Daytona Beach, FL - A 27-year-old Daytona Beach man who had two warrants out for his arrest ends up in custody when 23 grams of marijuana were found in his car after he got into a traffic accident while fleeing from police.
Paul A. Kelly is held without bond at Volusia County Jail following his arrest early Monday morning (Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day) by the Daytona Beach Police Department, according to his arrest report.
Kelly and three other people were involved in that crash around 11 o'clock the night prior (January 20th) on the corner of Sixth Street and Nova Road, said DBPD Sergeant Kelsey Harris.
"All injured persons have non-life threatening injuries," Harris added.
Per the report, Kelly was driving a gold 2011 Chevrolet Malibu north on Nova when it went through a red light and T-boned the passenger side of a gray 2012 Chevy heading east on Sixth soon after a police officer broke off pursuit of the vehicle Kelly was driving.
The Chevy Kelly was driving also damaged a fence and a crosswalk signal near the intersection after bouncing off the other vehicle, according to the traffic crash report.
The report notes that the officer was pursuing because he saw Kelly do an "unsafe" U-turn on Nova a few minutes before the accident, causing other vehicles to stop to avoid a crash.
When that officer turned on lights and sirens for a traffic stop, Kelly sped away, turning off all his lights and weaving in and out of traffic to avoid being arrested, according to the report.
Paramedics took Kelly - who was "partially" ejected from the driver's seat when the officer found him at the crash scene - to Halifax Health Medical Center for a head laceration, while the 27-year-old Ormond Beach man driving the other vehicle had fractured ribs and at least one punctured organ, according to Harris.
A 21-year-old Daytona Beach woman who was a passenger in Kelly's car ended up at the hospital afterward and is cooperating with police in the investigation. A 19-year-old Palm Coast man was in the gray Chevy, but none of the DBPD reports show if he was hurt or how severely.
The 23 grams of marijuana was wrapped in a cellophane baggie inside a Beats headphone case found in the car, per the report. Officers also found a black digital scale and 10 empty cellophane baggies.
Investigators say another bag with nearly seven grams of marijuana was found just outside the car. They think it likely flew out of the car during the crash.
Kelly's been charged with felony counts of fleeing and eluding and possession of marijuana with intent to sell. In addition, he was wanted for failing to appear in court two separate times in the past two months on unrelated drug possession and paraphernalia charges, along with driving on a suspended license.
As of 4 p.m. today, there was no current mugshot for Kelly available through VCJ. The mugshot above is from a December 2013 booking for driving on a suspended license.
