The man accused of committing a shooting in Flagler Beach earlier this month has been found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office. 54-year-old Yairton Garcia was being charged with a separate crime when deputies entered a standoff that turned deadly.
On October 5th, Garcia was accused of shooting a Palm Coast man in his 50’s in the arm on North Oceanshore Blvd in Flagler Beach. The victim survived after being treated at Halifax Health Medical Center in Daytona Beach. The incident was unusual for a part of the county that’s normally among the lowest in violent crime. He’d been at-large for the shooting since it occurred, and had no run-ins with deputies until the standoff Wednesday night.
Wednesday Police Standoff
According to the FCSO, law enforcement personnel were dispatched to serve an arrest warrant on Garcia Wednesday night, where he was staying at a home on Lake Charles Lane in Palm Coast. Detectives and SWAT teams arrived at the home, using their public address system to call for all occupants to exit the house. Multiple people exited, but the FCSO says Garcia remained inside. Deputies reportedly knew he was armed.
At this point the FCSO Crisis Negotiation Team joined the response, working for multiple hours to attempt to coerce Garcia out of the house. He reportedly didn’t answer calls to his phone or provide any response when they continued trying to reach him via the public address system. An ICOR Mini-CALIBER robot was sent into the home to deliver another phone, but it did not lead to communication with Garcia.
Discovering Garcia’s Remains
At 12:50 am, the robot was sent in once again to try and pinpoint Garcia’s whereabouts. There, he was found dead on the bathroom floor of the residence, having apparently used a gun to take his own life during the standoff. He has only one prior arrest in Flagler County, for domestic battery and false imprisonment in December 2023.
“This is not the outcome we hoped for in this incident. We always strive for a successful resolution,” said Sheriff Rick Staly. “Garcia was wanted by Flagler Beach Police for a shooting in Flagler Beach and family members had told us that he had made comments that he was not going to go to jail. Unfortunately, he chose a different method to end this situation. Had he allowed us to arrest him, he would have had an opportunity to turn his life around, but his decision made the situation irreversible.”
“The outcome of this investigation is tragic and one we never want as the final result of our investigations,” added acting Flagler Beach Police Chief Lance Blanchette. “Had Mr. Garcia surrendered to the Flagler County SWAT team, who provided many opportunities and ample time to do so, the final outcomes would have been vastly different.”
