Sheriff: Palm Coast man arrested after kidnapping child to use as human shield
A Palm Coast man kidnapped and used a 1-year-old child as a human shield in a standoff with deputies outside a McDonald's before deputies rescued the boy and arrested the man, according to a press release from the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office.
Brandon Matthew Douglas Leohner, 27, was charged with kidnapping a minor for ransom, hostage or use as a shield; resisting with violence; child neglect; fleeing and eluding/disregard safety of others; and reckless driving.
Leohner will be arraigned Oct. 31 before Circuit Judge Terence Perkins in Bunnell.
Leohner was being held Wednesday at the Flagler County jail on $31,000 bond.
Deputies responded to the area of Belle Terre Parkway and Eastwood Drive about 6 p.m. on Sept. 27 where the child's mother told them that her boyfriend had left with their son, a report stated. She also told dispatch that Leohner was known to be armed with a gun.
Leohner had become paranoid, claiming he had been “set up,” the report stated. The mother said that during his paranoia, he grabbed their son, the report stated. She said she struggled with him over the child, but he was able to take him, the report stated.
A detective spotted Leohner driving southbound on Belle Terre Parkway at about 80 mph in a 45-mph zone and running three red lights, the report stated. The child was in Leohner's lap and neither was wearing a seat belt, according to the report.
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After making some U-turns and forcing vehicles to swerve to avoid a crash, Leohner headed east on State Road 100, driving across the median and through oncoming traffic before turning into the Target shopping center and into the McDonald’s parking lot, a release stated.
Leohner got out of the car in the drive-thru lane with the child in his arms, holding the child in front of him like a human shield, the release stated.
Body camera video showed Leohner holding the child in front of him as a deputy yells at him: "Put the kid down!"
Leohner continued to hold the child, according to the video.
Deputies then used a Taser on Leohner, who fell to the ground, and a deputy quickly grabbed the child, the video showed. A deputy comforted the child as several others tried to arrest Leohner, the video showed.
The child said "Dada" several times as Leohner moved away from deputies and the K-9 in the parking lot, the video showed. Deputies followed Leohner as they tried to gain control of him and yelled at him to "Get on the ground now," according to the video.
Leohner was eventually subdued in the lot as deputies held him down and a K-9 bit his leg, according to the video.
"Hands behind your back!" a deputy said as another warned Leohner they would use the Taser.
Leohner seems to saying "Stop please" at one point.
Leohner was handcuffed and taken to AdventHealth Palm Coast to be treated for his injuries from the dog bite, the release stated.
“Here is a case of a domestic situation turning violent, putting a 1-year-old child and innocent drivers in danger,” Sheriff Rick Staly stated in the release. “Deputies were confronted with a very chaotic situation and a very combative individual that was putting his child at risk by using the child as a human shield.
"Our deputies did everything they could to quickly rescue this child safely from a madman and apprehended the suspect," Staly continued. "Fortunately, the child was not hurt and was quickly reunited with his mother."
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Florida man accused of kidnapping, using child as human shield
