The State Attorney’s Office has decided to charge 15-year-old Hastings resident Junior Bishop as an adult in connection to a December 31st police chase in Flagler County. Bishop is accused of leading deputies with the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office on a chase from US-1 in Palm Coast nearly to the county line, before crashing with a patrol car and being arrested.
The traffic stop that preceded the chase saw Bishop and 60-year-old Darnell Hairston stopped with a child who’d been reported missing. Bishop was said to have gotten back into the truck and sped away, leading to a chase in which he and one deputy crashed into the treeline in west Flagler County. Bishop’s truck flipped, and he was arrested.
Already Darnell Hairston has been charged with kidnapping of a child under 13, aggravated child abuse, armed robbery, battery by strangulation, resisting an officer with violence, deprivation of protection or communication, and criminal attempt at a ranked offense level 1 or 2. He’s been in custody at the county jail with no bond since January 1st.
For his alleged role in the incident, Junior Bishop has been charged with aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer, fleeing and eluding at a reckless speed, grand theft of a motor vehicle, resisting an officer without violence, reckless driving, and operating a motor vehicle without a license. The first three charges are each first degree felonies, meaning Bishop would receive a mandatory minimum sentence of 30 years if he’s convicted. The grand theft charge is also a felony, while the other three are misdemeanors.
As of this week, Bishop is being held at the Volusia County Branch Jail on $133,000 bond. His first court appearance took place on Friday.
“This kid was already on probation for a violent offense when he committed these new felony crimes,” said Flagler Sheriff Rick Staly. “I commend and support our State Attorney for charging Bishop as an adult because of the seriousness of his crimes. Frankly, if you commit serious adult felonies as a juvenile, especially when you are already on probation, you should expect to be held accountable as an adult. This is especially true when your actions could have seriously injured a deputy sheriff.”
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.
