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Police Briefs 8/18/22

Clay County Sheriff's Office
Posted 8/17/22

Man who tried to run over GCSPD officer sentenced to 18 yearsGREEN COVE SPRINGS – The man who was found guilty of trying to run over a Green Cove Springs Police Department detective was …

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Police Briefs 8/18/22


Posted

Man who tried to run over GCSPD officer sentenced to 18 years
GREEN COVE SPRINGS – The man who was found guilty of trying to run over a Green Cove Springs Police Department detective was sentenced to a total of 18 years in prison on Monday.
Davis Kelvin Soto-Martinez, 32, was found guilty on July 18 of aggravated assault of a law enforcement officer, attempting to flee or elude without regard to safety of people or property, resisting arrest with violence, reckless driving, driving with a suspended license and possession of cocaine after Det. B.R. Camp saw Soto-Martinez “accelerate rapidly” on Leonard C. Taylor Parkway on July 4, 2021. When Soto-Martinez’s car started swerving, Camp attempted to stop him. Camp also said Soto-Martinez’s car also had blue lights.
Soto-Martinez sped away while Camp was interviewing him. Following a short chase, Soto-Martinez drove to a dead-end roar at the St. Johns River and Bulkhead Road.
Soto-Martinez made a u-turn and “drove directly towards me in a blatant attempt to cause a head-on collision with me at a high rate of speed,” Camp wrote in his affidavit for an arrest warrant. Camp said Soto-Martinez missed him by three feet.
Soto-Martinez drove over the Shands Bridge into St. Johns County where he eventually crashed in a yard in a residential community. St. Johns Sheriff’s Office joined in the pursuit. Deputies also found handgun, ammunition and burglary tools in the abandoned car. Soto-Martinez eventually was arrested in Jacksonville for dealing with stolen property. He was sent back to face charges in Green Cove Springs on March 10.
He was sentenced to 10 years for crimes in Duval County and eight years by Judge Don Lester for trying to run over the deputy in Green Cove Springs.
The GCSPD posted the following statement on its Facebook page: “We will not tolerate violent criminals in our community.”

Bond set at $300,000 for man who fought with CCSO deputies
MIDDLEBURG – A Middleburg man was charged with kicking and punching three Clay County Sheriff’s Office deputies with his fists after they responded to a domestic battery call on Aug. 13.
Travis Sean Turner, 34, was charged with battery on three law enforcement officers, resisting arrest with violence and domestic battery after CCSO was forced to taser the man after he fought with deputies, according to the arrest report.
When deputies arrived, Turner became belligerent, CCSO said.
Turner’s bond was set at $300,014.

Clay men accused of trafficking methamphetamine, fentanylGREEN COVE SPRINGS – A man was transported from the Duval County Jail to face a litany of drug charges in Clay County, where he will join an Orange Park man who already was in jail from the same incident.
Christopher Michael Darnell, 40, of Green Cove Springs, was charged with trafficking methamphetamine and fentanyl, possession of ecstasy and driving with a suspended license after he was stopped by members of the Clay County Sheriff’s Office Task Force Unit on Aug. 17, 2021.
Richard Dean Lowe, 36, is accused of trafficking methamphetamine and fentanyl and possession of ecstasy and drug paraphernalia.
According to a pair of arrest reports, deputies got a tip Lowe was selling “large quantities of methamphetamine and fentanyl from his residence.”
During the surveillance, a deputy saw Lowe talking to several “contacts” and receiving cash from people in Duval County in the Argyle Forest area. When the car re-entered Clay County, the task force stopped them. A K-9 alerted them to the likely presence of narcotics in the car, and they eventually found two black boxes containing the methamphetamine and fentanyl attached to the engine compartment with magnets.
Lowe has been in the Clay County Jail since Aug. 18, 2021, with a $355,761 bond. Darnell’s bond was set at $127,511.

CCSO: Man jailed after his house burns down
KEYSTONE HEIGHTS – A local man was arrested and charged with setting his house of fire on Aug. 11, according to the Clay County Sheriff’s Office.
Timothy Alan Harp, 63, was charged with second-degree arson after his house at 5854 Hillridge Road was “entirely engulfed in flames,” according to the arrest report.
Harp wasn’t at the house when deputies arrived, but they found him at his mother’s house five miles away. Deputies said he was fully clothed when they found him in a running shower.
Harp’s bond was set at $75,003.

Clay Behavioral arsonist back in jail after violating probation
CLAY COUNTY – A man on probation for setting a fire at a four-unit apartment building in 2010 is back behind bars after he failed to follow the conditions of his release – including paying for damages.
According to the Florida Department of Corrections, Troydell Jabari Francis, 32 , of Orange Park, failed to appear for mandatory monthly probation visits since July 25, and he failed to continue to make restitution of a total of $28,753.76 associated with convictions of setting two fires at an apartment owned by Clay Behavorial on April 9, 2010. The state also said Francis failed to complete an advanced driving course or to obtain a valid driver’s license.
According to the arrest report, the Orange Park Police Department responded to a fire set on Lombard Street in an outside eave. A neighbor put the fire out with a garden hose.
Less than 30 minutes later, the neighbor was awakened by the popping sound of another fire in an eave. OPPD reported four fires were reported at the apartments in a short span. The Clay County Sheriff’s Office arrested Francis for a fire set to an air conditioning unit on March 16, 2010, at the same complex. Francis already was in jail for the April fire.
Francis, who pled guilty on Sept. 9, 2010, to setting both fires, now is being held without bond.

Orange Park Police looking to return case of memories
ORANGE PARK – Officers with the Orange Park Police Department were called recently when a patron found a poker chip case in the 4Rivers Smokehouse on Park Avenue and they found a cashe of old photos and newspaper clippings.
If someone is missing any valuable memories, the department is eager to make sure they are returned.
If you can prove ownership, please call (904) 264-5555.