Assault, burglary suspect dives into canal to avoid arrest
A Palm Coast man was arrested Sunday after deputies say he dove into a canal to avoid being captured.
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Deputies responded to a home on Cute Court Sunday afternoon after a resident there reported that a neighbor, identified as 33-year-old Phillip McGraw, entered his garage and punched him in the face after an argument.
After the attack, deputies say McGraw’s stepfather, 84-year-old James Jones, pulled up to the victim’s home and drove away with McGraw in the passenger seat.
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Responding deputies eventually caught up to the stepfather’s vehicle and attempted to pull it over, but he refused to stop, according to the sheriff’s office.
Deputies say the vehicle came to a stop in front of McGraw’s own home, at which point McGraw ran from the truck towards a canal behind the home.
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That’s when deputies say McGraw jumped into the canal and attempted to swim away from law enforcement.
After swimming through multiple canals, McGraw was caught behind a home on Crandell Court and arrested. He was charged with unarmed burglary of an occupied dwelling, simple battery, petit theft, and resisting an officer without violence.
McGraw is being held in the Flagler County Jail on a total of $32,500 bond.
Jones was also arrested and charged with resisting an officer without violence. He has since been released after posting $500 bond.
“You might try to run from a Deputy Sheriff, but you will only go to jail tired,” Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly said in a statement announcing the arrests. “Sad to see it was a family trip to jail before Thanksgiving, but at least they might be home together for the holidays.”
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