A decorated Flagler County detective had a felony fleeing-and-eluding charge tossed after evidence showed he never realized police were pursuing him — because he was blasting music, according to a report.
Ardit Coma, 28, was arrested Dec. 4 after Ormond Beach officers said he failed to stop when clocked at 88 mph in a 55 mph zone while driving his agency-issued Ford Taurus.
According to Flagler Live, prosecutors dismissed the third-degree felony five days later, citing a lack of proof that Coma intended to flee.
Coma’s attorney, Aaron Delgado, told the outlet that Coma didn’t hear the sirens or notice the lights behind him because his music was “really loud.”
The lawyer said his client stopped only after seeing an officer arranging stop sticks, believing he was helping out a fellow cop.
“He really didn’t know what was going on,” Delgado said.
Coma still faces a speeding ticket and an internal affairs probe that could result in a sanction.
Delgado told Flagler Live that the case moved quickly because the evidence clearly vindicated Coma, who had been suspended without pay but is now being reinstated.
“As we said initially, we believe in the criminal justice system. The case was dismissed just like it would be for any citizen based on the evidence and facts of the case presented to the State Attorney’s Office by the Ormond Beach Police Department,” said Flagler Sheriff Staly in a statement Tuesday.
Joining the agency in 2023, Coma received a pair of commendations in 2024 — one for saving an unresponsive man in the throes of an overdose, and another for rescuing a woman suffering hypothermia while during a mental health episode in a wooded area.
