A Bunnell man with a long history of run-ins with the law is back behind bars after the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office arrested him on a felony warrant this week, following a narcotics investigation that turned up drugs and paraphernalia at his home.
Edward G. Sampson, 32, was taken into custody around 2 p.m. Wednesday by members of FCSO’s Fugitive Unit, the Special Investigations Unit and PACE. He was already free on bond in a separate drug case at the time of his arrest.
Search Uncovered Meth and Pills
The warrant stemmed from an Aug. 26 search of Sampson’s bedroom at his home on South Church Street in Bunnell, where detectives located marijuana, cocaine, a digital scale and a suboxone strip.
When deputies caught up with Sampson on Wednesday and took him into custody, a search turned up a pink drawstring bag hidden in a cargo pocket of his pants. Inside, investigators found roughly 3.2 grams of a crystal substance that field-tested positive for methamphetamine, along with 16 oxycodone pills weighing about eight grams.
Sampson now faces charges of trafficking in oxycodone, possession of methamphetamine, possession of drug paraphernalia, driving while license suspended, and eight counts of possession of a controlled substance. He was booked into the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility, where he’s being held without bond.
Sheriff Points to Lengthy Criminal Record
Sampson isn’t a first-time offender by any measure. He has been sent to Florida state prison five separate times, most recently released in May 2025. Past convictions include aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, robbery, felony battery, grand theft, and fleeing from law enforcement, on top of multiple prior drug charges.
Sheriff Rick Staly didn’t hold back in his comments on the arrest, saying it came as no surprise that Sampson was allegedly dealing drugs again while out on bond.
“His rap sheet is longer than U.S. 1,” Staly said. “This dirtbag has been arrested more than 35 times and was sent to state prison five times for crimes ranging from drug possession to aggravated battery. No bond conditions or community control is going to stop him from drug trafficking, stealing things, and assaulting people. It’s time we put this career criminal in prison to rot.”
The case remains under investigation as it moves through the court system, and it’s unclear when Sampson will next appear before a judge.
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