- April 26, 2024
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UPDATE: After an all-night search using helicopters and K-9 officers, Flagler County sheriff’s deputies located a Virginia fugitive early this morning and took him into custody without incident.
James Kent Booth, 54, of Montpelier, Virginia, was found hiding in a shed at a home on Big Horn Drive in Palm Coast. An off-duty deputy located him and held him at gunpoint until other deputies arrived, just before 5 a.m. Booth was taken into custody without incident.
He is being interviewed by detectives and is cooperating.
“I’m very proud of the work these deputies did overnight to find this fugitive,’’ Sheriff James L. Manfre said. “They worked long hours to protect our community in this situation and are to be commended.’’
The incident began Friday night when the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office was alerted at 6:08 that a single-vehicle crash occurred on southbound Interstate 95, near mile marker 291, in Flagler County. Witnesses who stopped to help notified deputies that three people fled the crash scene – two men and a woman.
Deputies then received a call from a homeowner in the B-section, near I-95, stating a female was in need of assistance. When deputies arrived, they spoke with the woman, who was one of the crash victims, and they began searching for the two white males.
One man being sought was identified as Booth, who is wanted in Virginia for leaving a work-release program without permission. The second male crash victim, identified only as “Mike,’’ is still on the run.
Earlier Friday night, Booth had been spotted running westbound from Burroughs Drive and Burnell Lane. Residents in the B section were alerted to be on the lookout for the two men and are urged to report all suspicious activity to 911 immediately.
Assisting in the search were three K-9 officers from the FCSO and two from Tomoka Correctional Institute. Also, Volusia County sheriff’s deputies provided helicopter support, along with Flagler’s Fire Flight, in the search.
Residents are urged to call 911 immediately if they see anything suspicious.
Original story:
Deputies are searching Palm Coast's B Section for two men who fled the scene of a single-car crash on Interstate 95 near mile marker 291 the evening of Feb. 5. They believe one of the men is James Kent Booth, who is wanted in Virginia for misdemeanor escape and violation of a court order.
The Sheriff's Office got a call about a single car crash on the interstate at about 6:08 p.m., and people who saw the crash and stopped to help told deputies that three people involved in the crash ran from the scene, according to a news release from the Flagler County Sheriff's Office.
Deputies then got a call from a B Section resident who said a woman needed help; when deputies arrived, "they located the female and began searching for two white males," according to the release. "It is believed one of the two men being sought is wanted in the state of Virginia," for cutting off a GPS monitoring device and leaving a work release program. Of the second man, authorities know only a first name: Mike, according to the release.
Deputies — with help from Flagler County Fire Flight, the county's emergency helicopter — have been searching the B section for the two men. Authorities sent out a CodeRed emergency notification message to B section residents, and the Florida Highway Patrol is investigating the I-95 crash.
Booth, 54, is white with brown hair and brown eyes, 5 feet, 8 inches tall, 150 pounds and wearing jeans and an unknown colored hoody. He has a tattoo on his left arm.
Residents are urged to report all suspicious activity to 911 immediately, according to the release.
