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Burglar arrested in stolen van at Palm Coast construction site, deputies say

PALM COAST, Fla. — Deputies pursuing a stolen van on A1A in Palm Coast ended up arresting a South Florida burglary suspect early Saturday, according to the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office.

A white van with markings from a South Florida painting company, which had been reported stolen, was driving south on A1A near the Flagler County line late Friday, deputies said.

Deputies tried to use stop sticks to take out the van’s tires but were unsuccessful.

The van was able to elude deputies initially before Sheriff Rick Staly, who was on patrol, found the car backed into a home construction site at 7 Surf Drive in Palm Coast, an apparent attempt to blend in as a construction vehicle left overnight, according to a news release.

Jamaine Butts, 32, was inside the car at the construction site. Staly commanded him to get out of the car at gunpoint before arresting him on suspicion of grand theft auto and driving with a suspended license, the news release states.

"The suspect thought he was being clever by trying to blend his stolen vehicle into a construction site," said Staly in a written statement.  "While participating in the felony stop I was able to witness our deputies perform a textbook tactical apprehension of a felon.”

Investigators determined the van had been stolen in West Palm Beach and used in a residential burglary in Palm Beach where electronics were stolen.

Flagler deputies found two large flat-screen TVs and other electronics inside the van.

Butts was booked into the Flagler County jail, where Palm Beach detectives interviewed him. The recovered vehicle was towed back to South Florida.

According to state Department of Corrections records, Butts was released from prison in October 2013 after receiving a five-year sentence for burglary in 2010.