Jim Manfre was Flagler County sheriff from 2001 to 2005, and lost to Sheriff Fleming in 2008 by a thin margin. The recent controversy over Fleming’s handling of a fatal road accident spurred Manfre to become the fourth candidate against the incumbent.
don fleming
Sheriff Fleming Suggests Pill-Mill Crackdown Is Shooting Up Heroin Trade as 3 Are Arrested
Heroin problems in Palm Coast: Three heroin arrests in 36 hours have Flagler County Sheriff Don Fleming warning that the crackdown on pill mills may be provoking a rise in heroin use and trafficking.
Wrongful Death Case Against Jamesine Fischer: Insurer Settles for $1.25 Million
Jamesine Fischer, the 55-year-old wife of Flagler County School Board member John Fischer, was served with a wrongful death lawsuit on Jan. 27 after striking Francoise Pecqueur with her PT Cruiser in November, and not immediately reporting the accident. Pecqueur died two days later.
Sheriff Embroiled in Questionable Calls, Complicating Case of Walker’s Death; Suit Filed
As the investigation continues in the death of Francoise Pequeur, 76, after she was struck by the card driven by School Board member John Fischer’s wife, Sheriff Don Fleming is finding himself in a thorny situation after exchanging six calls with John Fischer.
Chief Rick Look, Ailing, Will Not Return to Sheriff’s Office; Maj. O’Brien Likely Successor
Chief Rick Look joined the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office from FDLE in 2005. His retirement, while not yet official, had been known for some time. He’ll be drawing disability as Maj. David O’Brien, acting chief since last year, takes over.
Ex-Cops Begin Lineup To Challenge Sheriff Don Fleming, Who’s Declaring for a 3rd Term
Ray Stevens, an Ossining, N.Y. cop, and John Pollinger, a Jersey cop (like Fleming) before their retirements to Palm Coast, are the early filers in what promises to be a crowded field for the $120,000-a-year job.
Feed Flagler Heats: Sheriff and Tax Collector Top $6,000, Chicks With Cans Up Tonnage
Suzanne Johnston and Don Fleming are racing to top each other in fund-raising, and all else is set to go go next Wednesday’s Feed Flagler serving of 4,000 meals at 11 locations across the county.
Superintendent Will Recommend Tasers In Schools; Majority of Board Signals Agreement
Three school board members favor allowing school deputies to carry Tasers, some of them with reservations, as the board prepares for a decision as early as next Tuesday. The initiative is part of the fallout from a student’s fight with a deputy at Matanzas High School.
Sheriff Fleming on Palm Coast and Bunnell Gambling Halls: “I Have Bigger Fish To Fry”
Sheriff Don Fleming’s stance on internet cafes and other such gambling halls has wide implications for Palm Coast and Bunnell, both of which are wrestling with ordinances that would regulate the establishments.
Flagler Sheriff’s Office Offers Free Web App To File Reports Or Glimpse Incidents
The Flagler County Sheriff’s Department web application creates mobile-friendly access to its website’s most popular features, including real-time 911 calls and search of jail inmate bookings.
Flagler-Based Organized Crime Ring Ended As 6 Men Face Racketeering Charges
The six suspect, allegedly led by Grant Morse, had been robbing ATMs, pharmacies, cars and homes for almost three years. A multi-agency investigation started by the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office helped end the spree.
Fallen Officers Are Commemorated as Sheriff Declares: “This Is Unacceptable.”
The annual, solemn ceremony at the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office recalled the four officers killed in the line of duty in this county, and the nearly 70 killed so far this year across the country.
Violent Crime Falls Steeply in Flagler; Florida’s Crime Rate at 40-Year Low, Following US Trend
The overall 2010 crime rate is down 4.2 percent in Flagler County and 6.7 percent in Florida as the slower economy and a static population add to a national trend of declining crime. Several reasons are contributing to the decline.
So Much for Pill-Mill Policing: Citing Privacy, Florida Verges Away From Abusers’ Database
The matter is of immediate relevance in Flagler County, where local governments passed ordinances imposing moratoriums on new pain clinics while awaiting stronger state regulations. The state’s direction would effectively invalidate the moratoriums’ justification.
Top Cops, Public Defender, Commissioners Pick Bulic as the Next Medical Examiner
Flagler, St. Johns and Putnam have been without a medical examiner–one of government’s least visible, most important positions–since Jan. 1. A high-powered committee is making its recommendation for a new examiner today following interviews of five candidates.
How Tallahassee’s Addiction to Cost-Benefit Analyses Delays Pill Mills Crackdown
Why are pill mills still proliferating despite new rules? More than 600 regulatory rules are on hold throughout state government because a new law requires every single one of them to be analyzed for jobs gained or lost.
Pill Mills vs. Pain Management in Flagler: The Difference From the Doctors’ Perspective
Kavita Sharma, one of four physicians at a pain management practice in Palm Coast’s Town Center, explains the differences and telltale signs between legitimate pain management and the kind of pill mills that are spreading in Florida.
Your Papers Please: Arizona-Style Immigrant-Profiling Law Introduced in Florida
It’s already routine in Flagler: cops ask passengers in a car for their papers even if the vehicle isn’t involved in a crime. A proposed law would formalize the process and slap $100 fines on immigrants without papers.
Don’t Call Them Pill Mills: Palm Coast’s Pain Management Practices Recoil at Bad Rap
When Flagler Sheriff Don Fleming described three local pain management practices as “pill mills,” their doctors and practitioners were stunned and explained: Pill mills are a problem. Pain management clinics are not.
Armed Robber Takes Hundreds of Oxycodone Pills from Winn Dixie Pharmacy on SR 100
The robber, who used yellow gloves at the Winn Dixie pharmacy, handed the pharmacist a note just before noon Sunday, demanding the pills. He walked out the front door and drove off in a dark vehicle.
Sheriff Calls for 1-Year Pill-Mill Freeze in Flagler Through County and City Ordinances
Citing three pill mills already in Flagler County, Sheriff Fleming is asking the county commission and the cities to adopt ordinances stopping pill mills until the state strengthens its regulations.
Flagler Sheriff’s Jail Guards Apologize To Lisa Tanner Over 2005 Brutality Case
Lisa Tanner, the daughter of then-State Attorney John Tanner, was arrested on bogus charges in March 2005, and was then violently restrained and abused by guards at the Flagler County jail.
To Counter Bullying, Flagler Sheriff Is Giving Away 3,000 Internet Monitoring Programs
The free programs enable parents to keep track of their child’s internet activity and exposure, from chats to bullying, though the cyberbullying problem may be overstated.
Sheriff Fleming and Rollie Fingers to Headline Sex-Exploitation Prevention Fund-Raiser
The sheriff is the the 2010 recipient of the “Greatest Save” Law Enforcement Award for Florida. Fingers, baseball’s great relief pitchers, will host the $100-a-plate evening.
Bunnell Will Ask Sheriff to Bid for Law Enforcement Services in the City
A severe budget crunch, but also a severe State Attorney’s report on the city’s police department, bring back an old idea.
More Trouble for Flynt: Sheriff Ends Tow Ties Permanently; Bank Sues for $50,000
Legal troubles aside, the sheriff’s decision worsens the Bunnell city commissioner’s financial straits–as does a law suit over a $50,00 debt.
Sheriff Knocks Commissioner Flynt’s Towing Company Out of Wrecking Rotation Indefinitely
Saxon’s Wrecker, owned by Bunnell City Commissioner Jimmy Flynt, is at the center of a withering investigative report showing Flynt benefited from chronic favoritism at other towers’ expense.
This Year: 5 School Deputies for $300,000; Four Years Ago: 9 Deputies for $222,000
The sheriff has virtually eliminated his department’s share of the cost of keeping deputies in schools, forcing the district to pick up most of the costs.
On Again: Sheriff Agrees to Terms for Moving to Old Courthouse; $6 Million, Anyone?
The county readies to spend $143,00 for design work that would ease the sheriff’s way to the old courthouse, but the move is still short $6 million.
Chalking Up Crime-Fighting to Sidewalk Art
Sidewalk chalk artists are summoned to the campus of Flagler Palm Coast High School the evening of Aug. 3 for a contest and much more.
Sheriff’s Budget: Few New Deputies, No Raises, More Bottled Water and Drug Money
The 2011 budget, reflecting the enduring recession, is almost the same as it was this year, leaving the number of deputies on patrol virtually static.
Old Courthouse Revival Plans Die with Sheriff’s No-Show
The sheriff pulls out of an arrangement that would have filled the old courthouse with his offices, the Bunnell city administration and a library.
House-Hunting Bunnell Hopes for an End to Old Courthouse Feuds Tonight
Absent a miracle with the old Flagler County Courthouse, the Bunnell city administration may have no home it can call its own for a few more years yet.
Old Courthouse Plans Collapse; Holland Charges County Administrator “Railroaded” Her
A meeting on what to do with the old Flagler County Courthouse turned into a bitter clash between Commissioner Milissa Holland and County Administrator Craig Coffey.
Photo Gallery: Sheriff’s Memorial Ceremony
What the ceremony looked like: the wreath-laying, symbols and solemnity, taps and bag pipes.
Honoring Flagler’s Finest, and Fallen
Flagler County Sheriff Don Fleming on Thursday led a moving memorial for officers lost in the line of duty.