Flagler County Sheriff’s Office (FCSO) deputies made 18 arrests this past weekend between 6 p.m. on Friday, January 19, 2024, and 6 a.m. on Monday, January 22, 2024. They handled 563 calls for service and made 89 traffic stops.
“This weekend, we had multiple instances where juveniles committed crimes and were caught by our deputies,” said Sheriff Rick Staly. “Parents, please be the Sheriff in your own home and make sure you know what your teens and young adults are up to before we have to be the Sheriff and arrest them.”
Juveniles Trespassing on Construction Site, Face Felony Charges
Deputies responded to a burglary in progress around 7 p.m. on Sunday, January 21 after a security company monitoring a large construction site at 131 Brookhaven Dr. reported seeing movement on their camera system.
Even though the site is completely fenced off, with all gates chained and locked and posted with NoTrespassing signs along the fence, two males with black backpacks were seen entering through a locked gate.
Deputies arrived and entered the construction site, checking each building on foot until agency drones could be launched for air support and reconnaissance. Once launched, the drones picked up a heat signature from the roof of a building and deputies responded, providing verbal commands for them to come out. Two juvenile males, Timothy Tinney-Rodriguez, 15 and Lorenzo Posadas, 15 then came to the edge of the fourth floor and turned themselves in.
Deputies escorted them to the ground floor while other deputies continued to check the rest of the building.
Posadas and Tinney-Rodriguez were arrested for felony Trespass on a Posted Construction site and Loitering and Prowling, while Posadas was also arrested for Carrying a Concealed Weapon, after he was found to have a set of brass knuckles concealed in his pocket.
Both juveniles were transported to the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility for processing. The Florida Department of Juvenile Justice released them to their parents.
“Construction sites continue to be targets for would-be thieves and mischievous minors,” said Sheriff Rick Staly. “In this case, the two juveniles disregarded all the signs and locks and found themselves facing felony charges. Whether you are a child or adult, know that trespassing on a construction site is a felony and we will catch you using our drone fleet.”
To view body camera and drone footage of the incident: http://tinyurl.com/2p9ejhvp
Juveniles Face Felony Charges After Stealing Vehicle for Joyride
On Saturday, January 20, deputies responded to a residence on Beach Village Circle in Palm Coast in reference to a stolen vehicle. The stolen silver Hyundai Elantra was last seen the night before, where it was left locked and secured in the parking lot. Deputies located the ignition from the vehicle that appeared to have been removed in an effort to steal it.
The vehicle was tracked traveling through Bunnell and U.S. 1 later that evening and was then seen traveling on State Rd. 100 at Old Kings Rd. just after 6:45 a.m. on Saturday. Since the vehicle had an active GPS, the owner was notified that it was in the area of Waverly Place in Palm Coast. Deputies were able to locate the stolen vehicle that was parked in the swale across from a residence. Proudly Serving the Community Since 1917 A Four Diamond Accredited Law Enforcement Agency 61 Sheriff EW Johnston Drive, Bunnell, FL 32110 386-437-4116 – Fax 386-586-4888 Mailing: P.O. Box 879, Bunnell, FL 32110 www.flaglersheriff.com In surveillance video provided by residents, a female was seen exiting the driver’s side of the vehicle, walking towards the intersection of Waters Drive and Waverly Place. She was described as lightskinned with long braided hair, wearing a jacket and sweatpants.
Through investigative means, Deputies were able to identify four other subjects that were seen entering the vehicle with the unknown female and made contact with some of them as they entered the Circle K gas station at 500 E Moody Blvd, which they are known to frequent. Victor Laster, 14, was identified as the driver, and his girlfriend Evangelina Santiago, 13 was identified as the female who abandoned the vehicle in the swale.
Victor was charged with Grand Theft of a Motor Vehicle and Criminal Mischief over $1,000. Santiago was arrested for Grand Theft of a Motor Vehicle. Both juveniles were transported to the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility. The Florida Department of Juvenile Justice released them to their parents.
“Our Deputes did an outstanding job recovering this stolen vehicle in less than 24 hours. I also want to thank the homeowners and business owners that provided us with video surveillance, which helped us to identify these offenders,” said Sheriff Rick Staly. “Our detectives work closely with “Connect Flagler County,” a Sheriff’s Office public safety program that provides Flagler County residents a way to help keep their community safe.”
Connect Flagler is a voluntary camera registry program that allows private residents and business owners the ability to register their cameras to an online portal, for law enforcement to quickly and easily create a map of relevant cameras that could obtain images of crimes and life-saving data.
Community members can visit www.connectflaglercounty.org to register their security cameras.
Deputies Recover Stolen Vehicle on I-95
On Sunday, January 21, a Flagler County Sheriff’s Office Deputy observed a silver BMW with a Florida tag matching that of a stolen vehicle from Jacksonville. Deputies conducted a high-risk felony stop on the vehicle near mile-marker 289 on northbound I-95.
The driver, later identified as Malcolm Williams, 51, from Jacksonville, pulled the vehicle over to the right shoulder and followed instructions provided by the deputies.
The Vehicle Identification Number of the vehicle confirmed that it was the same 2024 BMW that had been reported stolen in Jacksonville. Williams was arrested for Grand Theft Auto of a Motor Vehicle. He was transported to the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility, where he was later released on $2,500 bond. “Another criminal found out the hard way that he should not have driven a stolen car in Flagler County,” added Sheriff Staly.
