- December 16, 2025
A Palm Coast man who claimed he was helping a youngster who was being picked on at Ralph Carter Park Sunday was charged with false imprisonment for carrying the child out of the park, according to the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office.
Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a home on Red Clover Lane where the mother of the 11-year-old victim said her son had been at the park’s basketball court around 5 p.m. when a man approached him, picked him up and carried him toward the park entrance. The boy said he squirmed out of the man’s grasp and returned to the basketball court. He reported the incident nearly four hours later.
Deputies said Chad Davis, 20, of Pine Haven Lane, claimed he was watching the kids play basketball and when the victim did not get picked for a team, the other youngsters were teasing him. Davis said he picked the boy up and walked him over to the park entrance, where he told him not to play with kids who pick on him. Davis said he then walked across the street to a friend’s house.
Deputies said Davis was charged with false imprisonment and battery because Davis did not have permission to take the 11-year-old from the basketball court and his intentions were unknown.
He was being held Monday in the Flagler County Inmate Facility with no bond on the battery charge and a $500 bond on the false imprisonment charge.
“This man is fortunate that this situation did not escalate,” said Flagler County Sheriff Donald Fleming. "Children should be able to go to the park without fear of confrontation with any stranger.”
