On April 22, the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office received a report from a Palm Coast resident regarding suspicious activity by what she believed were City of Palm Coast employees conducting maintenance near her backyard, which borders a city-maintained drainage swale.
According to the victim, she received notifications from motion-activated security cameras while away from her residence. Upon returning, she reviewed the footage, which revealed two suspicious incidents involving males wearing high visibility safety vests.
In the first video, the victim saw a male, later identified as state prison inmate Gino Carnesi, walk up to her screened patio. Carnesi briefly looked into the patio but did not enter, then turned around and made a motion with his hands.
In the second video, approximately an hour later, the victim saw another male, later identified as state prison inmate Jay Working, 33, approach the patio. Working then entered the patio and quickly ran out less than a minute later. The victim later noticed that a pack of cigarettes and lighter had been stolen from the patio.
During the investigation, detectives determined that Carnesi and Working were both inmates from the Putnam Correctional Institution, assigned to a prison inmate work crew contracted by the City of Palm Coast. Both had previously been convicted on burglary- and theft-related charges and sentenced by a court to state prison.
On April 30, detectives obtained an arrest warrant for Working for Burglary of an Unoccupied Dwelling and Petit Theft from a Dwelling (with Prior Conviction) and placed a detainer on him at Putnam Correctional Institution. Working will be transferred to the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility upon his release from state prison, presently set for May 31.
Working is currently serving his sentence for a June 2023 arrest in Levy County for Possession of Methamphetamine and Fleeing and Eluding Law Enforcement with Wanton Disregard. His extensive criminal history includes prior convictions in Dixie County for charges including Burglary of an Occupied Dwelling; Burglary of an Unoccupied Structure; Criminal Mischief; Grand Theft; Possession of a Weapon by a Convicted Felon; and Possession of Methamphetamine with intent to Sell, Manufacture, or Deliver.
“I understand that information about this incident circulated on Facebook among some concerned citizens, so it is important to address and correct some of the speculation, rumors, and inaccuracies that we have seen posted,” said Sheriff Rick Staly. “These men were not work crew inmates from our detention facility and were not under the supervision of the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office. We also took this incident seriously from the beginning and conducted a thorough investigation. Obviously, neither of them learned their lesson while in state prison. We are working with the City of Palm Coast and the Florida Department of Corrections to ensure that state inmates assigned to the City’s work crews and supervised by the City are more closely watched so that something like this will not happen again.”
According to the Florida Department of Corrections, both inmates were relocated to disciplinary confinement and will no longer be permitted to participate in a state inmate work crew.
R.S. says
Goodness gracious! A pack of cigarettes? And a lighter? I wouldn’t even have reported that transgression; instead, I might have offered him another pack–if he insisted on ruining his health with that stuff. Rabbi Maimonides already makes exceptions for the theft of small portions that one can consume in one sitting. David ate the temple bread and shared it with his partners although only priests should have consumed it. Thence, Maimonides’ exceptions to theft. Perhaps jailers need to open up to the needs of confined citizens a bit more–considering that jailers already are stealing their labor by enslaving confined citizens.
celia pugliese says
R.S I agree with you regarding the pack of cigarrettes and lighter. taken. But I also see the lack of supervision for our city assigned monitor to keep a close watch on them. That is the most concerning issue here. If we are goinf to use the free work of inmates the individual from the city monitoring them need to do its work.
Mary Fusco says
I consider my home my safe place. If a thief enters, that is take from me. This home owner’s home was violated. It does not matter what was taken. As for whining about the needs of confined citizens, who cares. They violated another’s rights resulting in incarceration.