Two Jacksonville residents faced multiple felony charges on Sept. 21 after authorities say they attempted to steal thousands of dollars in sports trading cards from a Palm Coast Target where Flagler County deputies were already present handling an unrelated matter.
A deputy inside the store, investigating a separate bicycle theft, received a notification from a loss prevention employee that a man recognized for shoplifting at other Target locations had entered the store. Store staff informed the deputy that the suspect followed a consistent method: he would take a plastic storage bin, fill it with trading cards, and exit through a side fire door to a woman waiting in a black sedan.
Security cameras and staff observed the man stepping out of a dark sedan, retrieving a shopping cart, and taking a plastic container from the home goods aisle. He proceeded to the back wall where trading cards were displayed, placed several boxes into the bin, secured the lid, and walked toward the exit.
Deputies entered the parking lot and noticed the man carrying the tote toward a black BMW sedan, where a woman sat behind the wheel. Upon spotting law enforcement, the man dropped the container and ran toward the vehicle. Deputies approached, executed a high-risk stop, and took both individuals into custody.
Investigators identified the pair as Andrew Simmons, 27, and Madeline Whaley, 35, both Jacksonville residents.
Deputies recovered 98 packs of sports cards from the abandoned container, valued at more than $2,500.
A search of the vehicle commenced after deputies observed crumpled foil with burn marks near the center console. Inside the car, investigators discovered methamphetamine, fentanyl, and a glass pipe. A search of Whaley’s backpack yielded a handgun previously reported stolen in Jacksonville.
Records checks revealed Simmons was an active fugitive with four outstanding warrants from other jurisdictions, including one for failure to appear in St. Johns County and three counts of grand theft from Clay County. Both suspects had prior criminal records; Simmons faced previous charges of grand theft, petit theft, and narcotics possession, while Whaley, a convicted felon, had prior charges including fentanyl possession, driving on a suspended license, and trespassing.
“These two have apparently tried the same exact scheme multiple times in other areas and gotten away with it, but they’re 0-for-1 in Flagler County,” Sheriff Rick Staly said. “They picked the wrong store in the wrong county at the wrong time, as unfortunately for them, deputies were literally waiting for them in the parking lot and arrested the thief and his getaway driver before they could even load their stolen trading cards into the car. And on top of that, of course, they had drugs, a gun, and were both fugitives. In this case they traded their stolen cards for a room at the Green Roof Inn.”
Simmons faced charges of grand theft, possession of methamphetamine, possession of fentanyl, possession of drug paraphernalia, and the four out-of-county warrants. Whaley faced charges of accessory after the fact, possession of methamphetamine, possession of fentanyl, possession of drug paraphernalia, use of a firearm during a felony, grand theft of a firearm, and possession of a weapon by a convicted felon.
Both were booked into the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility. Simmons is held without bond, while Whaley’s bond was set at $25,000.
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