencies this morning cooperated in literally talking a 17-year-old Palm Coast girl off the ledge on the I-95 overpass at Palm Coast Parkway. The incident shut down I-95 northbound and the parkway’s eastbound traffic in the 6 and 7 o’clock hours this morning before it was resolved without harm to anyone.
Wesley Brown, Ex-Flagler Beach Pastor Who Defrauded Congregants, Loses Bid to Reduce Prison Sentence
Wesley Brown–pastor and financial advisor Wesley Brown, formerly of Flagler Beach, now a 15-time convicted felon over defrauding clients of nearly half a million dollars–was denied a motion to have his seven and a half years prison sentence cut as he appeared in court today.
Woman Claiming She was Drugged and Raped Sues Palm Coast Doctor Gerard Abate; Criminal Investigation Open
A woman is suing Gerard Abate, a 67-year-old Palm Coast physician who runs his own medical consultancy, over claims he drugged, raped and exposed her to a sexually transmitted disease after meeting her on a dating site in 2017. A potential criminal case against Abate is pending, the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office said.
Florida Supreme Court Justices Again Reject Recreational Pot Amendment Despite Strict Regulatory Language
Justices, in a 5-2 decision, said a proposal by the political committee Sensible Florida included ballot wording that would mislead voters. By the same margin, the court in April rejected a recreational-pot proposal by the committee Make It Legal Florida.
Scam Alert: Someone Is Impersonating Sheriff Staly
An impostor impersonating Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly is contacting Flagler County residents in an apparent scam involving the federal Department of Health and Human Services.
Man Who Killed His Father Says His Freedom Doesn’t Mean ‘I’m Going to Jump Off a Bridge and Kill Somebody’
A judge denied lifting all restrictions on Richard Dunn, 60, who killed his father in Palm Coast in 2006 and was found not guilty by reason of insanity. But numerous restrictions have been lifted, and Dunn’s other family members are objecting to further freedoms he may gain, which make them fearful for their safety.
Patient Batters 3 People at AdventHealth’s ER Waiting Room Before One Victim, a Security Guard, Stops Him
Kory Prusaitis, a 25-year-old resident of Winterling Place in Palm Coast, was upset at hospital staff when told that that his mother couldn’t come into the waiting room with him, and went on a brief rampage against three people.
Robert Hill Had Threatened to Smash His Girlfriend’s Face In Before Shooting Her. She Recorded Him.
It was Brenan Hill, 32, who unknowingly led detectives to the gun used in the shooting of his 22-year-old girlfriend in Palm Coast last March, and the victim’s own recordings of him that made him the chief suspect, as a trove of digital footprints unraveled his many lies to detectives.
Richard Dunn Nearing Full Freedom from Restrictions 15 Years After Being Found Insane in Father’s Murder
Richard Dunn, the 60-year-old former Palm Coast resident found not guilty by reason of insanity in the stabbing death of his father Jack Dunn 15 years ago, will again appear in court Wednesday to seek his full freedom, without medical or other supervisory restrictions.
Attempted Murder Charge for Brenan Robert Hill in Shooting of Girlfriend Near Microtel in March
Brenan Robert Hill was charged today with attempted second-degree murder in the shooting of his girlfriend near the Microtel March 26, a shooting Hill had blamed on a robbery and that had briefly seemed like an inexplicable, unnerving act of violence.
Acquitted of Molestation 4 Years Ago, L’Darius Smith Loses Stand Your Ground Argument and Heads for Trial Again
L’Darius Smith, the 25-year-old Bunnell resident who in 2017 was on trial for molesting two of his step-sisters years earlier, is going to trial on aggravated assault and burglary charges after a failed attempt to acquit himself of the assault charge on a stand your ground defense.
Palm Coast Fire Chief on Joe Mullins: a ‘Wrecking Ball’ who ‘Disgraces the Hard Working Men and Women of Flagler County Fire Rescue’
After County Commissioner Joe Mullins spoke to Palm Coast Fire Chief Jerry Forte about Palm Coast taking over county fire services, Forte ripped into Mullins in a scathing email to the county administrator and his deputy, calling Mullins a “hack” who seeks to incite hostility when he “stay in his own lane.”
City Hall Trespass Against Mark Phillips, Who’d Rushed Toward Mayor at May Meeting, Is Lifted
Mark Phillips, the North Flagler resident at the center of a tense moment at a May meeting of the Palm Coast City Council, when he aggressively rushed the dais toward then-Mayor Milissa Holland, is no longer trespassed from City Hall.
Construction Crew Severs Gas Line at Old Kings and Celico Way, Requiring Detours
A construction crew working on Palm Coast’s re-engineered and widened intersection at Old Kings Road and Palm Coast Parkway struck a gas line by mistake around noon today, triggering a gas leak.
One Man Rapes a 13-Year-Old Girl and Walks Free. Another Raped a 16-Year-Old Girl and Is Serving 12 Years in Prison.
Bo Jeremiah Sirrine, 23, and Tonda Royal, 55, once shared a cell at the Flagler County jail. They also shared a predilection for underage girls and were both charged with raping girls–a 13 year old, in Sirrine’s case, a 16 year old, in Royal’s case. Sirrine walked out of the Flagler jail a free man weeks ago. Royal is serving 12 years in state prison.
An Unhappy Ending for Employee of Star Massage on Palm Coast Parkway
An undercover deputy was offered more than a massage when he went to Star Massage, where the Sheriff’s Office had been getting “multiple reports of alleged prostitution at the business” on Palm Coast Parkway.
Man Due for Sentencing on Child Porn Charges Shoots and Kills Himself in the Parking Lot at the Flagler County Courthouse
A man shot and killed himself in the parking lot of the Flagler County courthouse this morning around 10 a.m. Little else is known of the incident for the moment, other than that the man had contacted authorities a few minutes earlier and apparently warned of his imminent action.