**WARNING: LANGUAGE**
While performing a security check at the Racetrac gas station at 5893 E State Road 100 around 2:30 a.m. on February 14, a Flagler County Sheriff’s Office (FCSO) sergeant made contact with occupants of a Chevrolet Equinox in the parking lot.
The adult male sitting in the back passenger side of the vehicle had marijuana in plain view near his feet. The sergeant gave commands several times for the passenger to place his hands on the seat in front of him. The male, later identified as 22-year-old Austin Flores (DOB 4/30/1997), did not comply with the sergeant’s commands and began stomping his feet continually in the vehicle. The sergeant heard what sounded like metal drop inside the vehicle while Flores was stomping.
Flores soon exited the vehicle and when the sergeant grabbed his wrist, Flores pulled away and continued to be argumentative and uncooperative. Another sergeant arrived on scene and was able to escort Flores to the ground in order to secure him in handcuffs.
An inventory of the vehicle revealed a 9mm semi-automatic handgun directly under the front passenger seat, consistent with the backseat passenger pushing it under the front seat. Deputies also found 14 grams of marijuana scattered on the passenger floorboard and underneath the front seat in the immediate area where Flores was seen stomping inside the vehicle.
“Thankfully no one was hurt during this interaction. This situation could have gone a lot differently,” Sheriff Rick Staly said. “Our deputies never know what they may encounter, even on a routine security check. I continually remind them to think tactically and dress for survival. Guns, drugs, and felons don’t mix.”
Flores is a convicted felon since 2018 and is therefore not allowed to possess a firearm. Flores was arrested and charged with Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon, Possession of Marijuana, Battery on a Law Enforcement Officer, and Resisting an Officer without Violence. He was booked into the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility where he is being held without bond.