Flagler Deputy Injured By Fleeing Armed Robbers During 2 County Chase

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Palm Coast, FL - A Flagler County Sheriff's Deputy was injured early Wednesday morning when a fleeing armed robbery suspect crashed into the deputy's patrol vehicle. A 911 call about an attempted robbery was made from the Palm Coast Taco Bell at around 12:48 AM on November 15. A cashier told deputies that a white man in a blue four-door vehicle went through the drive-through and handed over a note that read "be quiet and hand me the money. I have a gun." Deputies searched the area and found a vehicle matching the description in the parking lot of the McDonalds on Old Kings Rd., but the suspect fled as soon as he saw the patrol cars. Deputies gave chase and pursued the vehicle on I-95 all the way into Volusia County, where the suspect exited onto US-1. The suspect crashed into Deputy Craig Rossi's patrol car at the intersection of US-1 and Nova Rd. According to FCSO, Rossi's airbags deployed and he suffered injuries to his chest and forearm. He was taken to Halifax Hospital in Daytona Beach for treatment. He has since been released and is at home recovering.

(Deputy Rossi's patrol car after the hit-and-run crash; photo courtesy FCSO)

Deputies successfully deployed stop sticks near the Walmart in Ormond Beach, bringing the chase to an end. The driver, 37-year-old Jason Klokow, was arrested for robbery with a deadly weapon, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and two counts of fleeing and attempting to elude law enforcement. The passenger, who fled the vehicle after it was stopped, was found near the back of the Walmart. Christopher McMillian, 28, was arrested for fleeing and attempting to elude law enforcement and accessory after the fact. He had an active warrant out of Daytona Beach for failure to pay child support.

“We’re grateful for the assistance of the surrounding agencies in helping us take these two dangerous dirtbags into custody before they seriously hurt someone,” said Sheriff Rick Staly. “Our deputies did an outstanding job apprehending these two armed robbers. Deputy Rossi is going to be okay and back out fighting crime before we know it. Two more beds are filled at the Green Roof Inn.”

McMillian and Klokow are being held at the Volusia County Jail, but they're scheduled to be transferred to the Flagler County Detention Facility in the near future. Both men have prior arrest histories in Volusia County, but according to FCSO, this is their first arrests for crimes committed in Flagler County.

(Klokow, left, and McMillian, right; photos courtesy the Volusia County Jail)

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