A first-degree felony carjacking charge sits at the top of the case Broward County prosecutors are now building against Cory Joseph Coddington, 46, following a chaotic midday sequence in Deerfield Beach that began with a crash into a tree and ended with his arrest at a gas station.
What the records show
According to a Broward Sheriff’s Office account attributed to Public Information Officer Gerdy St. Louis, the sequence unfolded shortly before noon on Saturday, June 6. Broward County Regional Communications received reports of a vehicle-versus-tree crash near the 500 block of East Hillsboro Boulevard. Investigators say the driver then carjacked a passerby following the collision and fled, abandoning the stolen vehicle at a nearby fast-food restaurant. Deputies later located him at a gas station, where the agency says he refused commands to surrender and became combative before being taken into custody and transported to a hospital for treatment.
The Broward County Clerk’s docket (case 26006788CF10A, assigned to Judge Frank Ledee) lists six counts stemming from the June 6 incident, all filed by the Broward Sheriff’s Office with an offense date of June 6, 2026:
- Carjacking without a firearm — first-degree felony (F1)
- Possession of more than [10 grams MDMA, per BSO] — first-degree felony (F1)
- Aggravated assault with a deadly weapon — third-degree felony (F3)
- Resisting an officer / obstruction with violence — third-degree felony (F3)
- Petit theft, second degree — second-degree misdemeanor (M2)
- Leaving the scene of a crash involving [property damage] — traffic offense (TCX)
Worth noting for accuracy: BSO’s public release enumerated nine charges — including three counts of battery on an officer, firefighter, or EMT — while the clerk’s docket reflects six. That kind of gap is common between an initial booking and the charges that survive into the clerk’s record; it typically resolves when the State Attorney’s Office files its formal information. The count of nine is BSO’s; the count of six is the clerk’s.
The carjacking charge itself
Carjacking is defined under Florida Statute 812.133 as the taking of a motor vehicle from the person or custody of another, with intent to permanently or temporarily deprive them of it, when the taking involves force, violence, assault, or putting the victim in fear.
Coddington is charged under the unarmed variant — carjacking without a firearm or weapon. That distinction matters less than one might expect: under 812.133, carjacking is a first-degree felony whether or not a weapon is involved. The presence of a firearm or deadly weapon raises the maximum exposure to a term of years up to life; the unarmed version remains a first-degree felony punishable by up to 30 years in state prison. It is also classified as a Level 7 offense under Florida’s Criminal Punishment Code, meaning that even for a defendant with no prior record, the scoresheet generally points toward a state-prison sentence rather than probation.
Context: a pattern across two counties
The carjacking case is the most serious of three arrests involving Coddington over roughly seven months, two of which connect to the same domestic-violence backdrop:
- Nov. 1, 2025 (Boca Raton): Arrested by Boca Raton PD on a charge of robbery by sudden snatching, filed as a domestic-violence offense involving his wife, Kelly Coddington.
- Dec. 8, 2025 (Palm Beach County): The State Attorney’s Office issued a “No File” on the robbery-by-sudden-snatching felony, pursuing misdemeanor charges instead.
- March 13, 2026 (Port Everglades): Arrested for violation of a domestic-violence injunction, with the probable-cause affidavit alleging he had boarded a cruise ship in a cabin adjacent to the protected person’s despite an injunction served on him in January.
A documentary note for any published version: the Broward clerk lists Coddington’s address as 1298 SW 17th Street, Boca Raton, while the arrest affidavits list 1001 SW 17th Street — a discrepancy worth resolving or footnoting.
Where it stands
The case is listed as active. As of the records reviewed, no bond is reflected on the carjacking count, and no dispositions have been entered. All charges are allegations; Coddington has not been convicted, and he is entitled to the presumption of innocence.
Charges and narrative drawn from Broward County Clerk of Courts records, Broward Sheriff’s Office booking documents and public release, and Palm Beach County court filings.
