- April 18, 2024
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Flagler County Sheriff’s Office deputies helped Florida Highway Patrol officers catch a convicted felon who fled into the woods in the early morning hours of Jan. 14 after fleeing a traffic stop for reckless driving on Interstate 95 and crashing his car.
The suspect, 23-year-old Henry Davis, recently served time in prison for a robbery in Palm Beach County and has never been issued a driver's license.
“This guy’s joy ride tied up resources from four separate agencies, and all he did was go to jail tired. There is no way to tell what we prevented from occurring to potential victims."
— RICK STALY, Flagler County sheriff
“A convicted felon with a gun and fleeing from law enforcement is a recipe for disaster,” Sheriff Rick Staly said. “This guy’s joy ride tied up resources from four separate agencies, and all he did was go to jail tired. There is no way to tell what we prevented from occurring to potential victims. Our advice to criminals is not to run and hide, because we will find you! Now let’s hope he goes back to prison where he came from.”
The FCSO received a call from the Florida Highway Patrol at 2:33 a.m. Jan. 14 regarding a tan Ford Explorer with an Alabama tag driving recklessly on southbound Interstate 95 in Flagler County.
The same vehicle had previously been in St. Johns County and narrowly missed running into a St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office deputy.
FCSO deputies attempted a traffic stop, but the SUV fled. They used tire stop sticks on the vehicle just south of mile marker 284, deflating its tires (view a deputy's body camera footage HERE).
It continued to flee, and deputies followed at a safe distance until it crashed at mile marker 281.
Deputies saw the driver run into the woods. The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office provided a K-9 handler and partner to assist with the search.
FCSO deputies and FHP officers established a perimeter, and deputies near Seoane Place in Palm Coast saw the driver near a water retention ditch.
They ordered him to surrender, but he ran back into the woods. FCSO deputies found him soon thereafter on Senor Place in Palm Coast and took him into custody.
Deputies found a loaded firearm inside the Explorer.
Davis was arrested and charged with Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon, Possession of Ammunition by a Convicted Felon, Resisting Arrest, Fleeing or Eluding Law Enforcement, Driving without a License, and Leaving the Scene of a Crash with Property Damage.
He was booked into the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility, where he is being held on a $13,000 bond.
To view a Volusia County Sheriff's Office K9 handler's body camera footage of the search (warning: profanity), click HERE.
