Jacksonville couple steals minivan, lawn equipment before being caught in Flagler County

BUNNELL, Fla. — On Fri., Jun. 30, Flagler County Sheriff’s Office received a call about a vehicle that had been stolen overnight.

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Using Real Time Crime Center technology, the minivan was tracked to St. Johns County and back before it was even reported stolen.

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The RTCC was able to determine the van’s last known location, which was tracked to Flagler County.

Deputies responded and quickly located the minivan near Palm Coast Parkway Northeast and Boulder Rock Drive. The driver fled after seeing deputies but he didn’t make it far. A deployed spike strip disabled the vehicle.

The driver abandoned the minivan and ran on foot. He was caught after a brief pursuit.

Read: BCSO: Man holding female at knifepoint, ‘failed to comply,’ shot, killed by Baker County deputy

Several calls came in from residents to report various stolen items. These included lawn care tools. That stolen property was located inside the van by law enforcement.

The driver, Nathan Ellison, was arrested on several counts including grand theft -- motor vehicle. Ellison was also found to be a fugitive and wanted by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office for fraudulent activities.

The passenger, Veronica Brandy, was also arrested for grand theft and possession of burglary tools with intent.

The couple are originally from Jacksonville. They have a lengthy arrest history in Duval County. Ellison has been arrested by JSO for burglary, theft and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, just to name a few.

Read: Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office arrests man for murder of last November

Brady has been arrested on charges of, but not limited to, trafficking fentanyl, trafficking methamphetamine and possession of cocaine.

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FCSO Sheriff Rick Staly had this to say about the Friday arrests:

“Another fugitive and poison peddler couple made the mistake of coming to Flagler County to commit crimes,” said Sheriff Rick Staly. “This is another success story for our Realtime Crime Center using the technology we have implemented along with great teamwork by everyone involved quickly putting a stop to these dirtbags crime spree. They learned the hard way, like many others before them, to not come to Flagler County. Hopefully all of the charges they racked up in Flagler will keep them from ever coming back here again and will send them away to state prison.”