FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. – BUNNELL, Fla. – A Flagler County store owner says he was shocked to learn three registered sex offenders had been using his country store’s address as their home.
The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the men had been camping behind the property, but investigators determined no laws had been broken.
Recommended Videos
For seven years, Ed Corcoran has owned Cody’s Corner, a rural convenience store in western Flagler County.
“It’s a small little general convenience store out in the middle of the county,” Corcoran said.
He says earlier this year, he noticed more homeless people around the property and assumed they were trespassers.
“I’ve gotten trespass warrants if they hang out too long, but unbeknownst to me they were living in the woods behind the store,” Corcoran said.
Corcoran said he got a bigger surprise a few weeks ago when he confronted one man.
“We caught one that pulled out his court ordered paperwork to stay here,” he said.
According to the sheriff’s office, deputies responded to the property on May 28 and determined three registered sex offenders had been using the store’s address without Corcoran’s permission.
The sheriff’s office said the men were transient and had been camping behind the store. Investigators determined no sex offender registration laws had been violated.
The men were trespassed from the property and relocated to another location approved by probation officers.
Corcoran says he still has questions about how his address ended up being used in the first place.
“How can this really get through the system and be approved by everybody for these people to stay at?” Corcoran said.
News 6 asked the sheriff’s office whether deputies verify that registered sex offenders have permission from a property owner before accepting an address.
They said the sheriff’s office is responsible for ensuring registered addresses comply with state law and county ordinances and for confirming offenders are living where they say they are.
However, they said checking with a property owner to determine whether an offender has permission to stay there “is not part of the Sheriff’s Office’s responsibility.”
Corcoran says that answer still leaves him wondering whether the same thing could happen elsewhere.
“How do we prevent this from happening somewhere else?” he said.
The sheriff’s office says Corcoran’s address has now been flagged to prevent it from being used again. Deputies also plan to periodically check the area to make sure no one has returned to camp behind the store.