Flagler County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested 13 people over the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend, including a convicted felon found with two rifles and methamphetamine and a man caught doing doughnuts in the road despite having a suspended license.
Deputies handled 1,166 calls for service and made 275 traffic stops between 6 p.m. on Friday, January 17, 2026, and 6 a.m. on Tuesday, January 20, 2026.
On Saturday morning, deputies arrested Paul Pilcher Sr., 61, of Ormond Beach, following a traffic stop in Palm Coast. Deputies pulled over Pilcher’s vehicle after observing multiple traffic infractions and determined he was driving with a suspended license.
When a deputy asked Pilcher if he had any firearms in the vehicle, he said no. However, the deputy observed an AR-15 style rifle on the floorboard within arm’s reach of Pilcher. Deputies ordered him out of the vehicle.
Through their investigation, deputies determined that Pilcher is a convicted felon with prior convictions in Volusia County for dealing in stolen property, grand theft, and felony petit theft. As a convicted felon, he is not allowed to possess a firearm or ammunition.
Deputies identified the firearm as a KelTec SU-22 with a loaded magazine containing 16 rounds of ammunition and a second magazine in the buttstock loaded with four rounds. They also found a second firearm in the vehicle, a .44-caliber lever-action rifle.
A search of the vehicle revealed multiple plastic bags containing 41 total grams of a crystal-like substance that later tested positive for methamphetamine, as well as marijuana and drug paraphernalia including a bong, scale, and grinder.
Deputies arrested Pilcher for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession of ammunition by a convicted felon, trafficking in methamphetamine, possession of methamphetamine with intent to sell, possession of marijuana of 20 grams or less, and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was transported to the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility, where he is being held on an $81,000 bond.
“This was a great job by our deputies looking beyond the traffic stop to seize firearms and poison from a dirtbag,” said Sheriff Rick Staly. “Instead of just writing a ticket, they took a convicted felon who was armed and trafficking meth off the street and into the Green Roof Inn.”
In a separate incident on Saturday afternoon, deputies arrested Brian Swartz Jr., 33, of Bunnell, after he was seen doing doughnuts at an intersection in Daytona North, an area also known as the Mondex.
A deputy conducting patrols observed a pickup truck doing doughnuts in the middle of the intersection of Walnut Avenue and Holly Lane, leaving ruts in the dirt roadway. The truck then drove off, heading north on Holly Lane.
Deputies initiated a traffic stop, and the truck rapidly pulled into the backyard of a residence on Mahogany Boulevard. Swartz exited the vehicle and was quickly detained.
Deputies determined that Swartz was driving with a suspended license with knowledge. One of the deputies recognized Swartz and had issued him a citation for driving while his license was suspended just two weeks earlier. Deputies confirmed that Swartz has had numerous convictions for driving while license was suspended.
Deputies arrested Swartz for violation of street racing or stunt driving laws and driving while license suspended as a second or subsequent offense. He was transported to the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility and was later released on a $1,000 bond.
Swartz has a lengthy arrest history. Since 2016, deputies have arrested him 15 times for charges including contempt of court, credit card fraud, failure to register a motor vehicle, fleeing or attempting to elude law enforcement with lights and sirens active, grand theft of a motor vehicle, loitering or prowling, operating a motorcycle without a license, possession of cocaine, possession of methamphetamine, possession of a weapon and possession of ammunition by a convicted felon, and resisting an officer without violence. He has also served multiple sentences in state prison.
“It is incredibly clear that this guy cannot be trusted to be behind the wheel of a car,” said Sheriff Staly. “His license has been taken away numerous times, but unfortunately, it does not look like he has learned any kind of lesson. It’s time for him to grow up and start acting his age.”
Sheriff Staly added, “The list of things this guy has been arrested for goes on longer than a CVS receipt. Sadly, it seems the Green Roof Inn has become a second home for him.”
Footage from the arrests is available for viewing through the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office.
