PALM COAST – 24-year-old Esaiah Glenn was arrested on Monday for pulling a gun on his Lyft driver, according to a statement from the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office. The driver reportedly heard the gun click, but it thankfully did not fire.
The incident started when Glenn was picked up from Providence Lane in Palm Coast, according to the FCSO. The driver of the Lyft ride told police that Glenn pressed a gun against his head and pulled the trigger, causing the click noise to signify it hadn’t fired a shot. He then tried to get Glenn to exit his vehicle.
According to the written account of what happened, Glenn implored the driver to shoot him before finally exiting the vehicle. The driver flagged down FCSO Sergeant Daniel Parthemore and told him he’d been assaulted, and informed Parthemore where he’d dropped the passenger off.
The FCSO began a search for Glenn in the B section of Palm Coast, just off of Pine Lakes Pkwy. Residents of the Pine Lakes Apartments complex began to call the FCSO reporting seeing someone who appeared to match Glenn’s description moving through and trying to open car doors, leading a K9 unit and other FCSO elements to the area.
Glenn was reportedly located attempting to book a hotel room on nearby Kingswood Dr. He was said to have told deputies he pulled the gun on his Lyft driver in an attempt to coerce the driver into shooting him. The driver confirmed to police that Glenn was the person who had taken his Lyft ride.
Police also made contact with a friend of Glenn’s who lived at the P section residence that Glenn had taken the Lyft from. The friend said Glenn was making suicidal statements and showed him a gun, and that he’d ordered the Lyft for his friend to take him back home.
“You can run but you can’t hide from FCSO,” said Sheriff Rick Staly of the incident. “This situation could have ended a lot worse, but I’m proud of the quick and sweeping actions our team to make sure our community was safe, and that the suspect was apprehended before he could hurt someone or himself. If you know of someone who is having a mental health episode, you should always call us to intervene before it escalates as it did in this case.”
Those in mental health crisis can also call the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988. This will connect the caller with a trained professional who can provide free and confidential support.
As stupid as Glenn was for doing what he did. I hope he gets the help he needs before he does something bad and hurts himself or even worse kills himself.