Crime Reports, May 24-30

The following incident and arrest information was compiled using official documents, reports and affidavits obtained from government and law enforcement agencies. This feature is not inclusive. It is a sampling of reported incidents in the Flagler County area. Note: The U.S. legal system provides the presumption of innocence to those charged with a crime until guilt is proven in a court of law.

This page is updated every weekday or as warranted.

Suicide Thwarted

A local man who thought he was wanted by law enforcement will live another day thanks to another local man’s quick thinking. When a man living on Armand Beach Drive in Palm Coast noticed a man hanging from a tree in his back yard, purple and lifeless, he quickly cut the man down and saved his life, a report said. Deputies took the suicide attempt report at a Sheriff’s Office substation in the Hammock. The report does not indicate if the men knew each other. The man told deputies he tried to kill himself because he was a wanted man, but deputies could find no warrants for his arrest in the system. The man was taken to Florida Hospital Flagler, where he was treated and held under the Baker Act.

Hired Help Investigated

A home health aid with Arcadia Health Care is suspected of theft after an Ormond Beach woman reported May 29 she believes her caregiver stole $120, prescription drugs and siphoned gas from her vehicle three days prior. The woman was assigned a new care taker by the agency, the report said.

Mom Shops, Teens Steal

As a local mother did her shopping at a Palm Coast Bealls Department Store May 27, her two teens were busy stealing $240 worth of merchandise elsewhere in the store, according to an incident report. Surveillance footage showed the teens put several pieces of clothing, jewelry and accessories into a backpack while in the store’s fitting rooms before leaving without paying, the report said. Charges against the teens were sent to the State Attorney’s Office and they were released to their parents, the report said.

Forgotten Hat

Deputies are investigating an early morning burglary at a home on Florida Park Drive May 25 that may have been perpetrated by a person the residents of the property know, according to an incident report. The resident reported seeing her teenage son playing on his Playstation 3 at 10 p.m. the previous evening. But when the family awoke, just a baseball cap sat where the console was the night before, the report said. Then, a 20-year-old Palm Coast man known to the family entered uninvited through a sliding glass door at the rear of the home. After noticing the teen resident in the room, the man said he “just needed to get his hat” and retrieved the cap that was laying on the TV stand where the video game system had been. 

Sexy Fraud

Someone opened a Victoria Secrets credit account in a Palm Coast man’s name recently and racked up more than $465 in charges on it, a report said. The man discovered his identity was stolen when he was contacted by the lingerie company to inquire about the recent oversized order. The man said he didn’t hold credit with the company nor did he make the purchases. The order and the credit account were canceled, the report said.

Car Burglaries

Vehicles were reported vandalized or burglarized at the following locations:

• Belle Terre Parkway, Palm Coast, May 28. While a Palm Coast woman was shopping in the AT&T store, the tag was stolen from her vehicle.
• Rosewood Street, Bunnell, May 29.  An unlocked Mitsubishi Montero was broken into and $400 and multiple business documents were taken.

Home burglaries

Homes were reported vandalized or burglarized at the following locations:

•  Palm Coast Parkway Northeast, Palm Coast, May 24.  A tag was reported stolen four days earlier from a Toyota Camry parked in the parking lot at Pizza Hut.
• Kaufman Place, Palm Coast, May 24.  Someone entered through an unsecured bedroom window of a home between 9:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. A Playstation 2 was taken from the room but an Xbox 360 and several other valuable items were left behind.
• Karat Path, Palm Coast, May 25. The front door of a home was kicked open and a bedroom window was broken. Nothing appeared to be missing.
• Kathryn Place, Palm Coast, May 25. A sliding glass door at the rear of a home was smashed out and a laptop was taken.
• Wellington Drive, Palm Coast, May 27. A wooden fence and lawn decorations were vandalized to the tune of $450.
• Wellington Lane, Palm Coast, May 27. A  kitchen window was shattered and the screen damaged during a break-in. Nothing was taken.
• Sherwood Street, Palm Coast, May 26-28. The front door of a home was pried open and $200 was taken from a bedroom.
• Ocean Oaks Lane, Palm Coast, May 28. A window pane on the rear door of a home was broken in what was likely an unsuccessful burglary attempt.
• Flemington Lane, Palm Coast, May 29. A vehicle drove through the yard of a residence, causing damage.

DUI Arrests

 In 2008, an estimated 11,773 people were killed in automobile crashes involving a drunk driver (someone with a blood alcohol content level of .08 or more), according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.  Soon, a varying list of traffic and law enforcement agencies will begin releasing the DUI data they compiled in 2009. Whether drunk driving’s annual death toll rose or fell last year, the number isn’t likely to be the only acceptable one…zero.  These reportedly impaired drivers were also found driving on Flagler’s streets this week and were arrested.

• David Cassady, 28, Palm Coast. May 30.