- April 17, 2024
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Robert Pace, former acting fire chief of the Flagler Beach Fire Department, has pled not guilty to a charge of obstruction of justice.
Pace was accused in April of one count of tampering with evidence, a third-degree felony, and one count of obstruction of justice: resisting an officer without violence, a first-degree misdemeanor.
The State Attorney's Office decided in July not to pursue the felony charge against Pace, but to move forward with the misdemeanor case against him. Pace entered a plea of not guilty earlier this month and filed a motion to dismiss the case, to which the state has not yet responded.
The charges arose after Pace was accused of awarding unearned community service work hours to Vitaly Tsabak, a 24-year-old who was serving community service as a part of his probation. When an investigation into the accusations opened, Pace allegedly deleted surveillance footage showing the hours that Tsabak worked.
When Pace was first charged, he was placed on paid administrative leave from his position as acting chief, which was appointed to after former Chief Martin Roberts was fired for responding to a call after consuming alcohol in December 2012.
After Pace was placed on administrative leave, the city tried to appoint Robert Creal as acting chief. He accepted the postiion and then withdrew his acceptance days later, citing health problems.
Now, City Manager Bruce Campbell oversees the administrative funcitons of the department while three emergency medical technician/firefighters lead shifts on a rotating basis.
