FCSO Pro-Active Policing Leads To Arrests Of Two Habitual Offenders

Bunnell, FL -  A man whose driver’s license has been suspended 13 times since 2012 and his passenger, who also has a criminal history dating back to 2012, were arrested on Monday (July 19) during a traffic stop. Twenty-nine-year-old Jordan Manning, the driver, and 27-year-old Edward Sampson are also facing drug charges. A Flagler County Sheriff’s Office (FCSO) deputy conducting stationary traffic enforcement spotted Manning’s black Dodge Nitro on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue. The deputy said the driver, whose window was open, looked directly at him, stopped the car, and then made a turn away from the deputy.  While looking up the car, the deputy found that Manning was considered a habitual traffic violator since April 18, 2016, for a term of 60 months. He canvassed the area and found the car and conducted a traffic stop. Manning got out of the car and was immediately arrested for Driving While License Suspended – Habitual Traffic Offender. A body search found a cut piece of a straw containing a powdery residue, which fell onto the roadway. It was Sampson’s turn next, who was directed to exit the car while the deputy conducted a probable cause search. During the search, a green leafy substance, hashish oil, and a fanny pack containing various narcotics were recovered. A fanny pack containing marijuana, synthetic cathinones, fentanyl, hydrocodone, and cocaine was also found. Both Manning and Sampson denied that the fanny pack did not belong to either of them. Manning said that he had no idea that he had the straw containing residue on him.  Sampson stated he had nothing on him. He said he was staying at a hotel and Manning was giving him a ride. “This is another great example of proactive policing and how law enforcement officers never really know what is occurring inside a car when they make a traffic stop,” Sheriff Staly said. “This was a traffic stop based on a registration flagged as a habitual traffic offender, resulting in two arrests, multiple felony drug charges, and the removal of poison from our county. One thing I want all poison peddlers to know is that if you bring drugs into Flagler County, you will have accommodations at the Green Roof Inn. With their extensive criminal history, it’s time for the courts to deal with them once and for all.” Manning has bonded out on charges of Possession of Drug Paraphernalia and Driving While License Suspended. Sampson is being held without bond. He’s charged with Possession of Counterfeit Controlled Substance, Possession of Fentanyl, Possession of Marijuana 20G+, Possession of Hydrocodone, Possession of Cathinones, and Violation of Probation.