Palm Coast Man Arrested After Stand-Off With SWAT, and Twice Firing a Gun

Juan N. Nodarse, a 53-year-old resident of Cute Court in Palm Coast, is at the Flagler County jail on $175,000 bond after twice firing a gun–one shot was fired with deputies outside, one fired with his wife in the house–and triggering a SWAT team’s response from the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office.

The incident took place Saturday. In one of three arrest reports–different reports were filed with different charges–Nodarse had been upset about his mother’s suicide, telling his wife that he was “going to go out like her,” according to his arrest report.




In another, his wife described Nodarse as acting increasingly erratic since the middle of last week. They would go out for dinner, as they usually do, but once back home, he would start making strange accusations that would make his wife uncomfortable. The accusations were never accompanied by any threats or violence. But on Feb. 10, his behavior prompted his wife to ask him to leave the house until he settled down.

He agreed, and was supposed to have collected some belongings by noon on Feb. 11. But he wouldn’t leave, and instead asked if he could sleep in a small hutch outside. His wife agreed as long as all doors were locked and he couldn’t get back in. Nodarse got upset over that arrangement and left at 4 p.m.

An hour later, as his wife was sitting in the living room, she noticed Nodarse pacing in the backyard, where he seemed to be talking to someone. She then saw him walk toward the tinted glass doors leading to the back porch, pick up a gun, point it trough a window, and fire a round in the room where his wife was sitting. She rushed to a bathroom and locked herself in, calling 911. Authorities escorted her out to safety.

According to a sheriff’s release, deputies were able to see Nodarse in his home with the firearm in hand. He initially refused to comply with directions and commands from deputies, so the SWAT team responded, as did the Crisis Negotiations Team. Nearby residents were notified to shelter in place as negotiations continued. Eventually, Nodarse came outside and, not complying with deputies commands, was struck with non-lethal defensive weapons. He was not injured.




Silent drone video shows him stepping out of the house and, his arms raised, moving swiftly toward sheriff’s vehicles, facing them. Deputies in such situations typically have an individual walk in reverse, without sudden movements, in specific ways.

He faces two second-degree felony charges of firing into an occupied building, and a third degree felony charge of aggravated assault. If he bonds out, he is required to surrender all firearms and comply with a no-contact order regarding his wife.