- March 2, 2025
Two suspects Flagler County Sheriff’s deputies say threw a Palm Coast delivery man from his moving vehicle during a carjacking Saturday night have been arrested after a car chase through Georgia and South Carolina.
“The deputies who responded to the scene on Palm Coast Parkway worked with detectives to quickly identify a suspect,” Sheriff James L. Manfre said in a news release. “Initially, they had to overcome a language barrier with the victim, but they worked through that challenge to put out a timely bulletin for the stolen vehicle. It was good, fast police work.”
One of the suspects is 15-year-old girl. The other — Palm Coast resident Guiseppe Verdone, 22, of 64 Bannerwood Lane — has been arrested four times since 2010, according to the news release.
Detectives said Verdone and the girl called King’s Palace, a Chinese restaurant at 515 Palm Coast Parkway S.W., and placed an order for delivery.
The restaurant’s owner, Ming Gong, 43, drove out to 78 Bayside Drive with the food. But the address was for a vacant property, and when Gong arrived, Verdone attacked him.
Verdone told Gong he was a policeman and handcuffed him before throwing him in the back seat of the delivery car. The two attackers headed onto Palm Coast Parkway westbound and pushed Gong from the moving car near the Palm Coast Community Center.
Gong suffered serious head injuries and was airlifted to Shands Hospital in Jacksonville for surgery. He is in serious condition.
Verdone and the girl drove north, and detectives believe they committed an armed robbery in St. Johns County later that evening.
Deputies put out a bulletin for the stolen car, and it was spotted early Sunday morning, in Liberty County, Ga.
There was a chase, and law enforcement officers finally stopped the car in Hardeeville, S.C. Verdone and the girl were arrested and are being held at the Jaspar County Detention Center in Ridgeland, S.C.
They face charges in Flagler County, St. Johns County, Georgia and South Carolina for kidnapping, aggravated battery, robbery and grant theft.
Verdone has been charged in Flagler County with carjacking, kidnapping to inflict bodily harm, falsely impersonating a law enforcement officer, aggravated battery and felony interference with the custody of a juvenile.
His previous arrests in Flagler County include a May 2010 arrest for burglary and theft; an August 2010 arrest for possession or display of a weapon on school property and for making or throwing a destructive device; an April 2011 arrest for aggravated assault and carrying a concealed weapon; and an August 2013 arrest for issuing a forged check.
