- April 26, 2024
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A license plate reader on Jan. 11 helped local deputies and Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly catch a fired Mississippi police officer hauling a stolen trailer and carrying forged bills, an illegally concealed firearm and law enforcement equipment and ID cards from his former department.
The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office received an alert from a license plate reader at 10:37 a.m. Monday, Jan. 11, that a trailer reported stolen out of Volusia County was being pulled by a black Chevrolet Tahoe.
The FCSO Real Time Crime Center was immediately activated and spotted the truck and trailer traveling west on State Road 100.
Members of the Bunnell Police Department and the FCSO, including Sheriff Rick Staly, conducted a felony traffic stop at the Circle K at 500 E Moody Blvd.
Verbal commands were given for the occupants to exit the vehicle. Ettienne Joseph Mixon Junior, 35 and the sole occupant of the vehicle, complied and was taken into custody.
“Our technology advances in the past four years have proven to be a force multiplier in solving cases quickly and keeping our deputies and the community safe,” Staly said. “In this case, the LPR alerted us to the stolen vehicle in our county and I just happened to be returning from presenting awards to some Great Kids, so I joined the team to locate the suspect and take him into custody. Our RTCC was able to keep eyes on the suspect vehicle until we got on scene and conducted the felony traffic stop. It was a great team effort with the FCSO and the Bunnell Police Department.”
Deputies found a loaded firearm in Mixon’s front pants pocket. Mixon does not have a concealed carry permit in Florida or Mississippi, his home state. Inside the Tahoe, deputies found a backpack containing a large amount of counterfeit currency in denominations of $100, $50, $20, $5, and $1 bills.
Brass knuckles and two clown masks were also found in the vehicle.
The inventory of the vehicle found what appeared to be law enforcement equipment, including firearm ammunition, badges, and a helmet.
Mixon had a Mississippi State Police Department ID card and a Pearl River Sheriff’s Office key card in the vehicle. Deputies contacted the Mississippi State Police, who advised that Mixon had been terminated as an officer and requested the equipment found be secured for safekeeping.
The trailer was confirmed stolen out of Daytona Beach Shores and returned to the registered owner. Mixon was placed under arrest and charged with Grand Theft of a Motor Vehicle, Carrying a Concealed Weapon, and Possession of Forged Bills. He remains in the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility on a $12,500 bond.
