Darnell Hairston Charged with Kidnapping After Traffic Stop with Missing Child

A Hastings man arrested recently by the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office was hit with additional charges in relation to a dramatic traffic stop on US-1 in Palm Coast. 60-year-old Darnell Hairston was found to have a child reported missing from St. Johns County in his pickup truck when he was stopped on New Year’s Eve.

Hairston was initially charged with criminal attempt at a ranked offense, attempting to deprive an officer of their fun, and resisting an officer with violence. He has now also been charged with aggravated child abuse, armed robbery, battery by strangulation, and kidnapping of a child under 13 years old with aggravated abuse.

Background

The traffic stop occurred on Wednesday after Hairston’s white Ford F-150 pickup truck was the subject of a ‘see something, say something’ call for suspicious activity. After being pulled over, Hairston appears to try and run from deputies on bodycam footage from the scene. He was tackled on the road, and is accused of reaching for one deputy’s firearm.

The incident also led to another teenager who was with Hairston, 15-year-old Junior Bishop, getting into the truck and allegedly leading deputies on a chase almost to Putnam County, culminating in the truck and one FCSO vehicle crashing into the wood line. The truck flipped and the teenager was arrested uninjured, while two deputies were treated for minor injuries. Bishop is believed to have potentially acted as a co-conspirator with Hairston.

The Alleged Kidnapping

In the aftermath of Hairston and Bishop’s arrests, the FCSO Major Case Unit investigated the case in tandem with the FCSO Crime Scene Investigations Unit and St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office. The child reported missing (not the one who allegedly fled in the truck), reportedly told detectives that he’d been lured into the woods near a campsite in Flagler Estates, an unincorporated community in St. Johns County.

Once in the woods, the juvenile said that Hairston choked him to the point of unconsciousness, and then tied him up with shoelaces and an extension cord. Hairston also threatened him with a knife and firearm during the abduction, the boy said. He was reportedly held captive at the campground for days with his mouth duct-taped. When the group traveled, the kid said he was on the floorboard of the truck beneath a blanket.

New Charges for Darnell Hairston

Detectives searched Hairston’s Hastings residence, as well as the campsite and his Ford F-150. Items recovered in the search included duct tape, video surveillance equipment, and several weapons that lined up with the abductee’s story.

Next was interviewing Hairston. He reportedly told detectives that he was aware the child was missing and that law enforcement was searching for him. Hairston did not, the FCSO says, provide a reason for keeping him in spite of this. As it so happens, Hairston is a registered sex offender who has already served prison time for false imprisonment.

A new arrest warrant was served at the Flagler County jail on Friday for the new set of charges levied against Hairston. Initially held without bond pending his first appearance, Hairston’s bond was adjusted to $125,000. Since his new charges have come down, he’s again being held without bond.

“Clearly, thanks to ‘see something, same something’ and our deputies recognizing the victim was very afraid, we rescued a missing child who was in fear Hairston had planned to kill him,” said Flagler Sheriff Rick Staly. “In the hours after Hairston was initially arrested, our team put in a tremendous amount of effort on this investigation — working throughout the day, night, and well into the early hours of New Year’s Day — as they followed every lead, processed multiple crime scenes, and conducted interviews to make sure this child was protected and this pervert would be arrested for the crimes he committed.

“I commend everyone involved, starting with the caller who ‘saw something, said something,” Staly continued; “our deputies, detectives, [analysts], and CSIs; and our partners at the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office and State Attorney’s Office who worked closely with us on a very fast-moving case to make sure this pervert will face justice and hopefully serve the rest of his life in prison.”