Christmas Day Traffic Stop Yields Gallon Bag Of Marijuana, Other Narcotics

Bunnell, FL – A man spends the rest of Christmas in jail after Flagler County deputies find that he not only had an expired tag, but a plethora of narcotics that he tried to hide after fleeing. Around noon on Christmas Day, a deputy with the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office (FCSO) stopped 40-year-old Cornelius Murphy after he rolled through a stop sign in Bunnell. After speaking with Murphy, the deputy noticed the smell of marijuana coming from his car. Murphy told the deputy that there were no drugs in his car and he did not have a medical marijuana card. As the deputy was checking on Murphy’s information, a Bunnell police officer came over and requested that Murphy move his vehicle so he doesn’t create a traffic jam. That’s when he backed into a parking spot as he waited for the deputy to return. The deputy determined that Murphy’s tag had expired. When asked to leave his vehicle, Murphy "peeled out" of the parking spot and drove off. FCSO notes that the deputy had to jump out of the way to avoid being run over or pinned between Murphy’s truck and the vehicle beside it. Both the deputy and the officer followed Murphy until he eventually ditched his vehicle and fled on foot and into a water filled ditch. According to a release from the Sheriff’s Office, Murphy appeared to be burying something in the mud shortly after he jumped into the ditch, which eventually led to his arrest. A search of Murphy’s abandoned vehicle found over four grams of heroin, a gallon-sized bag of marijuana, a scale and sandwich baggies. When deputies searched the ditch where Murphy was arrested, they found a Crown Royal bag containing over 110 grams of crack cocaine, 101 grams of marijuana, 172 grams of heroin and fentanyl, and various other pills, including over 100 oxycodone pills. “He tried to run and hide but instead he just went to jail tired and wet,” Flagler Sheriff Rick Staly said. Murphy was charged with numerous counts of narcotics possession and trafficking, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, fleeing or eluding, reckless driving and tampering with evidence. Data from the Flagler County Jail shows that Murphy remains in custody on bond set at $612,000.