- December 14, 2025
Thursday evening, Leslie Long was inside a residence on Columbia Lane in Palm Coast when a man walked in uninvited.
“Where’s my money?” he screamed.
The man, Thomas Reifinger, had arrived in a taxi cab and smelled of alcohol, according to an incident report from the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office. Long called 911.
When a deputy arrived, he found a shirtless man lying on his back in the driveway of the residence. Two other men stood at a distance, watching. A taxi driver and his vehicle were also on scene. The deputy called for an ambulance before approaching the man on the ground.
The man was conscious and identified himself as Reifinger. He was bleeding from the back of his head and had a small laceration to his left elbow. When asked what happened, Reifinger could not remember. He said he thought he was in the B-section.
The deputy made contact with neighbor Dillon Reding. He said he was sitting inside Long’s residence when Reifinger stormed inside without invitation. Reifinger began to argue with those inside the residence.
During the argument, according to Reding, Reifinger said he had come into the residence before while everyone inside was a sleep and “could have killed you all,” according to the police report.
The argument escalated, and Reifinger exited through the back door of the residence.
Another witness, Michael Evans, lives in a unit in the same building and was babysitting three 5-year-old children while the incident happened. Evans said he was standing in his kitchen when he heard a female voice yell, “You’re not supposed to be here!”
Then, the witness said, he heard a male voice say, “I’m-a kill everybody!”
Evans, worried for his neighbors, exited his residence to investigate. At the same time, Reifinger appeared from the side of the residence. The witness asked Reifinger to leave.
According to the Evans, Reifinger then challenged him to a fight in the street. Evans declined and again asked Reifinger to leave.
By this time, Reifinger was in the middle of the street with his hands raised. “Let’s go,” he yelled. “Round one!”
Reifinger eventually approached Evans “quickly and in an aggressive manner,” according to the police report, his arms raised and his mouth spouting race-based insults. Evans said he feared violence was imminent, so he punched Reifinger in the jaw with his fist.
Reifinger then fell backwards on the ground. A deputy arrived about 15 seconds later.
Reifinger was attended to by medical personnel on scene and refused medical treatment. He was placed under arrest for assault and disorderly intoxication, his fifth arrest in Flagler County in the last two years. Two of those arrests were for driving under the influence.
As he sat in the backseat of the deputy’s patrol car, Reifinger yelled and talked to himself as witnesses completed their statements.
The deputy then took Reifinger to Florida Hospital Flagler to be medically cleared.
“While at the hospital, he continued to yell, scream and curse at the hospital staff,” the incident report says.
Reifinger remained in the Flalger County Inmate Facility Monday on $500 bail.
