- May 3, 2024
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One case yielded an arrest; the other is unsolved.
In two separate incidents in two days, two vehicles were stolen and then crashed in Palm Coast.
The first occurred Nov. 18, when Meda Krodel was driving south on Belle Terre Parkway at about 3 a.m. A dark car then crashed into her, causing $10,000 of damage to her Dodge Neon. The car did not stop, but completed a U-turn and drove north on Belle Terre.
Deputies from the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office communicated about the incident. One deputy found a large, silver piece of a front bumper, and the other soon spotted a silver Toyota Camry with “extensive front end damage,” according to the case report.
The deputy stopped the vehicle and learned that the driver was Joseph Samuels, 18. The deputy confirmed it was the same vehicle that had crashed into Krodel’s Neon.
Samuels was arrested for leaving the scene of an accident. He at first stated it was his mother’s car, but then revealed it was given to him by a friend.
However, during the investigation, another woman called to report her vehicle had been stolen. Katherine Mitchell told deputies she didn’t know who Samuels was and that the Camry had been stolen overnight.
Additional charges were then filed against Samuels for grand theft of a motor vehicle. As of press time, Samuels was being held at the Flagler County Inmate Facility.
The following day, at 6:47 p.m. Nov. 19, a deputy was called to the parking lot at Target, on State Road 100, in reference to a stolen vehicle.
There, Anita Norton told a deputy that she was unable to locate her daughter’s white 2006 Volkswagen Passat, which Norton had left in the parking lot.
The deputy checked the area for broken glass or other signs that it had been stolen, but found none.
However, during the investigation, a vehicle crash was called in to dispatch by a third party. The vehicle matched the stolen vehicle’s description; it was confirmed by the license plate.
Deputies reported that the vehicle was unoccupied when they arrived on the scene. The Passat was located in a canal, submerged in about one foot of water, near the intersection of Canal Avenue and Coconut Boulevard, Bunnell. The car sustained $5,000 in damage and was towed to be processed for evidence.
Footage from the security cameras at Target was submitted as evidence.
They were told a white male in a black trench coat was seen in the area, but they couldn’t find him or any other suspect.
While the deputies were on the scene, the vehicle’s owner, Ashton Figueroa, arrived and said she did not know of any suspects who could have stolen the car.
