- April 24, 2024
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A 60-year-old Palm Coast man was arrested Sept. 23 and charged with pointing a laser at a Volusia County Sheriff's Office helicopter that was helping deputies search for a man who'd fled a traffic stop.
“Not only did his dangerous and stupid actions divert our search for the fleeing suspect, but shining a laser at a helicopter could have caused the helicopter to crash by blinding the pilot,” Sheriff Rick Staly said. “In Florida, shining a laser beam at a pilot in flight is a felony offense. We appreciate the assistance of the Volusia Sheriff’s Office to apprehend and arrest both individuals and I’m very thankful his actions did not result in a disastrous crash that could have killed the pilots and people on the ground.”
Suspect Gregory Marr has prior convictions in Flagler County for battery, improper exhibition of a dangerous weapon and leaving the scene of an accident with property damage.
The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office had requested the assistance of Volusia Sheriff’s Air One helicopter at around 11:10 p.m. Sept. 23 to find a suspect who bailed out of a vehicle on Palm Harbor Parkway in Palm Coast.
Shortly after arriving overhead, the Air One crew started getting hit with a green laser numerous times from a nearby home on Chelsea Court.
Air One directed FCSO deputies to the house, where Marr was taken into custody and charged with Pointing a Laser at a Driver or Pilot. Air One was able to identify the suspect from the recorded video footage on the helicopter.
Marr remains in the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility on a $1,500 bond.
Returning to the search on the bailout, Air One found the suspect who'd fled the traffic stop. The helicopter guided FCSO deputies to the spot where he was lying in the wood line near a retention pond.
Jeff Thomas, 36, was taken into custody and charged with Driving while License Suspended, Fleeing & Eluding, Resisting Arrest, and Loitering & Prowling.
Thomas remains in the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility on a $4,500 bond.
