22-year-old Byrone Lord was arrested by the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office last week on three felony and two misdemeanor charges. The Bunnell resident was said to have fled from deputies on US-1 and then ditched his car.
Bodycam footage of a motorcycle deputy involved in the pursuit appears to show Lord driving west on Old Dixie Highway, jumping a curb onto US-1, and later leaving his vehicle on a residential street in Bunnell. Lord was reportedly with an unnamed 17-year-old at the time of the incident.
Things started on Wednesday when a deputy attempted to pull over Lord’s Volkswagen for going 59 miles per hour in a 35 zone, the FCSO says. At this point Lord is said to have accelerated and driven into oncoming traffic, ran over a curb to get from Old Dixie to US-1, and blown through a red light at Seminole Woods Blvd.
The initial deputy pursuing Lord lost sight ofl his vehicle at Seminole Woods, according to the FCSO’s description of the incident. Other deputies were able to locate him turning onto Drain Street. Lord was said to have left his vehicle near the intersection of South Anderson Street and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue.
Shortly after finding the abandoned vehicle, deputies located Lord and the teenager he was with. According to the FCSO, Lord told deputies that he’d fled due to not having a driver’s license and because he had marijuana with him in the car. He reportedly said he knew he’d go to jail for this, and that the teenager was screaming at him to stop.
A search was conducted of Lord’s pockets and his car by deputies. They reportedly found a ‘small nugget’ of marijuana, three plastic bags, and $335 cash on his person. The car was said to have 21.18 grams of marijuana. Further investigation revealed a purse that Lord was said to have ditched into the nearby treeline, containing 12 more grams of marijuana.
Lord was charged with fleeing or attempting to elude law enforcement with lights and sirens, possession of marijuana over 20 grams, evidence tampering, driving with a suspended license, and nonviolently resisting an officer. The obstruction and suspended license charges are misdemeanors, while the others are felonies. Records show the license charge was later dismissed. Lord has no prior arrest records in the Flagler County jail prior to last week.
As of Monday, Lord is still in custody at the county jail on $18,500 bond. The teenager he was with was said to have been turned over to the custody of a parent.
“This guy’s driving and decision to recklessly flee impressed neither his passenger or our deputies and endangered many drivers,” said Flagler Sheriff Rick Staly. “No matter how recklessly you drive your Volkswagen to get away, you’re not going to out-run our deputies. He was worried that he would go to jail for driving without a license and having weed in his car, which he is, but now he’s also going to jail on multiple felonies.”
Chris Gollon is a Flagler County resident since 2004, as well as a staple of the local independent music scene and avid observer of Central Florida politics, arts, and recreation.
