Flagler County deputies arrested a Debary man this week after an investigation revealed he broke into a vehicle at Varn Park, stole multiple credit cards, and used them to rack up fraudulent charges across Palm Coast.
Deputies were first called to Varn Park on November 7 after the victim reported receiving fraud alerts on her phone while she was on the beach. When she returned to her vehicle, which had been left unlocked, she discovered it had been burglarized and several items, including her credit cards, were missing.
Patrol deputies quickly identified a black Ford F-150 seen circling the park around the time of the break‑in. They followed up at the Walmart Supercenter, where surveillance footage showed the suspect using the stolen cards to buy an e‑bike and a gift card before leaving in the same black pickup seen at the beach.
Detectives with the General Assignment Unit took over the case. By Monday, after reviewing the surveillance footage and other evidence, they identified the suspect as 50‑year‑old Robert Eric Foote of Debary. Investigators also found that Foote had attempted additional purchases with stolen cards at three other businesses in Palm Coast.
On Wednesday, members of the Problem Area Crime Enforcement Unit located Foote’s truck near State Road 100 and Bulldog Drive. They watched as he slowly circled multiple parking lots, including Planet Fitness and the Hilton Garden Inn, behavior detectives recognized as consistent with someone scouting for cars to burglarize. They stopped the vehicle before he could act.
Sheriff Rick Staly credited the quick work of deputies: “It looks like this guy was intending to commit more burglaries, so our detectives stopped him before he could. This is a good reminder to always lock your car and keep valuables out of sight.”
During an interview, Foote denied the burglary and fraudulent purchases but admitted he had been at Varn Park and Walmart. He claimed the purchases were made with his own card. He consented to a search of his truck, where detectives found two additional credit cards that belonged to neither him nor the victim.
Foote was arrested and charged with burglary, traveling across county lines with the intent to commit burglary, grand theft, fraudulent use of a credit card, and unlawful possession of personal identification information. He was booked into the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility on an $8,000 bond.
Sheriff Staly added, “He learned the hard way that you shouldn’t come to Flagler County to commit crimes. We’ll catch you and put you in the Green Roof Inn where you belong.”
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