- November 14, 2024
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A Flagler County deputy stopped a car for a broken tag light May 24 and discovered more serious crimes: The driver's license had been suspended, the driver was a felon, and the driver was illegally carrying an automatic firearm, according to a Sheriff's Office report.
It was about 11:02 p.m., and Deputy Daniel Malta was patrolling in Daytona North, the area also known as the Mondex, when he saw a car heading east on Mahogany Boulevard with its tag light out. The deputy followed the car and stopped it after it turned south on County Road 305.
There were two people in the car: driver Gegxan Coriano, 41 and a resident of Laurel Avenue in Daytona North, and 47-year-old Lucy Coriano. Gegxan Coriano didn't speak English, so Lucy Coriano translated.
Malta discovered that Gegxan Coriano's license was suspended and asked to search the car, and both Gegxan Coriano and Lucy Coriano agreed. Malta smelled marijuana in the car and asked Gegxan Coriano if he had anything illegal.
But instead of answering, Coriano "shoved his hands into the pockets of his jacket, pulled a green container from his right front jacket pocket and threw it into the open field on County Road 305," according to the report.
Malta and another deputy grabbed Coriano, and he began fighting, according to the report, and "pulled away from our grip and turned towards Deputy Beausoleil and took an aggressive stance." The deputies rolled Coriano to the ground and handcuffed him. He didn't have anything on him, but deputies found the container he'd tossed into the field, which "appeared and smelled like cannabis," according to the report.
Deputies searched the car and found a Century Arms .223-caliber assault rifle in the trunk, along with a magazine and a drum magazine, according to the report. Both magazines were loaded with .223 caliber ammunition.
Gegxan Coriano was a convicted felon, so it was illegal for him to possess a firearm, according to the report. Lucy Coriano told the deputies she didn't know the gun had been in her trunk.
Deputies also found a baggie of four marijuana joints. Malta noted in the report that deputies did not read Gegxan Coriano his Miranda rights before arresting him because he did not speak English.
Gegxan Coriano was charged with three counts of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, tampering with or destroying evidence, resisting arrest with violence, possession of under 20 grams of marijuana, and driving on a suspended license. He was released on a combined $23,500 bond.
