Flagler County deputies pulled over a rented U-Haul truck at a Palm Coast Walmart and arrested five people after finding fentanyl, methamphetamine, and drug paraphernalia inside. Two of those arrested had been hiding in the back of the truck. The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office then turned the whole stop into a Scooby-Doo bit online, nicknaming the truck the “Methtery Machine.”
The truck had run a red light on April 28, and deputies caught up with it Tuesday in the Walmart parking lot. Up front were Jerome Hurst, 25, and Jessica Bontempo, 38, both of Palm Coast. Deputies say Hurst tried to claim he wasn’t the driver and started to climb out of the passenger side. A K-9 named Lola then alerted to the smell of narcotics coming from the truck.
Inside, detectives found a red straw with residue near the passenger seatbelt buckle that they say tested positive for fentanyl. A search of Bontempo turned up a hollowed-out pen, concealed on her, that tested positive for methamphetamine. When detectives opened the cargo area, they found two more people hiding in the back: Josiah Feimster, 23, and Bridgett Dubena, 23, both of Palm Coast. Deputies say they also found burnt tin foil, cut straws, plastic baggies, and a rock-like substance that tested positive for meth.
All four people from the truck were arrested and booked into the county jail. Bontempo was charged with possession of drug paraphernalia and tampering with evidence, while Feimster and Dubena each faced charges of possession of a controlled substance, possession of paraphernalia, and resisting without violence. Hurst, who deputies say was the actual driver, was charged with driving on a suspended license. A fifth person, April Hamilton, 42, was arrested separately after she showed up during the investigation and kept approaching deputies despite repeated warnings to stay back.
Why the ‘Methtery Machine’?
The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office is known for writing up arrests like comedy bits, and this one got the full treatment. The post ran with a Scooby-Doo theme from start to finish, from the “Methtery Machine” name to joke nicknames for each person arrested. It even gave the county jail a running joke nickname, the way these posts usually do.
Sheriff Rick Staly closed the post with a line straight out of the cartoon, saying the group would have gotten away with it “if it weren’t for those meddling FCSO detectives and their dog.” Staly often uses these posts to send a message about drugs in the county. The comedy tends to travel further online than a standard press release would, and so you’re more apt to learn about it (or the lesson you should take from it).
What Is Florida’s Halo Law?
The fifth arrest came under a Florida law that took effect at the start of 2025. The so-called Halo Law makes it a crime to come within 25 feet of a first responder who is working, once that person has given a verbal warning to stay back. Hamilton was warned more than once to keep her distance and kept approaching anyway, deputies say, which is what led to her arrest.
Violating the Halo Law is a second-degree misdemeanor in Florida, which can carry a fine and up to 60 days in jail. The law is still new, and civil-liberties groups have argued it could be used to push back people who are only trying to record police. For now, Hamilton’s arrest became part of the same viral post.