The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office on Monday was in a standoff with two suspects in a U-Haul truck on SR-A1A, the agency confirmed. The incident took place in Flagler Beach around the area of North 15th Street. Both suspects are in custody, according to the FCSO.
On Monday afternoon the suspects were identified as 48-year-old May Ling Ip and 40-year-old Jamie Allen Mays, both Gainesville residents. A resident placed a suspicious activity call about the pair when they were apparently seen parked on the sidewalk underneath the Hammock Dunes Bridges in Palm Coast.
A deputy located the truck under the bridge and approached, the FCSO says. He reportedly overheard a woman yelling something about money. When the deputy identified himself, the driver’s door shut and the truck drove away. Moments later the truck stopped but was not put into park. Once the deputy got to the driver’s side window, the truck again is said to have sped away, heading toward SR-A1A after an unsuccessful attempt to make a traffic stop.
Pursuit in Coastal Flagler County
A FCSO deputy trains his gun on the U-Haul truck on SR-A1A. Photo courtesy of Andrea Griffith.
At around North 18th Street in Flagler Beach, stop sticks were used to puncture the truck’s tires before it was surrounded by several agency vehicles. It was traveling south at the time and came to a stop at around North 15th Street. Deputies quickly closed off a few blocks of SR-A1A, as well as some of the adjacent side streets.
A BearCat vehicle blocked the U-Haul’s escape from the front, and a drone was deployed to maintain visual contact. The Flagler Beach Police Department aided in the operation by deploying the stop sticks. A standoff then ensued for over an hour during which the two suspects reportedly refused to exit the truck.
Prolonged Standoff on SR-A1A
During the standoff multiple deputies had guns drawn from several angles around the truck. A spokesman with the FCSO says there were no gunshots fired, as previously speculated by some residents in the vicinity. They instead broke the windows with shatterballs, a small metal ball with spikes thrown by hand to shatter glass.
A SWAT vehicle blocks the U-Haul truck’s path on SR-A1A. ⓒ Flagler County Sheriff’s Office
The side mirrors of the truck were broken using less-lethal devices, and the SWAT team tossed an aerosol spray through the broken window. At this point, the FCSO says Ip got out of the truck and went running for the beach at a nearby wooden staircase.
K-9 Guapo was deployed by his handler, Corporal Andrew Cangialosi. The dog was able to take down Ip, who is said to have continued resisting arrest even still. She is accused of having tried to drag the dog down the stairs toward the beach and to bite a sergeant before finally being taken into custody.
Mays, meanwhile, is also said to have refused to exit the truck. K-9 Mako was sent in after him, at which point he’s said to have surrendered willingly. Mays was only charged with misdemeanor obstruction without violence, and is being held at the county jail on $500 bond as of Tuesday morning.
Two Suspects Arrested
Ip was charged with three felonies: aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill, battery on an officer, and fleeing or eluding with light and sirens active. She was also charged with three misdemeanors: possession of cannabis under 20 grams, possession of drug paraphernalia, and obstruction without violence. Her bond was set at $11,500, and she remains in custody as of Tuesday morning.
ⓒ Flagler County Sheriff’s Office
Neither Ip nor Mays have prior arrest records in Flagler County. Responding units included the SWAT team, Crisis Negotiations Team, Drone Unit, and K-9 Unit.
“These two suspects refused to obey lawful commands to exit the vehicle for over an hour, disrupting traffic and forcing us to use a significant number of resources,” said Flagler Sheriff Rick Staly. “Ip quickly learned that our K-9s will take a bite out of crime. Mays finally made a good decision by surrendering when the K-9 was about to bite him. I hope they enjoyed those last few drags of their cigarettes during the standoff, because they won’t be getting any at the [county jail] as it’s a smoke-free hotel. I’m also very proud of our deputies for calming handling this incident and bringing it to a successful conclusion without any serious injuries. I also thank the caller who ‘saw something and said something’ as the caller was clearly right and knew something was wrong.”
