Friday, March 17th, deputies from District 3 conducted surveillance at a closed drug house, 1455 C.R. 302. Fugitive Todd, Blanchard, a known resident of this address, with several warrants, was observed in the front yard. Upon spotting deputies, he left the yard to retreat into the trailer.
Sheriff Staly along with SWAT and crisis Negotiator responded to the scene, in an effort to remove Blanchard from the trailer. When Blanchard did not respond to commands to surrender and exit the trailer, Sheriff Staly ordered two rounds of tear gas to be used. moments after deploying the tear gas, Blanchard exited the trailer and deputies were able to take him into custody without further issue.
Blanchard was arrested on his warrants for Possession of Fentanyl, Possession of Cocaine, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia/Equipment and new charges of Resisting an Officer Without Violence, due to the standoff with SWAT. He is currently being held on a $65,500 bond.
“We gave this guy a chance to surrender, and he chose not to cooperate,” said Sheriff Rick Staly. “We were not going to play around with him anymore, so we did some westside home remodeling to safely deploy tear gas and not risk our deputies and SWAT team members or the community. The courts need to quit giving him chances and send him to prison. The nearby residents need to be able to live peacefully without a poison peddler in their neighborhood.”
Wednesday March 15th, FCSO Special Investigations Unit (SIU), SWAT, and Sheriff Staly, served a narcotics warrant to 1455 C.R. 302.
During the execution of the warrant, FCSO was able to seize cocaine, fentanyl, and drug paraphernalia. The resident and target of the warrant was not at the house during this time. Due to this he was labeled a fugitive. The target, Todd Blanchard, has a criminal history of Lewd and Lascivious Molestation of a Victim Under 12, Trafficking Fentanyl, and Possession of Cocaine with Intent to Sell/Manufacture/Deliver and more.
Thursday, March 9th, Special Investigations Unit performed surveillance at 1455 C.R. 302, and a traffic stop was initiated on a vehicle leaving that address. SIU was able to obtain an arrest warrant for Robert Elkins for trafficking methamphetamine when they found 14.10 grams of it in his vehicle during the time of the stop.
On the 15th of March, a Wednesday, PACE Unit and Deputy Prevatt, were able to locate and arrest Elkins on his Flagler County warrant. Elkins was found with an additional 15 grams of methamphetamine on him. He was later released after posting his $75,000 bond. His criminal history includes DUI and Domestic Violence.
“Another great job by our SWAT and SIU Unit,” said Sheriff Rick Staly. “This repeat poison peddler won’t turn his life around, so he needs to go to prison before he kills someone by selling a lethal dose of his poison. We are actively looking for Todd Blanchard. Not only is he a sex offender, but he is also a poison peddler spreading poison throughout Flagler County.”
