- June 22, 2026
The owner of a western Flagler County convenience store says he is still searching for answers after discovering registered sex offenders had been using his business address while camping in the woods behind his property.
Edward Corcoran, owner of Cody's Corner on State Road 11, said he first became aware of the situation in late May when one of the individuals allegedly showed store employees paperwork indicating he was required to remain at the location.
The discovery ultimately led to an investigation by the Flagler County Sheriff's Office, which confirmed that three registered sex offenders had been camping in a wooded area behind the store and using the property's address without Corcoran's permission.
According to a statement provided by the Sheriff's Office, deputies responded to Cody's Corner on May 28 after learning registered sex offenders had listed the store's address as their residence.
Investigators determined three registered sex offenders had been camping in the wooded area behind the store and using the address without the property owner's authorization.
The Sheriff's Office said investigators reviewed the circumstances and determined no sex offender registration laws had been violated.
The individuals were issued trespass warnings, removed from the property and relocated to another location approved by their probation officers.
Corcoran said the explanation leaves a number of unanswered questions.
"Nobody ever verified the address," Corcoran said. "They were staying here without permission. Nobody ever verified that it was okay for them to stay here."
According to Corcoran, probation officers had allegedly met with some of the offenders on the property during the months they were staying there.
"They can't say they didn't know they were here because their probation officers are coming out here and meeting them on property out in the woods," he said.
Corcoran also claimed several of the offenders were wearing GPS ankle monitors and were assigned to remain at the location.
"The ankle monitors on these people rang when they left the property," Corcoran said. "They couldn't leave my property without being in a violation of their probation."
He said one offender showed store employees paperwork indicating he was required to stay at the location and claimed the individual's ankle monitor alarmed when he walked into the roadway.
"When he went out into the road, his ankle monitor rang," Corcoran said.
The Sheriff's Office statement did not address those allegations.
The Sheriff's Office drew a distinction between verifying a registered offender's reported address and obtaining permission from a property owner.
"Under Florida law, registered offenders must report their physical address to the Sheriff's Office, and our agency is responsible for verifying that offenders are actually living where they report and that those addresses comply with state law and county ordinances," the Sheriff's Office said in its statement.
"Obtaining a property owner's permission to stay at an address, however, is the responsibility of the person registering."
The agency added that offenders on active probation are supervised by the Florida Department of Corrections and said questions regarding how an address was initially approved for supervision should be directed to the department.
To prevent a recurrence, the Sheriff's Office said it has permanently flagged the Cody's Corner address.
"To prevent a recurrence, the Flagler County Sheriff's Office has flagged the address at Cody's Corner so it cannot be used as a registered address again," the statement said.
The agency also said deputies will periodically check the area to ensure no one returns to camp behind the store.
Corcoran disputes the notion that proper verification occurred.
He said mail addressed to some of the offenders had been arriving at the business for months and claimed he had no knowledge that registered sex offenders were living on the property.
"We didn't know they were sex offenders or anything like that," Corcoran said. "We thought they were just hanging out here."
Corcoran said the situation came to light after one individual showed store employees paperwork indicating he was assigned to the location.
That prompted calls to law enforcement and, according to Corcoran, a subsequent response involving deputies and a drone search of the wooded property.
"The next morning, the sheriff's department was out here with a drone," Corcoran said. "Flew a drone over the property and got them off this property and the neighboring property."
While Corcoran praised responding deputies for addressing the issue once it was discovered, he remains frustrated by what he views as a breakdown in oversight.
The business owner noted that Cody's Corner serves as a gathering place for area residents and is located near a school bus stop.
"My parking lot is a school bus stop," Corcoran said. "It's the absolute worst place to send sexual offenders because you've got kids going right by you on four-wheelers all day."
Corcoran said he was also concerned after learning the property had been listed as a sex offender residence in public databases.
"The hardest part of this whole thing was getting my name off the FDLE website," he said. "I was listed as a sexual predator residence."
He worries the designation may have damaged the business's reputation among customers and families who regularly stop at the store.
The Sheriff's Office did not indicate that any laws had been broken regarding the offenders' placement at the location.
Instead, deputies concluded the offenders had improperly remained on private property without permission.
Corcoran said he appreciates the efforts to remove the offenders but believes broader questions remain about how the situation developed and whether similar circumstances could exist elsewhere.
"I wonder how many more of these little campsites are set up throughout the county that nobody knows about," Corcoran said. "You can't tell me I was the only one."
As of this week, Corcoran said he has been told the individuals are no longer living on the property.
"To the best of my knowledge, that's correct," he said.
The Palm Coast Observer has reached out to the Florida Department of Corrections for comment regarding address approval procedures for offenders under active supervision and whether any review of the Cody's Corner situation has been conducted.
