Bunnell, FL - A man already on probation for fleeing law enforcement and drug possession is back in the Flagler County Jail. Sheriff's deputies say that 43-year-old Sean Stewart ignored the deputy's emergency lights, drove through a stop sign and into the front yard of a residence at the intersection of MLK Jr. Ave. and South Anderson Street, in Bunnell last Friday (June 12) morning.
FCSO deputies attempted a traffic stop for a broken taillight on the 2015 Hyundai Sonata that Stewart was driving just before 11 a.m. on MLK Jr. Ave. Driving into the front yard of a residence was not the end of the chase. FCSO says that Stewart drove up and down several streets in Bunnell, finally abandoning his car on South Peach Street before fleeing on foot.
Bunnell police officers and FCSO deputies formed a perimeter and searched for Stewart. As the search was going on, Stewart came out from behind a building on South Peach Street, telling deputies that he was looking for his car. He was sweating profusely, out of breath, and missing a shoe.
Deputies questioned Stewart who told a story of moving to the area from Palm Beach because of his probation from an arrest exactly five weeks earlier. He then told officers that another man, whose name he did not know, was driving the car. The deputies asked Stewart why he would let a man he didn't know drive his car. He responded that the man claimed to "know the area." The next question, "Why would you abandon your car and flee police?" Stewart said the man told him to "run" so he did.
“This is another great example of agencies working together to prevent crime in Flagler County,” Sheriff Rick Staly said. “This guy was just arrested in May for Fleeing and Eluding and it looks like he did not learn his lesson so now he is heading back for another stay at the Green Roof Inn. Let this be a lesson to offenders, if you run from us, you will just go to jail tired and in this case, shoeless.”
Stewart was arrested and transported to the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility and charged with Resisting without Violence, Fleeing and Eluding, Driving While License Suspended and Felony Violation of Probation. Additionally, he was issued citations for Operating a Vehicle with Defective Equipment and Expired Vehicle Registration. He is being held on a $10,500.00 bond.
