Stolen Vehicle from Miami Recovered in Palm Coast

The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office recovered a vehicle that’d been stolen from Miami last week, making an arrest of the suspect accused of stealing it. 19-year-old Miami resident Brandon Hernandez-Brosi was arrested and charged with grand theft of a motor vehicle. The incident occurred on Thursday, when the FCSO received communications that a stolen gray 2024 Honda CR-V had been identified on I-95 exiting onto SR-100 in Palm Coast. Sergeant Daniel Weaver responded, locating the vehicle in the parking lot of one of the two nearby RaceTrac gas stations. Backup deputies were dispatched to the scene, conducting a high-risk traffic stop. They ordered Hernandez-Brosi out of the car, a command which he followed. Given that he spoke little English and was scarcely able to communicate with law enforcement, he was detained for the moment while deputies assessed the situation. An interpreter was involved in the ordeal to establish a line of dialogue between Hernandez-Brosi and the deputies. He reportedly told them that he was on his way to Louisiana with a friend who identified as Carlos, who’d gone into the gas station. The FCSO says their deputies went inside the store to look for Carlos, but found no one matching his description. Employees at the store said they hadn’t seen anyone either. Hernandez-Brosi was arrested and booked into the county jail on $10,000 bond. The FCSO notified the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that he was not in possession of any valid ID, documentation, or currency at the time of the stop. As he was not regarded as a priority case for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, he’s been kept at the county jail since Thursday. The FCSO says Hernandez-Brosi has further criminal history in Miami-Dade County, including drug possession and theft. “Another criminal learned the hard way that we won’t let you drive a stolen vehicle through Flagler County,” said Sheriff Rick Staly. “He tried to pin the blame on a non-existent friend. It also appears he is likely in the United States illegally but current Homeland Security policies do not allow Border Patrol to pick him up, so he’ll get to spend some time making new friends at the [county jail].”