Tyler Sweeney, 22, of Rainbow Lane in Palm Coast, was allegedly carrying nearly 250 grams of marijuana and a gun with its serial number removed when he crashed against an AT&T box and ran from a sheriff’s deputy Sunday night.
Cops/Courts
Bunnell Panics as Emerging Options for Sheriff’s New Operations Building Include Palm Coast Library Site and Town Center
Without evidence, Bunnell officials fear talk of moving the sheriff’s operations center out of the city is a first step toward moving the county seat to Palm Coast, and see the move as illegal.
8 Arrested, 10 Sought, All On Felony Charges in Latest Sweep of Suspected Drug Dealers in Flagler-Palm Coast
All 18 individuals are accused of selling or trafficking drugs, including heroin, fentanyl, prescription drugs, cocaine and synthetic cathinone, or so-called bath salts, a relatively new entrant in the bazaar of drug dealing and abuse.
Lawmakers Again Float Bill To Make Texting While Driving a Primary Offense; Other Distractions Spared
Currently, police can only cite motorists for texting if they are pulled over for other reasons. By making it a primary offense, police could pull over motorists for texting behind the wheel.
Rymfire Elementary Teacher Travis Holloway Arrested a 4th Time Days After State Reprimand and Probation Order
Rymfire Elementary School teacher Travis Holloway, 39, had just been issued a written reprimand and placed on probation for a year by a state disciplinary board when he was arrested for drunk driving in Palm Coast Friday.
Nearly $300,000 in Grants Help Continue Sheriff’s Domestic Violence Initiative and Victim Advocacy
The grant renewals, just secured, underwrite the cost of an investigator, an analyst dedicated to domestic violence investigations and almost three victim advocates, and additional grants will pay for SWAT members’ helmets.
Judge Delays Sheriff’s Employees’ Compensation Hearings Over Sick Building, But Further Compromise Is Eluding Them
For the second time in four months, a judge agreed to postpone what was scheduled to be a set of final hearings in workers’ compensation claims of 35 Flagler County Sheriff’s employees who say their health was damaged while working at the Sheriff’s Operations Center in Bunnell.
Investigation Of Plantation Bay Plane Crash, With Joel Fallon and Josh Rosa Aboard, Ends Inconclusively
The investigation is ending inconclusively, but it sheds light on measures Josh Rosa took immediately before the crash that strongly suggest his skills and last-second maneuvers likely prevented the crash from being fatal to him and Joel Fallon.
Why the State Attorney Opted To Drop Sexual Assault Charge on Ex-Commissioner’s 20-Year-Old Son
Stephen Connor Brady, 20, was charged with statutory rape after an 18-year-old woman he knew accused him of assaulting her in November. The State Attorney’s Office dropped the charge when it found that inappropriate behavior may have been misinterpreted.
Family of 5 and Off-Duty Cop Hospitalized in 3-Vehicle Crash at Roundabout
Construction on U.S. 1
A family of five riding in one car and an off-duty law enforcement officer riding in the other were injured, some of them seriously, and sent to three different hospitals, one of them by air, after a three-vehicle crash in the construction zone for the coming roundabout at U.S. 1 and Old Dixie Highway.
In a First Locally, FBI Arrests Sean Farrelly, 47, of Palm Coast, On Charges of Sex Trafficking Of a Minor
Sean Farrelly, a 47-year-old resident of 9 Llovera Place in Palm Coast, was arrested early this evening by the FBI, with assistance from the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office, and charged federally with sex trafficking of a minor.
Flagler Jail Inmates Among Work Crews That Cleaned Up Homeless Camp Near Public Library
The Flagler jail’s “Inmate Work Crew” launched last summer and has been used at about a dozen county-owned facilities, its work valued at the equivalent of $75,000 that would otherwise have had to be paid with tax dollars.
Burglary Suspect Fleeing Cops Crashes Car on A1A and Adds Auto Theft To His Charges
Joshua Allen Reed, a 27-year-old resident of Daytona Beach, had 16 arrests in Volusia going back to 2010 when he was booked on half a dozen charges Tuesday after allegedly burglarizing a garage and fleeing an officer.
Daniel R Macleod III Is 2nd Motorcyclist Killed in 3 Days Following Crash on I-95 Near Construction
Daniel R. MacLeod III, a 40-year-old former resident of Palm Coast, was critically injured in a motorcycle crash late Monday afternoon on I-95, just north of Palm Coast Parkway. McLeod later died at Halifax hospital.
House Piles Up Exceptions and Controversies to Automatic Restoration of Felons’ Voting Rights
House proposals would broaden the definition of sex offenses that would keep a felon from regaining the right to vote and would add a slew of financial obligations before a felon could get the right back.
Jason Richards, 46, Is Killed in Motorcycle Crash on Colbert Lane as Bike Week Winds Down
Jason Richards, a 46-year-old resident of Winter Haven in town for Bike Week, died not long after he crashed his motorcycle off Colbert Lane near Roberts Road Saturday evening (March 16).
Deadline Comes and Goes And Still No Breakthrough on Alternative to Sheriff’s Operations Center
A month ago the Flagler County Commission agreed to a 15-day deadline to come up with a compromise on interim space for the Sheriff’s Operations Center, when the sheriff and the clerk of court were not agreeing on using courthouse space to that end. The deadline has long lapsed, with no new proposal on the table.
Homeless Man Arrested In Strong-Armed Robbery at Palm Coast Gas Station Over Cigarettes
Justin Taylor, a three-time convicted felon who’s been homeless in Palm Coast for several years, was arrested Sunday morning after an altercation with a store clerk at a convenience store on Palm Coast Parkway, where he stole one pack of cigarettes and a can of tobacco.
Rifle and Handgun Stolen as Flagler Sheriff’s Deputy’s Vehicle Is Broken Into In Front Of His House in B-Section
A Flagler County Sheriff’s patrol vehicle assigned to deputy Daniel LaVerne was broken into overnight Saturday as it was parked in front of LaVerne’s house in the area of Beachway Drive in Palm Coast. The thief or thieves stole a handgun and a rifle.
Rethinking Incarceration and Systemic Oppression: Stetson University Launches Critical Initiative
Stetson University Community Education Project (CEP) is launching Rethinking Incarceration, an initiative designed to promote dialogue on mass incarceration, prison reform, human rights, political engagement and systemic oppression.
County Calls DEP Over Area ‘Heavily Contaminated With Human Waste’ Around Library in Cleanup of Homeless Camp
The week-long cleanup of the homeless camp near the public library in Palm Coast revealed concerning hygienic issues but few security incidents. Meanwhile, the library is installing a new security system.
Push For Swift Homeless ‘Solutions’ Clashes With Individual, On-the-Ground Realities
Flagler County Commissioner Joe Mullins and Palm Coast City Council member Jack Howell want solutions to what they call a homeless crisis, but others are reminding them that efforts are in place. The resources and focus to pull them off in concert may not be.
Judge Rules School Boards Must Provide Security Officers to Charter Schools Just As They Do Their Own
In a decision that could have statewide implications, an administrative law judge Tuesday ruled that the Palm Beach County School Board is required to assign safety officers to charter schools under a law passed last year. Judge John Van Laningham sided with Renaissance Charter School Inc., which operates six schools in Palm Beach County and […]
Palm Coast Teen and Best Friend Face Molestation Charges Involving Teen’s Family Member Over Years
Both men were cooperative with detectives and confessed, according to their arrest report, saying they wanted to seek help, which suggests the case may be settled before it reaches trial.
Its Eye on Homeless, Public Library Draws ‘Green Zone’ to Stop Roaming On Property Outside Regular Hours
The Palm Coast library’s “Green Zone” is intended to keep the more than three dozen homeless people who have encamped on county land southwest of the library from using the building’s covered areas or its parking lot as gathering, sleeping or rest places.
Car v. Semi Crash and Fire Briefly Shuts Down I-95 Near Princess Place; Deputy Hospitalized
A crash between a sedan and a semi truck just after 6 p.m. Sunday shut down I-95 southbound south of the Flagler-St. Johns county line and sent the driver of the sedan a deputy to the hospital. The deputy was responding and had smoke inhalation.
Ex-Cop Michael Stavris’s Probation Officer Wanted Him Back In Prison Even Before His Latest Charges
An investigation revealed that not 72 hours after his release from prison on similar charges, ex-cop Michael Stavris was engaging in the very same behavior, using a minor girls’ fake Facebook account to speak to men.
County Orders Armed Security at Palm Coast Library in Signal to Homeless, Patrons and Staff: ‘Safety Is Paramount’
In the latest development of the homeless crisis at the Flagler County Public Library in Palm Coast, the library director and a county commissioner pressured the interim county administrator to provide armed security at the library while the county searches for a longer-term solution.
25 Campers Evacuated at Thunder Gulch Campground as Sheriff Turns Up ‘Presence of an Explosive’ Linked to Previous Arrest
Flagler Sheriff’s units, the Volusia sheriff’s bomb squad and ATF agents served a warrant at the Thunder Gulch camper Friday night where Damon Lance Gause Jr., 47, lived before his arrest last week in Ormond Beach on a bomb charge.
Palm Coast Fires Palm Harbor Golf Club General Manager Tim Spangler Over Charges of Theft
Tim Spangler was hired at the city-run Palm Harbor Golf Club in the summer of 2017 as part of a make-over of the club, when the city took over management from a private company.
50 Years In Prison for Thomas Binkley, 62, Who Molested 2 Girls Younger Than 9
Thomas Binkley, the 62-year-old former Bunnell resident, found guilty of molesting two sisters, ages 6 and 8, will serve two consecutive mandatory 25-year terms, but is unlikely to live many years in prison as his health is failing.
Palm Coast’s Sarah Rudolph, 20, Matanzas and DSC Graduate, Dies in Apparent Suicide
Sarah Rudolph had made her way through the Flagler County school system from her earliest year and had recently been admitted into the U.S. Air Force, according to her obituary. Hers is the fourth suicide of a Flagler resident 25 or younger since September.
FPC’s Problem Solvers Will Present Their School-Safety Initiative to Marjory Stoneman Douglas Commission
Members of the Flagler Palm Coast High School Community Problem Solving Group “FPC Bulldog Patrol” have been invited to present their project to the next meeting of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Public Safety Commission, April 9-10, at the BB&T Center in Sunrise.
Sheriff’s Employees Were Not Imagining It: New Report Finds Mold From Water Intrusion at Sheriff’s Operations Center
The result of wall cuts and analysis below floor tiles pointed to extensive water intrusion and the discovery of black mold in two locations, among other problems, and no indication that the building may be re-occupied any time soon.
Sheriff’s Detectives Investigate Death of Richard W. Smith in Isolated Woods of Flagler Estates
Richard Wyatt Smith, 45, of 12th Street in Elkton, had been reported missing by his wife earlier Wednesday morning. He was found in his car deep in the woods of Flagler Estates, in northwest Flagler County.
Ex-Bunnell Cop Mike Stavris, Imprisoned For Impersonating Kids Online, Arrested on Related Violation Days After His Release
Michael Stavris, now 34, of Palm Coast’s F-Section, allegedly admitted to creating a fake Facebook account and impersonating the same girl he’d impersonated in 2014, resulting in computer pornography charges and an eventual plea deal with a shorter prison sentence.
Criminal and Civil Cases In Mobil Mart Murder of Store Clerk Zuheily Rosado Approaching Trial, Or Resolution
Joseph Bova, the man accused of murdering Zuheily Rosado at a Palm Coast gas station six years ago, will have his competency for trial evaluated in two weeks, and a civil case may reach a settlement before an April trial date.
Details Emerge in Death of April Descartes: ‘No Foul Play,’ But Cause May Not Be Known For Months
The medical examiner found no reason to think someone had harmed April Mancuso Descartes, 39, who was found dead in her bed Saturday at her home in Palm Coast.
Pick-Up Rear-Ends Bunnell-Bound School Bus With 40 Students Aboard in Palm Coast’s LL Section
A pick-up truck rear-ended a school bus that was approaching the end of its morning run in Palm Coast’s L Section this morning, a collision one witness described as “like a bomb.” One child suffered neck pain, the drivers were not hurt.
Detectives Investigating Death of April Descartes, 39, in Palm Coast’s R-Section
Flagler County Sheriff’s detectives, deputies and the Crime Scene Investigation units have been at 37 Robinson Drive since this morning, investigating the death of April Descartes, 39, who owned the house there.
Sheriff Fires Armor, Jail Health Provider at Center of Anthony Fennick’s Death, and Institutes Immediate Changes
Sheriff Rick Staly is firing Armor Correctional Health and instituting a series of measures at the jail making family-inmate contact easier in critical times, and information more readily accessible.
In Re-Trial, Michael Bowling Is Found Guilty Of Molesting 15-Year-Old Girl at Sleep-Over
Michael Bowling, 48, was found guilty at the end of a week-long trial of molesting a 15-year-old girl two years ago in a Mondex mobile home, when she’d been visiting his step-daughter.
Employees Will Sue Sheriff Over Sick Operations Center, and the Sheriff Is All For It
The law firm representing 27 Flagler sheriff’s employees served the sheriff notice of a lawsuit for negligence over the Operations Center, a move Sheriff Rick Staly is supporting.
Suspected Armed Robbers Lead Volusia and Flagler Cops and K-9s on Chase, Ending in Arrests
Jamier R. Scott and Darryl Duffy, both of them 29, both of them from Palatka, face armed robbery and other charges after their arrest off the Bimini Bar woods, with K-9s tracking them down.
An Angry Tom Bexley Freezes County’s Attempt To Cede 1st Floor of Courthouse to Sheriff
Clerk of Court Tom Bexley was angered by a sheriff’s proposal, which the county would have had to approve, to use the first floor of the courthouse for the foreseeable future as the sheriff’s exile from the Operations Center continues.
Latest Twist in Bowling Molestation Trial: Defense Seeks to Impeach Its Own Witness
The lawyer for Michael Bowling, accused of molesting a 15-year-old girl visiting his stepdaughter, is arguing that the two girls made up a story to keep one of them from returning to Kentucky.
A Boy Bullied at Rymfire Elementary Turns to Self-Harm on a School Bus. He’s 5 Years Old.
The Rymfire Elementary student appeared to have attempted to choke himself, and told a deputy he was being bullied at school. Paramedics cleared him and he was turned over to his father.
Matanzas High Student, 16, Arrested Over School-Shooting Threat on Snapchat and Blames Bullying
The 16-year-old Palm Coast girl allegedly made threats against other girls at school she claims had been bullying her, but she now faces a felony charge and expulsion from Matanzas High School.
Palm Coast’s Sean Farrelly, 47, Charged With Bribing and Doping 16-Year-Old Girl for Sex
Sean Farrelly, who works in construction and excavation, was arrested on a charge of statutory rape and charges of unlawful sexual activity with a minor, and is being held without bond at the county jail.
After Mistrial, Michael Bowling Is Again on Trial On Accusations He Molested Girl During Sleepover
After December’s mistrial, Bunnell’s Michael Bowling, 48, was back on trial anew today, facing his accuser who says he molested her in a dark closet during a sleepover at her friend’s house.