PALM COAST, Fla. – The man accused of targeting his mother and a Flagler County sheriff's deputy during a drive-by shooting Monday has turned himself in, the Flagler County Sheriff's Office said.
Philip Joseph Haire Jr., 19, turned himself in to the Putnam County Sheriff's Office just before 9:30 p.m Tuesday, according to deputies.
“This is the result of hard work by every member of Flagler County Sheriff’s Office and our neighboring sheriff’s offices and law enforcement agencies, specifically Putnam County Sheriff’s Office,” Sheriff Rick Staly said. “We followed every lead and put significant pressure on his known associates. Because of this, the suspect decided it was in his best interest to turn himself in to Putnam Sheriff’s Office. This is the best possible outcome.”
Palatka resident Taneka Session said that at the height of the manhunt, Haire considered taking his own life, but she she talked him into surrendering peacefully.
Before he turned himself in, Haire asked Session to take pictures of him to document what he looked like because he was worried he might be beaten up by police.
“Philip was concerned they were going to hurt him,” Session said. “He wanted to run.”
Deputies said Sgt. Phil Reynolds, a veteran of the force, was responding to a call from parents who claimed their son was making threats to them along London Drive in Palm Coast on Monday.
Staly said the parents told investigators that they had kicked their son, Haire, out of the house recently after they discovered he was using drugs. They said he called them Monday threatening violence.
Staly said as Reynolds was standing in the doorway of the home, Haire returned, drove by and shot out of his car window.
"The mother in this case is in a wheelchair, and (Reynolds) was trying to protect her and trying to get her under cover," Staly said.
Session said Haire was shooting at his father, not his mother, because he'd been kicked out of the home.
Staly said Haire had waited around the corner, likely gathering up his nerve, before opening fire at his family and the deputy.
At least a dozen shell casings were found at the scene. Reynolds did not return fire because there were children in the street, but Haire's father did get a gun and fire it at his son during the incident.
“The father actually endangered more people by doing that,” Staly said.
The sheriff commended his deputy while issuing a stern warning to any potential criminals.
“Sgt. Reynolds did a phenomenal job, but if you point a gun at our deputies or you shoot at us, expect to get shot,” Staly said.
After the initial barrage of gunfire, Haire turned his car around, hit a pole while making a U-turn, and came back around and again opened fire.
No one was injured, but Staly said Haire damaged the car, which belongs to one of his friends, while trying to get away. That's when he said Haire stole a driver's car at gunpoint along U.S. 1 near Old King's Highway.
The victim in that case was a good Samaritan who thought Haire's vehicle was disabled and tried to help, Staly said.
Deputies arrested Derek Hall in Putnam County after receiving a tip that Haire could be on his way to see him. Haire was not found at that location, but Hall was in possession of a stolen M4 rifle, officials said.
According to Putnam County deputies, the short-barreled semi-automatic rifle was spotted while the home was being searched for Haire, and an investigator recognized that it was similar to one stolen from a locked Putnam County Sheriff's Office vehicle in July 2016. The deputies got a warrant and seized the rifle, which proved to be the same one from the burglary. Hall was booked on a firearm possession charge and was released on $5,000 bond. Deputies said there is no apparent connection between the Hall's arrest and Haire's shooting incident.
Staly said Haire is a documented gang member, who has been arrested in the past on aggravated assault, domestic violence and marijuana possession charges.
Haire has also been the victim of a shooting, deputies said. Details on that incident were not available.
“If he wouldn’t be in gangs, if he wouldn’t deal drugs and if he wouldn’t be around guns and own guns, he probably wouldn’t have gotten shot two years ago,” Staly said.
Session disputed Haire's gang activity and said he comes from a dysfunctional family.
“Philip is a good person. Philip just needs mental health (counseling) after he got shot two years ago,” Session said. “He’s been depressed and all that. His family put him out, and he was handicapped when they put him out of the house.”
Since 2013, there have been 45 calls for service to the house where the shooting happened Monday evening. Those calls included harassing phone calls, narcotic complaints, warrant service and domestic violence, Staly said.
“It’s kind of unusual that in roughly three years in couple months, that you go to the same house 45 times. That’s a problem house," Staly said. "That neighborhood has been putting up with a lot from that house and it’s going to stop now.”
Kathleen West, a resident of the neighborhood, said the recent police activity in the area is scary.
West said she would often see Haire and his friends hanging out in the neighborhood, and she would avoid them.
"It was just very intimidating," she said. "I would avoid driving by here, and I would go to another street to get out of the neighborhood."
Haire was booked into the Putnam County Jail and will be transferred to the Flagler County Inmate Facility Wednesday.