Flagler County, FL – The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office (FCSO) recovered a stolen firearm reported in early September and arrested the convicted felon who took it.
On September 1, James Black filed a report with the FCSO saying his firearm was stolen. Black believed that it was stolen by Charles Swindell, 47, a man whom he worked with on August 28 picking palmetto berries near the intersection of Secretary Trail and Seckel Court. Black left the firearm in his vehicle while he was working and noticed it was not there when he was driving home that night.
Several weeks later, Black told the FCSO that he had been getting texts and calls from Swindell saying that he had the firearm and that he would sell it back to Black for $250. Special Investigations Unit Detectives were able to issue a search warrant for Swindell’s home on Thursday afternoon based on probable cause.
Detectives found a firearm matching the serial number of the firearm that went missing from Black. Swindell was arrested for burglary of a conveyance, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, violation of an injunction and dealing in stolen property. The firearm he stole will be returned to Black. Swindell is a 4-time convicted felon so he could face prosecution as a career criminal and up to life in prison.
“I’m glad we were able to take a gun from the hands of a four-time convicted felon,” said Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly. “Hopefully he’s in for a long stay at the Green Roof Inn and state prison.”
(Swindell mugshot courtesy of the FCSO)
Copyright Southern Stone Communications 2017.
