Following a nine-month investigation by the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office, a man who re-entered the country illegally after previously being deported has been arrested for burglarizing a Palm Coast residence.
On Jan. 28, deputies responded to a reported residential burglary on Pritchard Lane. The victim told deputies that she had arrived home to find the power was off and the entire house had been ransacked.
General Assignment Unit detectives and crime scene investigators responded to investigate the burglary. Upon arrival, detectives spoke with the victim and determined between $2,500 and $3,000 in cash was missing.
During the investigation, detectives determined the suspect had intentionally switched off the circuit breaker in the garage and unplugged the modem in the living room, cutting off electricity and internet to the residence. They also determined that the suspect had intentionally covered the victim’s home security system camera with a jacket.
After restoring power and internet, detectives reviewed surveillance footage from the camera. The footage showed the suspect, a Hispanic man, look at the camera, step around it, then cover it before the camera lost power.
While collecting evidence, detectives found a red smear, which they believed to be blood, on a pizza box in the kitchen. A forensic test of the substance confirmed it was blood, and the CSI Unit collected it for further analysis by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
On Aug. 18, FDLE informed detectives the Combined DNA Index System identified a match between the DNA profile collected from the blood at the scene and that of a previous offender, William Vargas-Carmona, 33, of Jacksonville. According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Vargas-Carmona, a Colombian citizen, had been previously deported in September 2024 after he was found to have been in the United States illegally.
On Oct. 14, detectives obtained a warrant for Vargas-Carmona’s arrest for burglary of an unoccupied dwelling and grand theft. On Nov. 21, U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement notified the FCSO Fugitive Unit that they had located him in Jacksonville. ICE agents arrested him and transported him to the Baker County Detention Center, where he is being held without bond until he is extradited to Flagler County.
William Vargas-Carmona during his arrest in Jacksonville, Fla., on Nov. 21, 2025.
“This dirtbag was in our country illegally, deported once already, and returned again to prey on American communities, but he made the mistake of coming to Flagler County,” said Sheriff Rick Staly. “We work with our federal partners to get criminals like him off the streets and eventually deported.”
