- November 18, 2024
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The following is an adapted news release from the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office:
Flagler Sheriff’s detectives arrested 24-year-old Hunter Watson April 24 in connection with the theft of solar panels from the city of Palm Coast.
“Approximately 95% of the property which was taken from the city of Palm Coast has been recovered,” Sheriff James L. Manfre said. “I commend the determination and hard work of our investigative unit. This case is ongoing and additional criminal charges are likely.”
The solar panels, which are used to operate the irrigation systems throughout Palm Coast, were reported missing in January of this year.
The investigation led detectives to Watson’s South Daytona Avenue home, and detectives spoke with about numerous items they observed in his yard and recognized as stolen property.
Detectives got a search warrant and recovered about a dozen 6-foot solar panels.
They also found an EZ-GO golf cart which had been reported stolen from a fenced-in construction site on Brookhaven Drive in Palm Coast, along with two large spools of wire.
So many items were recovered that they used a tow truck to transport the property to the Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies charged Watson with two counts of grand theft, burglary and trespass on a construction site.
He was taken to the Flagler County jail and given a bond in the amount of $40,000.
“The City of Palm Coast is proud of its green initiative to provide solar energy for City gateway signage and landscaping, so we were disappointed and frustrated by the thefts of our solar energy panels and electrical equipment,” Palm Coast Landscape Architect Bill Butler said. “We were pleased to get a tip about the thefts, and we are extremely happy that the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office has made an arrest and recovered some of our equipment. We would like to thank the Sheriff’s Office for its quality police work! Now we’re excited to get back on-track with using solar energy to light up our city gateways.”
