Florida deputies rescued a missing youth when they arrested a man on New Year’s Eve.
the driver, Darnell Hairstontried to escape during the traffic stop on the morning of Wednesday, Dec. 31, along U.S. Highway 1 in Flagler County, which is located in northeast Florida, the county sheriff’s office said in a news release issued that day.
Deputies discovered Hairston, 60, of Hastings, is a registered sex offender, who is now facing criminal charges, authorities said.
Information about Hairston’s legal representation was not immediately listed in court records.
“This was a very suspicious incident that is still under investigation by our detectives, but I am thankful that no one was seriously injured and that we were able to recover a missing child from the hands of this pervert,” said Flagler County Sheriff Sgt. Rick Staley he said in a statement.
The incident stems from when deputies stopped Hairston’s truck after a witness called out “suspicious activity” on Dec. 31, the sheriff’s office said.
Inside Hairston’s vehicle, officers found two juvenile passengers, according to authorities. After asking Hairston and the juveniles to get out of the truck, officers discovered that one of the juveniles was reported missing from neighboring St. Johns. Deputies then put the two juveniles into a squad car.
Afterward, authorities said Hairston “suddenly ran away, running and stumbling across the road,” prompting a struggle.
While struggling with deputies, Hairston tried to “grab a deputy’s gun,” the sheriff’s office said.
Footage shared by the agency shows officers arresting Hairston on the road.
When he was pulled over, the second youth in Hairston’s truck got into Hairston’s vehicle and drove off, according to the sheriff’s office, leading to a high-speed chase and crash.
The second youth, who is a 15-year-old from Hastings, nearly crashed into a deputy, authorities said.
Then, as deputies followed him southbound on the freeway, a deputy “passed him on the left and stood in front of his vehicle in an attempt to pull him over,” according to authorities.
“He then briefly entered the eastbound lane into oncoming traffic, then reentered the westbound lane and intentionally rear-ended the deputy’s patrol vehicle, causing both vehicles to collide with the tree line and (his) vehicle to overturn,” the sheriff’s office said.
During the chase, another officer “lost control” of his car and crashed into a nearby auto repair building, authorities said.
A quick-thinking Texas father is being hailed as a hero after he rescued his teenage daughter from a naked man who kidnapped her on Christmas Day. The brave father’s name has not been released by Montgomery County authorities because it could identify the teenage victim. But the investigators have released the name of the suspect (…)
The teenager was arrested on charges of aggravated fleeing and eluding, aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer, reckless driving, driving without a license and resisting an officer without violence.
Information about his legal representation was not immediately available.
Hairston, meanwhile, is accused of resisting an officer with violence and attempting to deprive a law enforcement officer of his firearm, the sheriff’s office said.
He is due in court on Jan. 27, court records show.
Deputies are now investigating the possible relationship between Hairston, the 15-year-old, and the missing juvenile, according to the agency.
Hairston has an extensive criminal history, the sheriff’s office said. In Florida in 2004, he was sentenced to 12 years in prison on three counts of false imprisonment, but was released in early 2009, according to Staly.
Hairston also has “prior arrests for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, robbery with assault or battery, cruelty to a female, disorderly intoxication, lewd or lascivious offenses committed on a child, damage to property and sexual assault,” the sheriff’s office said.