Suspect shoots at deputy, flees after carjacking vehicle

Palm Coast Observer
News

UPDATE:

A 19-year-old Palm Coast man was arrested May 2 after spraying gunfire at a deputy and at his own parents May 1, then carjacking a car at gunpoint to flee.

Suspect Phillip Joseph Haire, 19, was arrested after he turned himself in at the Putnam County jail at about 9:25 May 2 following a manhunt that lasted almost 30 hours.

The deputy had been standing at the front door of Haire’s home on London Drive May 1 talking to Haire’s parents when Haire drove by and opened fire in the direction of the deputy and Haire’s parents, striking the deputy’s patrol car at least twice. Then he turned back around and fired at the house a second time, Sheriff Rick Staly said at a press conference after Haire's arrest.

Haire’s father ran back into the house, grabbed a gun, came back out and fired several shots at Haire’s fleeing car as the deputy tried to shield Haire’s mother, who was in a wheelchair. The deputy disarmed Haire’s father. No one was injured.

Haire crashed his car after firing at the deputy, then carjacked a car from a local resident on U.S. 1 and fled. The carjacking victim was not injured.

Sheriff’s Office deputies searched for Haire from the ground and from the air, using the county’s emergency services helicopter, FireFlight.

Deputies coordinated the search with law enforcement officers in Putnam County, St. Johns County and Volusia County, and “put a lot of pressure on his buddies,” Staly said.

“Hopefully he will go off to prison for a very long time and no longer be a menace to the community,” Staly said. Haire’s home on London Drive has been the subject of several dozen 911 calls in recent years.

Deputies served search warrants in Flagler County and Putnam County in connection with the crime, and arrested one of Haire’s associates, 24-year-old Derek Hall.

Haire had previously been arrested in connection with a drive-by shooting in March 2016 that also caused no deaths or injuries. Those charges were later dropped. He’d been shot himself, and critically injured, in a shooting in 2015. A 17-year-old was charged in connection with that crime.

ORIGINAL STORY:

A deputy responding to a call for service on London Drive in Palm Coast was shot at the evening of May 1 by a criminal who then carjacked a vehicle and fled.

The suspect is Phillip Joseph Haire, 19. He may be driving a dark blue 2013 Ford Fiesta with Florida tag EEYR82.

The deputy, identified in a Flagler County Sheriff's Office news release as a veteran sergeant, was standing at the front door of a home on the first block of London Drive when he was fired on from a passing vehicle.

"There’s no question that this was a deliberate act," Sheriff's Office spokesman Chief Mark Strobridge said.

The deputy wasn't hit, nor were the residents of the house, but the deputy's vehicle was struck at least twice.

The shooter crashed his car after firing at the deputy, then carjacked a car from a local resident on U.S. 1 and fled. The carjacking victim was not injured.

Haire is considered armed and dangerous and is the subject of a manhunt. Sheriff's Office deputies are searching for him from the ground and from the air, using the county's emergency services helicopter, FireFlight.

Haire had previously been arrested in connection with a drive-by shooting in March 2016 that also caused no deaths or injuries. Those charges were later dropped. He'd been shot himself, and critically injured, in a shooting in 2015. A 17-year-old was charged in connection with that crime.

Deputies do not know which direction Haire went on U.S. 1, and Flagler deputies are coordinating the search with law enforcement officers in Putnam County, St. Johns County and Volusia County.

"This guy has no regards for people’s lives," Strobridge said. "The sheriff has said that he is not going to sleep until this thing is resolved. (The suspect) is not just a danger to the Flagler County Sheriff's Office; this guy is a danger to the community."

Sheriff Rick Staly responded to London Drive to check on the deputy who was targeted and to direct the agency from the scene.

“I encourage him to turn himself in before he or someone else gets hurt,” Staly said in a news release. “We will find him and bring him to justice. If he shoots at one of my deputies, we will shoot back.”

Anyone with information about the May 1 shooting is asked to call the Sheriff’s Office non- emergency line at 386-313-4911. Or, to remain anonymous, please call Crime Stoppers of Northeast Florida at 1-888-277-8477. Callers may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.