- April 23, 2024
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The theft of more than $23,000 in construction equipment was solved in less than 24 hours as Flagler County Sheriff's Office deputies worked with Volusia County deputies to arrest a suspect after the victim tracked the thief down on social media and arranged a meeting with him.
“I want to thank our team for their diligent and quick work in making this arrest and the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office for their help in securing him,” Sheriff Rick Staly said. “I’m thankful that working together with the victims and VCSO we were able to return the stolen property quickly. To any thieves out there who think they can come to Flagler County and steal, think again. We work with agencies across the state and have the technology to find you, and you will go to jail.”
The FCSO responded July 1 to a construction site behind the roundabout of U.S. 1 and Matanzas Woods Parkway about a vehicle burglary.
Deputies made contact with the first victim, an American Civil Construction employee who said that upon arriving at work he discovered that several items had been stolen from the company trailer.
The victim said that the trailer had been left on the construction site overnight and had been secured after work had ended on June 30.
However, on July 1, when he and his coworkers returned, they noticed that several items had been stolen from the trailer. The estimated cost of the missing items was $23,080.
The victim also said that an excavator had been moved on their site, and he believed that the excavator was used to load the items into the suspect's vehicle.
A second victim said that a cut-off saw valued at $1800 was removed from their white work trailer.
The victim said he found the side door to the trailer open, with the locks cut off.
Deputies retrieved surveillance footage, and it showed a white male operating a white Ford pickup entering and leaving the construction site overnight.
The FCSO identified the driver as James Perkins.
The first victim then called the FCSO again and said that he'd made contact with Perkins on social media.
The victim told FCSO that after speaking with Perkins, he had convinced him to meet at the Sunoco gas station on U.S. 1 in Oak Hill to return the stolen items.
FCSO requested mutual aid from the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office, which responded to the meeting and detained Perkins.
When questioned by FCSO deputies, Perkins said that he was involved with the theft of the construction property and that he took the items because he “needed money.”
Perkins added that he had an unidentified friend named “E.J.,” from DeLand, who was in the truck with him while they were at the construction site.
This is not Perkins' first encounter with law enforcement: Perkins was on probation for a 2018 arrest for armed burglary and grand theft.
Perkins was arrested and taken to the Volusia County Jail. He is charged with Burglary of an Unoccupied Conveyance, Trespassing on a Construction Site, and Grand Theft over $20,000.
He is held on no bond. He will be transferred to the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility in Flagler County.
