• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
MENUMENU
MENUMENU
  • Home
  • About
    • Contact Us
    • FlaglerLive Board of Directors
    • Comment Policy
    • Mission Statement
    • Our Values
    • Privacy Policy
  • Live Calendar
  • Submit Obituary
  • Submit an Event
  • Support FlaglerLive
  • Advertise on FlaglerLive (386) 503-3808
  • Search Results

FlaglerLive

No Bull, no Fluff, No Smudges

MENUMENU
  • Flagler
    • Flagler County Commission
    • Beverly Beach
    • Economic Development Council
    • Flagler History
    • Mondex/Daytona North
    • The Hammock
    • Tourist Development Council
  • Palm Coast
    • Palm Coast City Council
    • Palm Coast Crime
  • Bunnell
    • Bunnell City Commission
    • Bunnell Crime
  • Flagler Beach
    • Flagler Beach City Commission
    • Flagler Beach Crime
  • Cops/Courts
    • Circuit & County Court
    • Florida Supreme Court
    • Federal Courts
    • Flagler 911
    • Fire House
    • Flagler County Sheriff
    • Flagler Jail Bookings
    • Traffic Accidents
  • Rights & Liberties
    • Fourth Amendment
    • First Amendment
    • Privacy
    • Second Amendment
    • Seventh Amendment
    • Sixth Amendment
    • Sunshine Law
    • Third Amendment
    • Religion & Beliefs
    • Human Rights
    • Immigration
    • Labor Rights
    • 14th Amendment
    • Civil Rights
  • Schools
    • Adult Education
    • Belle Terre Elementary
    • Buddy Taylor Middle
    • Bunnell Elementary
    • Charter Schools
    • Daytona State College
    • Flagler County School Board
    • Flagler Palm Coast High School
    • Higher Education
    • Imagine School
    • Indian Trails Middle
    • Matanzas High School
    • Old Kings Elementary
    • Rymfire Elementary
    • Stetson University
    • Wadsworth Elementary
    • University of Florida/Florida State
  • Economy
    • Jobs & Unemployment
    • Business & Economy
    • Development & Sprawl
    • Leisure & Tourism
    • Local Business
    • Local Media
    • Real Estate & Development
    • Taxes
  • Commentary
    • The Conversation
    • Pierre Tristam
    • Diane Roberts
    • Guest Columns
    • Byblos
    • Editor's Blog
  • Culture
    • African American Cultural Society
    • Arts in Palm Coast & Flagler
    • Books
    • City Repertory Theatre
    • Flagler Auditorium
    • Flagler Playhouse
    • Flagler Youth Orchestra
    • Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra
    • Palm Coast Arts Foundation
    • Special Events
  • Elections 2024
    • Amendments and Referendums
    • Presidential Election
    • Campaign Finance
    • City Elections
    • Congressional
    • Constitutionals
    • Courts
    • Governor
    • Polls
    • Voting Rights
  • Florida
    • Federal Politics
    • Florida History
    • Florida Legislature
    • Florida Legislature
    • Ron DeSantis
  • Health & Society
    • Flagler County Health Department
    • Ask the Doctor Column
    • Health Care
    • Health Care Business
    • Covid-19
    • Children and Families
    • Medicaid and Medicare
    • Mental Health
    • Poverty
    • Violence
  • All Else
    • Daily Briefing
    • Americana
    • Obituaries
    • News Briefs
    • Weather and Climate
    • Wildlife

Michael Stens, County Judge’s Ex-Husband, Is Arrested on DUI Charge After Crash in F-Section

April 25, 2016 | FlaglerLive | 2 Comments

michael stens dui charge
Michael Stens.

One thing is certain in Michael Shane Stens’s drunk driving case: he will not be appearing before Flagler County Judge Melissa Moore-Stens, his ex-wife, who normally handles all misdemeanors. (They were divorced in 2013.) The case will be reassigned to another judge to avoid a conflict, as in fact took place in Michael Stens’s first appearance, which was handled by Circuit Judge Matthew Foxman. Foxman also signed a reassignment order and took the case for good.


Michael Stens, 44, a resident of Fenimore Lane in Palm Coast, was arrested early this morning after a car crash within a few feet of his house on Fenimore Lane. When Flagler County Sheriff’s deputy Shantel Flanary got there at about 11:20 p.m. Sunday night, Stens had been evaluated by Palm Coast Fire Department paramedics and was sitting by his care, with a bloodied face from lacerations. He’d apparently struck the windshield, according to the report.

He refused treatment or transportation to Florida Hospital Flagler.

He’d been driving a 2012 Toyota Prius. He told the deputy he was heading home after getting some food when he lost control of the car, which appeared to have struck a cement culvert, according to the report, before ending up in the swale. Stens said he was unsure how he’d crashed. The Prius was damaged enough that it couldn’t be driven.

The crash was called in by a friend and neighbor of Stens’s who heard the loud crash and saw Stens behind the wheel.

There was no odor of alcohol emitting from the vehicle, the deputy reported in her written observations, but a “moderate” odor of alcohol emitting from Stens, whose attitude, however, the deputy described as “uncooperative/rude.” Under “unusual actions” in the report, the deputy repeated: “Rude,”  and in another section of the report, under attitude, “Poor” was checked off.

He was asked to perform field-sobriety exercises, a series of four exercises that test an individual’s physical coordination and ability to follow directions. In the first, he was “very uncooperative” yet eventually complied. He displayed some difficulties with the remaining exercises, allegedly continuing to be uncooperative and missing the mark on several directions. He was then placed under arrest.

At the county jail, where he was placed under 20 minutes’ observation, he refused to submit to a breath test. He will be arraigned on May 24. He was released on his own recognizance.

Stens had previously been a Daytona Beach police officer for 15 years until his retirement last spring. Melissa Moore-Stens was elected to the bench in Flagler in 2012. She was a candidate for a circuit judge appointment to fill the vacancy created by Judge J. David Walsh’s recent retirement, but on Friday, Gov. Rick Scott announced the appointment of R. Lee Smith to the vacancy. Smith served as an Assistant State Attorney and the Chief of the Traffic Homicide Division for the Fourth Judicial Circuit since 2009, according to a release issued by the governor’s office.

Support FlaglerLive's End of Year Fundraiser
Thank you readers for getting us to--and past--our year-end fund-raising goal yet again. It’s a bracing way to mark our 15th year at FlaglerLive. Our donors are just a fraction of the 25,000 readers who seek us out for the best-reported, most timely, trustworthy, and independent local news site anywhere, without paywall. FlaglerLive is free. Fighting misinformation and keeping democracy in the sunshine 365/7/24 isn’t free. Take a brief moment, become a champion of fearless, enlightening journalism. Any amount helps. We’re a 501(c)(3) non-profit news organization. Donations are tax deductible.  
You may donate openly or anonymously.
We like Zeffy (no fees), but if you prefer to use PayPal, click here.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. PJ says

    April 26, 2016 at 4:12 pm

    He is no reflection on the Judge!

    Loading...
  2. Markingthedays says

    April 26, 2016 at 10:20 pm

    She won her seat DESPITE the hindrance of being married to him.

    Loading...

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

  • Conner Bosch law attorneys lawyers offices palm coast flagler county
  • grand living realty
  • politis matovina attorneys for justice personal injury law auto truck accidents

Primary Sidebar

  • grand living realty
  • politis matovina attorneys for justice personal injury law auto truck accidents

Recent Comments

  • P C Tim on Palm Coast Council Will Seek At Least a Small Reduction in Property Tax Rate, Leaving Open Possibility of More
  • William O'DOnnell on Palm Coast Council Deadlocks Over Selling Palm Harbor Golf Club; It May Raise Rates Again and Beg Loopers for a Cut
  • celia pugliese on Palm Coast Council Deadlocks Over Selling Palm Harbor Golf Club; It May Raise Rates Again and Beg Loopers for a Cut
  • Standing in the Middle of Palm Coast Parkway on ‘We’re Not in a Great Shape,’ School Board’s Derek Barrs Warns as Vouchers Fuel Financial Crunch and Enrollment Drop
  • Ray on DeSantis Seizes Land in Everglades to Open ‘Alligator Alcatraz,’ Mass Migrant Detention Center
  • Ray W, on The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, June 25, 2025
  • Dusty on Palm Coast Council Will Seek At Least a Small Reduction in Property Tax Rate, Leaving Open Possibility of More
  • JimboXYZ on ‘We’re Not in a Great Shape,’ School Board’s Derek Barrs Warns as Vouchers Fuel Financial Crunch and Enrollment Drop
  • Scooby Doo on The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Wednesday, June 25, 2025
  • Merrill Shapiro on ‘We’re Not in a Great Shape,’ School Board’s Derek Barrs Warns as Vouchers Fuel Financial Crunch and Enrollment Drop
  • Glad I don't have kids in the school system on ‘We’re Not in a Great Shape,’ School Board’s Derek Barrs Warns as Vouchers Fuel Financial Crunch and Enrollment Drop
  • Kennan on This Will Not End Well
  • Atwp on DeSantis Seizes Land in Everglades to Open ‘Alligator Alcatraz,’ Mass Migrant Detention Center
  • Joe D on Largest Restoration Project in FWC’s History Conducted on Lake Kissimmee
  • Disgusted on ‘We’re Not in a Great Shape,’ School Board’s Derek Barrs Warns as Vouchers Fuel Financial Crunch and Enrollment Drop
  • Skibum on Palm Coast Council Deadlocks Over Selling Palm Harbor Golf Club; It May Raise Rates Again and Beg Loopers for a Cut

Log in

%d