PALM COAST, Florida – A 23-year-old Palm Coast man faces a felony fleeing and eluding charge after deputies said he sped away from a traffic stop initiated by Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly, weaving a motorcycle through traffic with a woman on the back. Deputies tracked him down and arrested him the same day.
The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office said 23-year-old Jacob Lunsford of Palm Coast fled the stop around 12:20 p.m. Sunday, November 1, on State Road 100 and Belle Terre Parkway.
Stop begins on State Road 100
Sheriff Rick Staly was driving west on SR 100 in an unmarked Sheriff’s Office vehicle when he saw a bright blue motorcycle accelerate rapidly and weave between lanes in a 50-mph zone, according to the agency. The motorcycle had an obscured tag. Staly paced it at 66 mph, then turned on his emergency lights and siren when the driver did not stop right away.
Near the intersection of Belle Terre Parkway and SR 100, the motorcycle stopped in the turn lane for northbound Belle Terre Parkway. Deputies said Lunsford made direct eye contact with Staly, then accelerated north on Belle Terre Parkway. His passenger held on as the motorcycle passed cars by splitting lanes at a high rate of speed.
The license plate was bent and mounted near the motor frame, which made it unreadable, the Sheriff’s Office said.
Deputies track the driver
Staly did not chase the motorcycle. The Sheriff’s Office said the driver was endangering the public and the passenger, and that the decision followed state law and agency policy.
Deputies used investigative technology to track the motorcycle and identify Lunsford as the driver. They later stopped a car carrying Lunsford as a passenger after he left his Palm Coast home. Staly went to the scene near Rae Drive and Rymfire Drive, identified Lunsford as the driver who fled and arrested him.
“This guy turned a minor traffic infraction into a felony arrest,” said Sheriff Staly. “After stopping, turning his body to look directly at me, he made a really bad decision and decided to flee with a woman on the back of his bike. His bad decisions put her life and everyone else on the road at risk. To those who think they can outrun the Sheriff or our deputies, just know you can’t outrun the radio or our investigative capabilities. I commend the team that helped identify and apprehend him.”
Charges and citations
Staly arrested Lunsford on a charge of fleeing or eluding a law enforcement officer with lights and sirens activated. He also issued four traffic citations: speeding, obscured tag, willful and wanton reckless driving, and fleeing and eluding. Lunsford received a written warning for not changing the address on his license.
Deputies took Lunsford to the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility. He later left jail on a $2,650 bond.
The Sheriff’s Office seized the motorcycle, a 2004 Yamaha, for forfeiture.
An arrest is an accusation. Lunsford is presumed innocent unless a court finds otherwise.