A Palm Coast driver had two different explanations after a deputy followed him through illuminated roads and parking lots late Friday night.
Just before midnight, a Flagler County Sheriff’s Office deputy tried to stop Floyd Gaines Jr. on Kingswood Drive after observing a traffic infraction. An FCSO release says the deputy activated his lights and siren, but Gaines kept driving.
Dashcam footage released Tuesday follows Gaines through several turns and commercial areas before he finally stops at the Palm Coast Professional Complex off Old Kings Road North.
Deputies used a high-risk stop and arrested him. Sheriff Rick Staly said the original traffic violation could have ended with a ticket or warning. Gaines instead left with a felony fleeing charge.
Still Rolling
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The video switches from dashcam to bodycam after Gaines stops and deputies move in.
Gaines first told deputies he had been looking for a well-lit place to stop. He later said he had not seen the deputy behind him.
Deputies charged Gaines with fleeing or attempting to elude a law enforcement officer with lights and sirens activated. He was booked into the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility and later released on $2,500 bond.
Deputies also issued him a criminal traffic citation.
“Fleeing from deputies is a stupid decision, because you’re not going to get away,” Staly said. “What would have just been a simple traffic ticket or warning instead turned into a felony charge and a trip to the Green Roof Inn.”
Lights and Sirens
Under Florida Statute 316.1935, a driver who willfully refuses to stop for a marked patrol vehicle using its lights and siren can be charged with a third-degree felony.
The law provides more serious charges when someone flees at high speed or with wanton disregard for people or property, and still greater penalties when the flight causes serious injury or death.
A conviction also requires the court to revoke the driver’s license for at least one year and no more than five years. The vehicle used in the offense may also be seized and subjected to forfeiture proceedings.
All parties are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.