First Inmate Graduates GED Program at Flagler Jail

BUNNELL – The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office announced Thursday that for the first time, an inmate had graduated from their GED program inside the jail. 21 year-old Easton Perez, an inmate at the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility since September 14th of last year, had a graduation ceremony with his family earlier this week. The GED program is offered to inmates as a measure to send them out of the jail more prepared to re-enter society than when they went in, something Perez fully capitalized on. Having been booked last year for violation of parole, Perez is slated to be released from jail in August. He was granted a brief temporary furlough from jail to hold his graduation ceremony, before being re-booked on Wednesday. “We are incredibly proud of Easton Perez and all of the inmates who will follow in his footsteps to complete their GED in the future,” said Sheriff Rick Staly. “Education is a powerful tool, and we believe that providing inmates with opportunities to improve their education can help them turn their lives around and become productive citizens. We greatly appreciate our partnership with Flagler Technical Institute and thank the GED instructors that made this opportunity possible.” To date, Perez has been booked four times for a variety of drug possession and firearms charges. Even so, those prior infractions are no longer what Perez is known for to law enforcement. He can now call himself the first inmate to complete the jail’s GED program. FCSO staff are hoping that with his newfound certification, Perez will be less likely to find himself back in jail in the future.