By-Line: Joseph Bober, Public Information Office FCSO
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 a lighter had been stolen from the patio.
View footage from the surveillance camera.
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.
Jay Working (Putnam Correctional Institution mugshot)
“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 working 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. 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.
