- April 24, 2024
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The owner of a Flagler Beach restaurant texted a string of racist death threats to a black former employee, according to the Flagler Beach Police Department.
The suspect, 41-year-old Palm Coast resident Daniel "Danny" Catalan, is at the Flagler County jail on no bond on a charge of sending a written threat to kill. Catalan, the registered owner of the Dessert Bar at 105 N. Oceanhsore Blvd. in Flagler Beach, has been arrested multiple times in the past and was out on bond for charges of felony aggravated assault, domestic battery and resisting an officer at the time of his latest arrest on Feb. 24.
At ibne point, the victim replied to Catalan, "It's a new day brother that racist s--- doesn't affect me."
Catalan responded, "Ok f--- face no talking no arguing all i do now is get rid of you."
The victim, 39, called 911 the morning of Feb. 24 from the 7-Eleven in Flagler Beach saying that he'd been jogging east along the north side of State Road 100 when he saw his former boss, Catalan, driving westbound.
The victim told police that Catalan pulled over and began screaming at him, calling him the n-word, telling him to "get the f--- out of this town," and saying that he would "put him in a barrel and dump him."
The victim said that Catalan pulled a foot-long, black-handled knife out and waved it at him, then lifted his shirt to show a holstered firearm at his waist. There was a passenger in the car, the victim said — a young man who looked nervous and didn't say anything.
The victim ran into the woodline and hid until he saw Catalan drive away, then ran to the 7-Eleven, he said.
It was the second time in 24 hours that the victim told police that Catalan had been aggressive toward him: The day before, Feb. 23, Catalan had fired the victim from the Dessert Bar and trespassed him from the restaurant's property, an officer noted in Catalan's arrest report. The victim told officers at the time that Catalan had punched him in the face. The officers wrote up charges for battery and sent them to the State Attorney's Office, but lacked enough physical evidence to make an on-scene arrest, according to the report.
But when the victim contacted police on Feb. 24, he had physical evidence of a crime, albeit a different one: Catalan had been texting him threats since 7:30 that morning, lacing his messages with profanity and racist insults, according to the arrest report.
A Flagler Beach police officer looked at the text messages.
"Danny threatened to kill and/or inflict bodily injury on [the victim] on multiple occasions," the officer wrote in the arrest report. "[The victim] does engage in conversation with Danny, but appears to be attempting to deescalate the situation, at one point stating, 'Come on lets go get coffee' to which Danny responds, '[Victim's name], if I see you I murder u.'"
At one point, Catalan wrote, "Dude your black a-- just gets handed to so[me] white boy in sticks out here homie I'll let them have there fun"; another message from Catalan told the victim that Catalan would "[dispense of] you in the right canals."
"Many of the messages are racist in nature," the officer wrote in the arrest report.
The victim at one point replied to Catalan, "It's a new day brother that racist s--- doesn't affect me."
Catalan responded, "Ok f--- face no talking no arguing all i do now is get rid of you."
While a Flagler Beach officer was speaking with the victim, a Flagler County Sheriff's Office deputy conducted a traffic stop on Catalan near the Flagler Beach Police Department property and detained him.
Officers searched his vehicle and found a pocket knife, which was smaller than the one the victim had described, but no firearm.
Catalan told a police officer that he hadn't seen the victim since the previous day, hadn't had a firearm on him at any time, and had been on his way from his home in Palm Coast to the Dessert Bar when he was pulled over by the FCSO deputy. He said he'd been alone in his car.
The officer asked him why the victim would have fabricated another person in the car. Catalan said he didn't know.
"Danny was emotionally excited and expressed rage toward [the victim]," the officer wrote in the report. "He stated that [the victim] was a 'disgruntled employee' who 'knew he (Danny) was on bond' and was just trying to 'get him in trouble.'"
Officers arrested Catalan on a charge of sending written threats to kill.
An officer wrote in the arrest report that the Flagler Beach Police Department would follow-up on the victim's statement that Catalan had screamed threats from his vehicle and displayed a firearm.
