Michael Cummings was charged with second-degree murder in the death of his wife Faith Cummings Thursday in what the sheriff describes as a case of domestic violence that went out of control.
Cops/Courts
Michael Cummings Charged With Murder in Wife’s Death on Point Pleasant Thursday; Sheriff Describes “Brutal” Attack
With autopsy results in, the death of 44-year-old Faith Cummings at her Palm Coast home last week is now considered very suspicious, and people of interests are being sought.
Husband’s Arrest Adds Troubling Details To Wife’s Untimely Death on Point Pleasant
Used syringes were found in the house at 6 Point Pleasant Drive and Michael Cummings’s clothes were spotted with blood when he met a sheriff’s deputy. He was arrested for obstruction.
Sheriff’s Detectives Investigating Suspicious Death on Point Pleasant Drive in Palm Coast
A woman in her 40s was reported dead this morning in her bathroom. Her husband was speaking with authorities, and the sheriff was at the scene, along with detectives.
Flagler’s Opioid Crisis Seen From Those Fighting It: A Severe Lack of Treatment Beds, Drug Court at Capacity, Jail as a Waiting Room
The most comprehensive picture of the opioid crisis in Flagler County came to light today in a gathering of Flagler County judges, top cops, medical, social and government services. Here are the details.
Proposal To Toughen Penalties For Texting While Driving Gains on 1st Day
With support from the House speaker, a proposal to make texting while driving a “primary” offense in Florida received unanimous support Tuesday from a House panel as the 2018 legislative session opened.
Prosecution Intends To Try Paul Dykes Twice More Even as He Faces Life in Prison
Paul Dykes was found guilty of directing the rape of a 1-year-old child last month, but prosecutors want to try him two more times on related charges, they told a circuit judge today.
Man Takes His Own Life in a Car on SR100 as Sheriff’s Negotiators Were On Their Way
A man took his own life by gunshot in a car on State Road 100’s westbound lanes, in front of the Mobil station and convenience store, at dawn Tuesday.
Jonathan Lord Takes Over Flagler’s Emergency Management as Its 6th Chief in 12 Years
Jonathan Lord, 43, had for more than two years been deputy director of Florida’s Division of Emergency Management, overseeing the statewide response to Hurricanes Hermine, Matthew and Irma firsthand.
Virginia-Based Hoax Threat to “MHS” Unrelated to Matanzas High School
A Snapchat threat to a school in Virginia with the same acronym as Matanzas High School in Palm Coast drew many calls to the sheriff’s office Sunday.
19 Year Old Arrested By Sheriff Last Week For Reckless Driving Rearrested on Hit-and-Run and Cocaine Charges
Jacob Reardon is accused of speeding through the B Section when he crashed his car into a parked Nissan and fled the scene, along with his girlfriend. Cops quickly located him.
Sod-Laden Semi Overturns at Palm Coast Parkway Off U.S. 1, Closing Eastbound Lanes
The truck was driving north on U.S. 1. It was making the sharp right turn onto the parkway when it overturned. No one was hurt.
One Suicide, 10 Baker Acts: New Year Weekend’s Mental Health Toll Taxes Flagler Deputies
Baker Acts are a reflection of the county’s needs for mental health services, needs that are largely unmet despite recurring calls by county, police and mental health officials to improve matters.
Collateral Damage of Florida’s Opioid Crisis: Children
Contending with tales of children discovered in the backseats of cars with their parents passed out from drug overdoses in the front, or toddlers left alone in fetid apartments for days while drug-addled mothers or fathers scour the streets for a fix.
A Few Months Out of State Prison, Dacotah Clarke Is Back In Jail on Slew of Charges
Dacotah Clarke had been imprisoned on an armed robbery charged and was released on probation only to be rearrested, along with Steve Young, on nine charges on Dec. 30.
Palm Coast Man Charged With Attempting to Electrocute His Wife 2 Days After Christmas
In one of the strangest cases in recent memory, Michael S. Wilson, 32, is accused of rigging the front door of his wife’s house in Palm Coast’s W-Section with live electrical current.
2 Stolen Cars, Chase on SR100, and Arrest of 2 Teens, One With History of Car and Gun Thefts
Sammy Rozier, 16, had been released from detention days earlier when he was rearrested Tuesday on charges of stealing a car and leading cops on a chase through Palm Coast and Bunnell.
Douglas C. Egan, 56, Takes His Own Life Near His Home in Seminole Woods
Douglas Egan of 4 Seward Trail was found dead of a gunshot wound the afternoon of Christmas day. He had sent a text to his wife in New York the previous evening saying to call police.
Roger Teachworth, 60, of Palm Coast, Is Killed In a Freak Vehicle Accident in His Garage
Roger Teachworth, a 60-year-old resident of 7 Biscay Lane Palm Coast, was pinned by his pick-up truck in his garage the afternoon of Christmas Eve.
Flagler County’s 911 System Getting a $270,000 Upgrade, Adding Voice and Text Messaging
Texting abilities to 911 should be operational in Flagler County by the end of 2018. The grant was awarded by the state, with funding generated from a 40-cent statewide surcharge on phone lines.
Paul Deatherage, 31, Is Killed in Single-Vehicle Crash on U.S. 1, North of Whiteview
Paul Deatherage lost control of a Toyota pick-up, drifting into the median, over-correcting, and ending up in the shoulder before violently striking a tree. He was extricated but pronounced dead at the scene.
“You’re Getting Arrested by The Sheriff For That Kind of Driving,” Staly Tells 19 Year Old
Jacob Reardon, who just months ago was cited for going 84 in a 40, was arrested by Sheriff Rick Staly Wednesday evening, going 112 on I-95. He was also charged with pot possession.
Palm Coast Man Accused Of Assaulting Deputy, Threaten His Life and Make Him “Disappear”
A domestic situation on Palm Coast’s Postman lane had gone out of control when sheriff’s deputies arrived, with William Closson, 46, allegedly escalating a confrontation with a deputy.
For Richard Westervelt, Long Series of Arrests and Evasions Ends in 5-Year Prison Term
Circuit Judge Dennis Craig rejected a more lenient prison term for Richard Westervelt of Palm Coast, who’s been arrested 13 times and faced 44 felonies and misdemeanors since 2010.
Woody’s BBQ at Flagler Plaza Is Burglarized For First Time in 18 Years
Two windows were smashed in in an apparent attempt to steal from the cash register, which was empty. Damage from the burglary was valued at almost $5,000, according to a sheriff’s report.
Bunnell Man, 46, Accused of Raping Girl Since She was 8 and Molesting Another at Sleep-Over
The alleged assaults came to light after a sleep-over involving a 15 year old girl who’d gone to Bowling’s house to see her 15-year-old friend in June 2016.
Barney Davis, 56, Critically Injured in Motorcycle Crash on Seminole Woods By RaceTrac, Dies
There was no contact between Barney Davis’s motorcycle and a van as Davis attempted evasive action after the van cut in front of him, FHP said.
Masked Gunman Robs Shell Station at Club House Drive, Suspect Arrested Within Hours
Charles E. Rushing-Griffen, 27, was booked at the Flagler County jail at 5:23 this morning as the suspect in an armed robbery by a masked gunman at 7:30 p.m. Thursday evening.
Bigamy Charge Revived Against Palm Coast Sex Offender With Long, Violent Criminal History
Paul Stout, a Bunnell resident with a violent criminal history in three states, was rearrested on a bigamy charge he had first faced in 2013, when the State Attorney’s office dropped it.
Early Morning Fire on Wellstream Lane Makes Home Uninhabitable For Family of Five
The fire broke out in the chimney at the 3,500-square-foot, two-level house at 68 Wellstream Lane in Palm Coast just before 1:30 this morning. It then spread to the roof.
In Florida, You Can Lose Your Driver’s License For Jaywalking–Especially If You’re Black
Sen. Jeff Brandes has repeatedly introduced measures that would prohibit driver’s license suspensions for non-driving offenses. But Clerks of court stand to lose $40 million annually if the law is modified.
Christmas With a Deputy Marks 10th Year By Increasing Shopping-Spree Sleighs to 125 Children
This Friday 125 children will get to go on a Christmas shopping spree with a cop and a gift card at Target, getting there in a long convoy of cop cars, lights and sirens blaring.
Charges or Sanctions Against Judge Scott DuPont Up to Commission as Hearing Ends
The final hearing in the year-long case alleging misconduct against Circuit Court Judge Scott DuPont ended Tuesday, with a decision expected sometime in the next two months.
25 Years Later, a Palm Coast Murder Is Relived in Flagler Courtroom as Killer Seeks Release
Michael Renaud, now 44, was 17 when he murdered Margaret Rogers at a house on Point Pleasant Drive in Palm Coast in 1992. Today he was back in court, arguing for his early release.
Flagler Clerk of Court Will Hold Mass Wedding Ceremony on Valentine’s Day in New Tradition
On Feb. 14, Clerk of Court Tom Bexley will lead a mass marriage ceremony for all willing couples of all denominations and orientations.
Man Wanted In Hit-and-Run Crash Involving Flagler Deputy Is Extradited to Flagler
James Rex Vorhees, a 74-year-old resident of Beauford County, South Carolina, was booked at the Flagler County jail on $11,000 bond after two hit-and-runs in late November.
2 Suicides, in Flagler Beach and at Palm Coast Econo Lodge, Bring Year’s Total to 19
Sharon Keeler, 66, lost her husband Karl to a vehicle crash earlier this month and died by suicide over the weekend. Seth Michael Rice, 47, of Jupiter, died of a gunshot wound at a Palm Coast hotel.
A Dubious Arrest, a Compromised Prosecutor, a Tainted Plea: How One Murder Case Exposes A Broken System
One innocent man’s odyssey through the justice system shows why defendants often agree to virtually inescapable plea deals for crimes they didn’t commit.
Found Guilty of Escape Out of Cop’s Car, George Wood Faces Up to 30 Years in Prison And Two More Trials
George Wood III of Palm Coast, 31, a felon now 11 times over, had busted out of a cop car after his arrest on SR100 in January and led police on an air and foot chase.
Sidestepping Health Concerns, Flagler Approves 5 New Cell Towers, 2 Rising 350 Feet
Without denying health hazards, the Flagler County Commission approved the siting of five new cell towers, including one in Palm Coast, as part of its next-generation emergency communications system.
In 18 Minutes, Jury Finds Paul Dykes Guilty on 24 Counts of Child Sex Crimes, Including Rape
A jury of six women barely deliberated in the case of Palm Coast’s Paul Dykes, 21, found guilty of directing the rape of a 1-year-old girl with an ex-girlfriend, also found guilty in September.
Dale S. Winton Sr., 52, Takes His Own Life in Garage on Palm Coast’s La Mancha Drive
Dale S. Winton Sr., 52, in the hours before his death had written a note to his girlfriend, but it was unintelligible. She later found him unresponsive and paramedics found him without a pulse.
In Paul Dykes Trial, A Shaken Jury Is Subjected to Unrelenting Accounts of Unspeakable Acts
The first full day of trial for Paul Dykes, accused of raping a 1-year-old girl, subjected the jury to a tortuous onslaught of disturbing evidence. At day’s end, Dykes’s accomplice in the alleged rapes appeared.
Notes From Underground
In Afghanistan, there may be up to 1,000 children in prison with a parent–not because they committed a crime, but because Afghan law permits their imprisonment with a criminal parent until the children turn 18.
After Wrenching, Day-Long Process, A Jury Is Impaneled In Child-Rape Trial of Paul Dykes
A jury of six women and one man was chosen from a pool of 50, as potential jurors were excused for a variety of reasons, many of them over the anxieties triggered by the trial’s subject matter.
Death Sentence Commuted to Life For William Gregory, Double-Murderer of Flagler Beach
William Gregory was on Death Row for the 2007 murders of his ex-girlfriend Skyler Dawn Meekings, 17, and her boyfriend of two months, Daniel Arthur Dyer, 22, at a house on John Anderson Highway.
Florida Gun Store Burglaries, Often Brazen And Unresolved, Quadruple in 4 Years
Weak security practices at many gun stores have made commercial burglaries an increasingly significant source of weapons for criminals in Florida and beyond.
82,000 Stolen Guns Are Missing in Florida, Feeding Traffic Among Drug Dealers and Felons
Car burglaries are driving the epidemic as many gun owners leave their vehicles unlocked. Gun stores offer another easy target. Firearms stolen from these businesses during burglaries have more than quadrupled over the last five years.
In Latest Complication, Judge Craig Recuses Himself From David Snelgrove Death Row Case
The Supreme Court has ordered a re-sentencing in the case of David Snelgrove, sentenced to die 15 years ago in the double-murders in Palm Coast of an elderly couple.
Dozen Men Arrested For Soliciting Prostitution In Sheriff’s Sting at Palm Coast Hotel
Some 100 people inquired in response to the ad, but only 12 showed up at a room at the Days Inn in Palm Coast. Seven were from Palm Coast, one from Bunnell, the others from out of town.