Deputies find unconscious driver at intersection; habitual offender attempts to smuggle drugs into jail
The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office made 17 arrests over the weekend of December 12-15, 2025, including two individuals facing fentanyl-related charges. Deputies handled 669 calls for service and conducted 204 traffic stops during the period between 6 p.m. Friday and 6 a.m. Monday.
Driver Found Unconscious at Traffic Light
On Friday evening, Flagler County Sheriff’s Office deputies and Flagler Beach Police officers discovered a man slumped over in the driver’s seat of a vehicle stopped at the intersection of State Road 100 and Seminole Woods Boulevard. The deputies were returning from the Shop with a Cop event when they noticed the driver.
Officers and deputies were unable to wake the driver, who was seat-belted in the locked vehicle with the car still in drive. The driver appeared pale, was slumped forward, and was drooling. Due to the immediate need for medical intervention, a Flagler Beach Police officer used a baton to break two windows and put the vehicle in park.
When officers made physical contact with the driver, identified as Ryan Ronnenburg, 32, of Palm Coast, he jolted awake. Ronnenburg told deputies he was coming from Buc-ee’s. When asked if he had taken any narcotics, he responded “not recently” but said he had “a bit of everything, a while ago.” He did not specify what he had taken or when.
Deputies observed that Ronnenburg appeared lethargic with pinpoint eyes and mumbled responses to questions. After conducting field sobriety exercises, which Ronnenburg failed, deputies initiated a DUI investigation.
During an inventory search of the vehicle, deputies found a small clear plastic baggie containing a white powdery substance in the center console, along with two cut straws. They also discovered a brown waxy substance wrapped in tinfoil and a paper towel, and a third straw. Both the white powder and brown wax tested positive for fentanyl.
“Ryan’s actions could have killed him or someone else, had it not been for the deputies and officers who found him,” said Sheriff Rick Staly. “December is a month for wrapping presents with paper, not wrapping fentanyl with tinfoil.”
Ronnenburg was arrested for driving under the influence, possession of a controlled substance without a prescription, and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was transported to the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility, where breath tests showed no alcohol in his system. Due to the test results not matching the observed level of impairment, deputies requested a urine sample, which Ronnenburg agreed to provide.
Habitual Offender Attempts to Smuggle Fentanyl into Jail
On Friday afternoon, a deputy conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle because both registered owners had suspended or revoked licenses. The driver, Howard Hooper III, 53, of Jacksonville, stated he did not have a driver’s license and provided a Florida Identification Card.
According to the sheriff’s office, Hooper has had his license suspended or revoked at least 12 times and has been convicted in Florida for driving while his license was suspended 11 times, along with other traffic infractions.
Hooper was arrested for knowingly driving while license was suspended as a habitual offender and transported to the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility.
During the intake search at the jail, deputies found a small, clear plastic baggie containing a brown powdery substance in Hooper’s wallet. The substance, weighing 3.17 grams, tested positive for fentanyl.
“Dear criminals, it is in your best interest that you inform our deputies of any drugs or weapons on or in you when you are arrested,” Sheriff Staly said. “It helps our deputies stay safe, our facilities drug-free, and keeps you from getting charged with an additional felony.”
Because the fentanyl was discovered during the jail intake process, Hooper received additional charges for possession of a controlled substance without a prescription and smuggling a controlled substance into a detention facility.
The post Two Arrested on Fentanyl Charges During Flagler County Weekend Enforcement first appeared on Flagler County Buzz.
