- April 29, 2024
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Flagler County employee Samantha Whitfield is facing criminal charges after she allegedly placed a tracking device in her ex-husband's car.
Whitfield, 45, is a former Observer Veteran of the Week and has worked with with Flagler County since 2019 as the county's human resources and risk manager. Whitfield's ex-husband called the Flagler County Sheriff's Office last October when he found a tracking device in the passenger seat's back pocket, according to an incident report.
The ex-husband told an FCSO deputy that he did not know how the device would have been placed there, but that, for the last two years, Whitfield has had specific information about his whereabouts, the report said.
He said he knew Whitfield had hired a private investigator multiple times, but said her knowledge of his whereabouts was more than what an investigator could give her.
The tracker was taken into evidence and brought to the FCSO Operations Center. Later the day the tracker was moved, Whitfield called the FCSO Operations Center asking why her ex husband had been at the Sheriff's Office for the last several hours.
An FCSO detective confirmed the man was at work and not at the Operations Center, meaning Whitfield had been looking at the tracker's whereabouts, the report said.
When the FCSO detective talked to Whitfield on Oct. 24, Whitfield said she knew her ex husband was at the Sheriff's Office because her keys to his car were in the car, and the keys had a tracker on it like all of her personal items and her children's backpacks.
Whitfield was originally charged with stalking and unauthorized installation of a tracking device, but the State Attorney's Office filed an intent not to prosecute the stalking charge on March 8, according to Flagler County Clerk of Court documents.
In response to questions from the Observer, Flagler County Human Resources Director Pamela Wu wrote in an email that Whitfield has never had complaints filed against her at work.
"Ms. Whitfield is a valuable member of the Human Resources Team and the county," Wu wrote.
Whitfield has been charged but not formally arrested. Her arraignment is set for April 2 at the Flagler County courthouse.
A previous version of this story incorrectly identified an email from Pamela Wu as from another county employee. Update 2:58 p.m., April 2.
