- October 30, 2024
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by: Brittany Kershaw
Public Affairs Manager, Flagler County Sheriff's Office
Flagler County Sheriff's Office deputies caught an armed car burglar April 8 and returned the items he'd stolen to their owners.
Deputies were dispatched to Zaunstown Place in Palm Coast around 11:15 p.m. on Wednesday evening, April 8, after a witness called 911 and told dispatchers that a man was breaking into his wife’s car.
For the first quarter of 2020, 75% of the car burglaries in Flagler County have occurred when vehicles are left unlocked.
Deputy Gib Smith arrived in the area and saw a man rummaging through a vehicle on Zamoro Place.
The man saw the deputy and ran, entering the wooded area.
The suspect’s bike was left behind at the victim’s residence and taken into custody by deputies for safekeeping.
A perimeter was established and deputies requested Volusia County Sheriff’s AirOne helicopter to assist in the search for the suspect.
AirOne located a heat source in the wood line along a drainage canal. The suspect was eventually located in a creek behind Zaun Trail where he had attempted to hide himself in the brush and foliage to avoid detection.
The male was searched. Deputies found on his person multiple gloves, a flashlight head band, a $10 bill, multiple loose $1 bills and $1.20 cents in loose change, consistent with what the victims reported missing from their vehicles.
The suspect was identified as 43-year-old Michael Hourahan, a Palm Coast resident. Hourahan also had a .45 caliber Glock handgun.
“We want to thank the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office for their assistance in helping us locate this dirtbag,” Sheriff Rick Staly said. “I’m thankful that we were able to get him off the streets before he could burglarize more cars. I also think this is a reminder of just how important it is to lock your car doors and remove valuables from your vehicles. Historically we are seeing that these car burglaries occur when vehicles are left unlocked. And please, never leave your car keys inside the vehicle.”
Hourahan was taken into custody and charged with two counts of armed burglary, two counts of petit theft, and resisting arrest without violence. He was booked into the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility where he is being held with no bond allowed.
The vehicles burglarized were left unlocked. For the first quarter of 2020, 75% of the car burglaries in Flagler County have occurred when vehicles are left unlocked.
Vehicle owners can prevent becoming the victim of these crimes by locking their doors and removing valuables from plain view.
