- August 13, 2026
A Daytona Beach man was arrested after the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office said he broke into a former partner’s Palm Coast home while armed and shot a man during a struggle over the gun.
Deputies responded shortly after 6:30 a.m. Aug. 7 to a reported break-in and shooting at a home in Palm Coast’s F-Section. According to the Sheriff’s Office, a woman called the Flagler County Emergency Communications Center to report that an intruder was forcing his way into her home. Dispatchers could hear the confrontation escalating in the background, and the woman reported that the intruder had a gun. During the call, dispatchers heard a gunshot, and the woman said a man had been shot in the hand.
The woman identified the suspect as 52-year-old John Lyles of Daytona Beach. She told investigators that Lyles fled after the shooting in a white Mercedes SUV.
Sheriff’s Office Major Case detectives determined that Lyles was the woman’s former partner and had moved out of the home days earlier. Investigators said Lyles was under a no-contact order involving the woman following a previous domestic battery arrest in Volusia County. Lyles is also a convicted felon and is prohibited from possessing a firearm.
As deputies searched for the Mercedes, one located the vehicle traveling south on Interstate 95 and conducted a traffic stop. Lyles was not inside. The driver told deputies that he had given Lyles a ride to the residence because Lyles had been intoxicated. The driver said he watched Lyles enter the home, heard an argument and a gunshot and then saw Lyles run back to the vehicle.
The driver told investigators that he initially tried to drive away, but Lyles jumped into the vehicle and ordered him to drive. The driver said he complied because he was afraid and believed Lyles was still armed. He later dropped Lyles off somewhere in Palm Coast before deputies stopped the vehicle.
A deputy later located Lyles walking along Belle Terre Parkway near Barrister Lane and detained him. The Sheriff’s Office said a bag of cocaine was found in Lyles’ pocket during a search.
Lyles was arrested on charges of burglary while armed with a firearm, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, felony battery with prior convictions and possession of cocaine. He was taken to the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility, where he was being held without bond.
“This dirtbag had already been ordered by a judge to have no contact with the victim and as a convicted felon he couldn’t legally possess a firearm,” Sheriff Rick Staly said. “Neither of those stopped him from breaking down the door, entering the house, and shooting someone before running off.”
The Sheriff’s Office said Lyles has previous convictions that include sale of cocaine within 1,000 feet of a school, possession of heroin, possession of ammunition by a convicted felon and resisting an officer with violence. At the time of his arrest, Lyles was also on bond stemming from a June 24 arrest in Volusia County and remained under the no-contact order involving the woman.
