Man Arrested For Taking Marijuana From Beach Park

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Palm Coast, FL - Bundles of marijuana washing up on Volusia and Flagler beaches have been keeping law enforcement in both counties busy recently.

One such encounter at a beach park today (September 13th) ends with a 61-year-old Palm Coast man in custody on a felony marijuana possession charge.

The Flagler County Sheriff's Office arrested Robert Kelley around 11 o'clock this morning at Jungle Hut Park, just north of the Hammock Dunes Club. He's currently held on $2,500 bond at Flagler County Jail.

FCSO spokesperson Shannon Martin says deputies have recovered around 100 pounds of marijuana from the county's beaches in the past two days, but it's not clear where it came from.

"Packages of marijuana have [also] been washing up on the beaches in St. Johns and Volusia counties," Martin added.

Kelley's arrest came after a woman called 911 to report that Kelley and other people at the beach park were making off with "bricks" of marijuana which had just washed ashore.

"When FCSO arrived on the scene, the caller identified Robert Kelley to deputies," Martin added. "While on scene, Kelley did not attempt to approach FCSO and alert them that he had found suspected narcotics."

According to his arrest report, Kelley denied taking the marijuana, saying that he was just holding it in his truck for law enforcement in case anyone arrived.

The report also noted that the wet "brick" found in Kelley's truck weighed around 11 pounds and that it was wrapped up in a brown beach towel.

Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly said the caller was key in deputies being able to make the arrest.

"This is another great example of 'See Something, Say Something'," Staly added. "This guy tried to take advantage of a situation and it completely backfired on him."

As was the case yesterday with similar packages found in Flagler Beach, all the marijuana found so far by FCSO has been turned over to the United States Customs & Border Patrol for further investigation.

All photos in this story come from investigators who worked Kelley's case, per FCSO.

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