The arrest pulled renewed attention to a 2015 infant death case from Canton and the limits of interstate supervision.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — A spring break patrol on Florida’s Atlantic coast turned into a fugitive arrest when Volusia County deputies checking a beachside contact identified Anthony Benjamin Grove, an Ohio parole violator previously convicted in the death of his infant son.
Authorities framed the arrest as proof that small public-order stops can uncover more serious cases. Grove’s presence in Daytona Beach during the crowded spring break period mattered for two reasons at once: deputies said he was outside Ohio despite parole supervision there, and his name was tied to a child death case that had led to prison time, release, and now a new cross-state custody fight.
The setting shaped the story from the start. Volusia County had increased patrols along the beach because of the seasonal crowds, with senior officials including Chief Deputy Brian Henderson out with deputies in the coastal district. According to Henderson’s public account, officers first focused on another man who appeared to be drinking from an open bottle of whiskey while sitting near Grove on a seawall. Grove was not the original focus of the stop. He became one after deputies asked for his name, ran his information and learned Ohio wanted him. Before that records check finished, Henderson said he had made casual conversation and heard Grove mention that one of his children had died. Henderson said Grove’s answer sounded like a bid for sympathy because it left out the fact that Grove had pleaded guilty in the baby’s death. The contrast between the ordinary beach stop and the older homicide-related case quickly drove the narrative around the arrest.
Florida officials then added local consequences. Public reports said Grove was charged with failing to properly register as a convicted felon after coming to Florida and with possession of cannabis under 20 grams. Some accounts said a THC vape pen was found in his backpack. Those charges stood apart from the Ohio warrant but gave Volusia County its own case to process. The public record still leaves several points unanswered, including how long Grove had been in Florida, whether he had been staying in the Daytona Beach area or moving around the state, and what sequence of supervision violations prompted the Ohio warrant before deputies encountered him at the beach. The Ohio corrections department’s website, however, identified him as under Adult Parole Authority supervision and as a violator at large, which confirmed the out-of-state arrest was not based on rumor or a newly issued roadside check alone.
The older Ohio case came from a domestic argument inside a Canton home in February 2015. Prosecutors said Grove threw a ceramic coffee mug at the child’s mother while she held their 2-month-old son, Zeeland. The mug missed the woman and hit the baby in the head. The infant was taken to Akron Children’s Hospital and later died. Grove was initially charged with murder, but he later pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and child endangering. He received an eight-year sentence. That timeline is central here because it explains why the Florida arrest drew so much attention even though the immediate charges there were not for homicide. The beach encounter reopened an older wound and revived debate over how a defendant in a case involving an infant death had moved from prison release to fugitive status in another state.
Next comes a process that is more administrative than dramatic, but just as important. Florida authorities can keep moving their local case while Ohio seeks his return on the parole warrant. Interstate extradition usually requires confirmation of the warrant, notification between agencies and court steps before the person is transferred. Once Grove is back in Ohio, parole authorities can decide whether to revoke supervision and impose more incarceration under state rules. Florida’s case would still need its own resolution unless prosecutors there dismiss or defer it. As of April 18, public reporting described Grove as in custody and awaiting the next move between the two states, but it did not show a completed extradition or a final court ruling.
For Volusia County, the arrest also served as a message about spring break enforcement. Henderson said the encounter showed why deputies pay attention even to low-level violations in crowded areas. The line between routine disorder patrol and serious criminal capture was thin in this case. A deputy’s question, a records check and a public beach setting were enough to bring Grove out of the crowd and back into formal custody. For Ohio, the same arrest raised harder questions about how closely supervision was working before another state found him first. For everyone following the case, the scene on the seawall became less about tourism and more about how unfinished criminal cases can reappear in the middle of ordinary policing.
Where the case goes now depends on two tracks: Florida’s handling of the local charges and Ohio’s effort to bring Grove back under its parole authority.
Author note: Last updated April 18, 2026.