Monroe County Sheriff's Office - Florida Keys

Detectives arrest two FKCC students for marijuana

2012-02-02T13:52:00.001-05:00

At the request of college administrators, detectives from theSheriff’s Special Investigations Unit conducted a K-9 search at the FloridaKeys Community College on Stock Island Wednesday. Two students werearrested after the dog found drugs in two rooms.

Detectives, along with K-9 Deja searched dorm rooms on thecampus. Deja alerted on Suite 214, which has four occupants with individualrooms. As they began searching the rooms, 20 year old Neil Boyle came forward,admitting to having marijuana in his room. During a search, Deja locatedmarijuana and a scale with marijuana residue. Boyle was arrested andcharged with Possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, onschool grounds.

Detectives continued their operation. Deja alerted on Suite 310,which also has four individual rooms. They knocked on the door of a roombelonging to 19 year old Codie Kelley. Initially, no one answered the door.Detectives had a maintenance person monitoring the sewer outlet from the dormroom, however, and he observed a bag of marijuana being flushed intothe sewer. After repeatedly knocking on the door, detectives were eventuallyadmitted to the room by Kelley. When Kelley opened the door, detectivescould smell marijuana. They questioned Kelley, who told them he no longer hadany marijuana because he had flushed it down the toilet. Kelley was arrestedand charged with Tampering with evidence and possession ofmarijuana on school property.

Fleeing man caught after traffic crash

2012-02-01T06:09:00.003-05:00

Stock Island – A man wanted for escaping from a jail inLouisiana the day after Christmas was caught just before midnight after hecrashed a stolen car on Stock Island.

Key West Police radioed the Sheriff’s Office they werefollowing a red Mini Cooper that was stolen and wouldn’t stop. Deputies ChrisFraser and Massiel Brimo parked on the Stock Island side of the Cow Key ChannelBridge and spotted the vehicle as it crossed the bridge at 11:40 p.m., with aKey West Police car behind it.

The deputies got behind the Mini Cooper with his lights andsiren activated. At first it appeared the vehicle was going to stop in theparking lot of Dion’s Quik Mart, but then the car sped off, onto MacDonaldAvenue. The driver, later identified as 43 year old Craig Rannells, attempted asharp turn onto Hollerich Street, but instead crashed into some utility boxeson the side of the road.

He was taken into custody as he exited the vehicle. A checkon his name revealed he was wanted in Louisianna for escaping from the RichlandParish Detention Center; he was reportedly in jail on charges of kidnapping and attempted aggravatedrape.

Rannells told the officers he stole the vehicle so he couldleave town. He was charged with fleeing and eluding police and driving with asuspended license. More charges are pending by Key West Police.

Man charged with gun threats

2012-02-01T06:07:00.003-05:00

Marathon – A Marathon man was arrested after he threatenedanother man by pointing a gun at him.

The victim called the Sheriff’s Office at 5:50 p.m. toreport the incident. He described the suspect a wearing a yellow shirt andliving on a boat in Boot Key Harbor. He said he only knows him as “Jose Cuba”.

Deputy Josh Brady responded. He was taken into the Harbor bythe Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. As they entered theharbor, they saw a man wearing a yellow shirt on a red boat. They stopped himand he was identified as 43 year old Jose Parrado. He denied having a gun andnone was found on the boat. He admitted to having a second boat anchored in the harbor, howeverand agreed to a search of that boat as well.

As the officers approached Parrado’s second boat, called “JoseCuba”, they saw a gun on the cabin roof. Closer inspection revealed it to be apellet gun.

Although Parrado denied threatening anyone with the pelletgun, the victim identified him as the man who pointed a gun at his head. Severalother people who witnessed the incident corroborated his story. Parrado wasarrested, charged with aggravated assault and he was taken to jail.

Three charged with introduction of contraband to a jail facility

2012-01-31T14:41:00.002-05:00

Plantation Key – A Monroe County jail inmate and two womenfrom Miami were arrested after detectives uncovered a scheme to smugglemarijuana into the Plantation Key jail facility.

On January 23^rd, Corrections Lt. Patrick Majorreceived information that an inmate in his facility conspired with two women tobring marijuana into the jail. He notified Sheriff’s detectives of theinformation. Investigations showed the inmate, 26 year old Victor Matias ofFlorida City had contacted 20 year old Julia Infante, of Miami, asking her tobring marijuana to him at the jail.

According to detectives, Infante visited the jail on January15^th along with 18 year old Taylor Rusignuolo, of Miami. Infantevisited with inmate Matias; Rusignuolo visited with another male inmate. Duringthe visit, Rusignuolo hid a package of marijuana in a small basket which holdsinstructional booklets for inmate accounts. The following morning Matias wasable to retrieve the marijuana from the basket. The marijuana smuggled in tothe facility was never recovered.

After further investigation, detectives made a traffic stopon the two women when they returned to the Keys on January 24^th fora court appearance for Matias. They were both arrested. Matias and Rusignuolowere both charged with possession of marijuana and introduction of contrabandto a corrections facility. Infante was charged with being a principle in thefirst degree to the crime.

Detectives investigating more vacation rental fraud cases

2012-01-31T12:06:00.002-05:00

Key Largo – Sheriff’s detectives are investigating anothersuspected vacation rental fraud operation which is using a Key Largo home todefraud would-be vacationers of their money.

Two victims have come forward so far and reported payingmoney to rent a home at 106 Coastal Drive in Key Largo. They both said theyfound the property for rent on the internet; they both corresponded withsomeone using the last name of “Lassiter”; he asked for payment to be wired, inadvance, to his bank account. Both victims sent payment to him. One of thevictims said the web site she found the home on was “Gulf Coast Rentals”.

One of the victims, who lives in Illinois, said she feltuncomfortable with the transaction and decided to do more research. She foundthe same house for sale on the internet and contacted the realtor, who told herthe house was for sale and the owner was not renting it. It was then that shecontacted the Sheriff’s Office to report being scammed out of her money.

Detective Robert Dosh, who is also the lead investigatorinto the John Williams Vacation Rental Fraud case, will be heading up thisinvestigation as well. Anyone who has been victimized in a similar fashionshould contact the Sheriff’s Office immediately. The investigation iscontinuing.

Tallahassee man faces more charges

2012-01-31T12:05:00.002-05:00

Grassy Key – A Tallahassee man, arrested on January 11^thafter a Sheriff’s detective stopped the stolen vehicle he was driving on StockIsland is facing further charges today.

When detectives and deputies stopped 40 year old RobertSkinner on the afternoon of the 11th, they found property in his vehicle theysuspected came from some burglaries which had taken place just hours before onGrassy Key. They also found pawn slips from Joe’s Cash Flow Pawn Shop inMarathon.

Investigations into the origins of the property in the carand the items Skinner had pawned revealed he’d burglarized four homes thatmorning – three on Morton Street and one on U.S. One at the 58.6 mile marker.He took electronic equipment, tools, fishing equipment and jewelry from thehomes, pawning some of it for cash.

Because he was caught so quickly after committing thecrimes, Detective Bobby Burkett, who investigated the burglaries, was able torecover almost all of the stolen items and return them to their owners.

Skinner’s recent charges include three counts of fraud,three counts of dealing in stolen property, four counts each of burglary andtheft. He remains in the Monroe County Detention Center.

Two men go to jail after domestic dispute

2012-01-31T05:50:00.002-05:00

Marathon – One Marathon man was arrested for choking hisgirlfriend; the other for attacking him with a piece of rebar after deputiesresponded to Trailerama Trailer Park Monday night.

When Deputies Nicholas Abroe and Joshua Brady arrived at thetrailer at 10:20 p.m., they found 61 year old Nelson Leon-Quincoses with aninjury on his arm. He told them his nephew, 51 year old Hector Acay-Salazar hithim with a piece of rebar.

He said it happened after he had an argument with hisgirlfriend. He said Acay-Salazar got involved and the two men went outside. Hesaid Acay-Salazar grabbed a piece of rebar and hit him with it.

When deputies spoke with Acay-Salazar, he said he saw thecouple arguing and saw Leon-Quincoses throw his girlfriend to the ground andchoke her. He said that is when he decided to get involved. He denied hittingthe other man, however.

Both men were placed under arrest; Acay-Salazar for domesticbattery by strangulation and Leon-Quincoses for aggravated battery.Leon-Quincoses was further charged with being a convicted felon in possessionof a weapon after he was found to have a sharp pointed homemade ring made outof a grilling fork on his finger; deputies said they believe he made the ringto be used as a weapon when hitting someone.

Bay Point man, Sexual Predator, arrested

2012-01-28T08:19:00.003-05:00

Detectives take Eisenhart into custody at his
Bay Point home on Friday.

In a joint operation with the Florida Department ofCorrections Friday, Sheriff’s Major Crimes Detectives arrested a Bay Point manwho is designated by the courts as a Sexual Predator, for violating hisprobation.

44 year old Donald Eisenhart was taken into custody afterdetectives, accompanied by Eisenhart’s Probation Officer, searched hisresidence and found a large amount of pornography on his computer. Bothpossessing the computer, and the pornography are violations of the terms of hisprobation.

The Sheriff’s Office and the DOC routinely conduct SexualPredator and Sexual Offender checks to verify their addresses and to checkcompliance with their conditions of release.

Colonel awarded "Unsung Hero - Volunteer of the Year

2012-01-27T15:53:00.000-05:00

Colonel Rick Ramsay and Captain Don Hiller received the “Unsung Hero - Volunteer of the Year” award from the Florida Keys Children’s Shelter recently. The two of them, along with a crew of helpers, revamped the Children’s Shelter with fresh paint and other repairs. Here is Colonel Ramsay with his award.

"Camera Car" visits Key Largo School

2012-01-27T15:42:00.000-05:00

Lt. Derek Paul and Deputy Dave Campbell took the Sheriff’s Office “Camera Car” to Key Largo School recently to show kids what it can do. The car uses multiple cameras to take pictures of vehicle license tags, then automatically runs the tags through a computer database to check them for various violations.

Explorers and Cadets active in the new year

2012-01-27T15:30:00.000-05:00

Top two photos: Cadets learned about search and rescue K-9s from Dr. Clifford Glade and Islamorada Assistant Fire Chief Terry Abel.

Bottom two photos: Explorers and Cadets assisted with the No Name Key Bridge Run, which raised money for the prevention of Domestic Violence.

Sheriff's Office participates in the Soldier Ride

2012-01-27T15:27:00.001-05:00

Sheriff’s Office employees participated in the recent Soldier Ride, held January 11th to the 15th, from Key Largo to Key West. Some escorted the riders in patrol cars, while others actually rode bikes along with them. It was a great event and everyone was proud and exhilarated to be a part of it.

Top two photos are Lower Keys Sheriff's employees who formed a team and rode along with the wounded soldiers ride.

The bottom photo is the group of Upper Keys deputies who provided an escort. From Left to Right: Lt. Derek Paul, DEP Officer Brian Coffin, Dep. Dave Minor, Sgt. Tom Kiffney, Deputy Andrew Leird, Dep. Dave Campbell, Reserve Capt. Ted Migala, DEP Officer Mike Mckay, Dep. Jason Keith, Dep. Greg Korzen.

Upcoming fundraising events - Relay for Life and Special Olympics

2012-01-27T15:11:00.002-05:00

Man arrested for firing gun during argument

2012-01-27T07:03:00.001-05:00

Cudjoe Key – A Cudjoe Key man was arrested early today, charged with firing his gun while arguing with his boyfriend.

Both 54 year old Peter Deluca and 54 year old Michael Cooper told Deputy John Gabay they have been together as a couple for 11 years and are now breaking off the relationship. Just before 1 a.m., they began to argue. Stories differ about what happened, but both men and Deluca’s mother, who was in the next room, say the argument escalated and Deluca fired his gun, shooting a hole through a window in his bedroom.

Following the gunfire, they separated; Deluca locked himself in his room with his mother and called the Sheriff’s Office. Cooper also called the Sheriff’s office for help. When deputies arrived on the scene, they found a .44 magnum revolver on Deluca’s bed; it was fully loaded, with two spent rounds in the chamber.

Deluca was arrested. He was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and improper exhibition of a firearm. He was booked into jail.

Man arrested on drug charges

2012-01-26T06:59:00.001-05:00

Stock Island – A Miami man was arrested on drugcharges after he fled on foot from officers during a traffic stop.

Deputy Anthony Fuentes was on patrol at 10:20 p.m. Wednesdaywhen he saw suspicious activity on Maloney Avenue, Stock Island. He saw a carpull up and saw the driver talk to a man who has been known to deal drugs; thedriver then did an illegal u-turn over a double solid yellow line.

Deputy Fuentes turned on his lights and siren to stop thevehicle, a black BMW. The vehicle stopped and the driver, later identified as29 year old Gregory Parrish, jumped from the car and ran into a nearby trailerpark.

A female passenger in the car told the deputy the driver’sname was “Gregory”. She said she didn’t know him very well. A search of thevehicle turned up several small plastic bags with cocaine inside. Also foundwas a piece of paper with a woman’s name and address on it. The address was inthe trailer park where Parrish had fled.

Deputies Massiel Brimo and Chris Fraser knocked on the doorof the address found in the car. The woman who answered the door denied thatanyone else was inside. The deputies walked across the street and stood wherethey couldn’t be seen, to observe the residence. A short time later, a sportutility vehicle pulled up. The driver opened the rear passenger side door, leftit open and then went in the trailer. Minutes later, a black male wearing ablond wig ran out of the trailer and dove, head first, into the SUV.

As the SUV left the trailer park, it was stopped. The manwearing the blond wig was identified by Deputy Fuentes as the man who fled fromhis traffic stop, Gregory Parrish.

Parrish was arrested. He was charged with driving with hislicense suspended, resisting arrest and possession of cocaine with intent tosell. He was booked into jail.

Update on homeless man, found dead in Marathon wooded area

2012-01-24T14:14:00.001-05:00

Marathon – Detectives from the Sheriff’s Major Crime Unit,along with the Medical Examiner’s Office, are continuing to investigate thedeath of a homeless man whose body was found in a wooded area near 62^ndStreet in Marathon on January 20th.

Detectives say they have notified the family of 41 year oldKenneth Paul Anderson. His body was found by another homeless man who wasliving in a tent in the wooded area. The Medical Examiner has conducted anautopsy, and tests from that autopsy are still pending. As of today, the causeof Anderson’s death is not clear. He had some visible injuries, but also had anextensive medical history.

Vehicle runs into front of Marathon Winn Dixie

2012-01-23T17:16:00.002-05:00

A vehicle has reportedly collided with vending machines nextto propane storage cylinders in the front of the Winn Dixie grocery store inMarathon. People are being evacuated from the store and from the nearby CVSPharmacy due to a small propane leak, according to initial reports from thescene.

There are no reported injuries involved; the Blue Rhinopropane company is responding to the scene. Florida Highway Patrol is alsoresponding to investigate the accident, which took place at 4:45 p.m.

Teen arrested for molesting young girl

2012-01-23T13:10:00.001-05:00

Big Pine Key - A 14 year old Big Pine boy has been arrested,charged with molesting a 9 year old girl.

Detectives with the Sheriff’s Office Major Crimes Unitarrested Steven Earl Raymond Roberts on Saturday at his home on Mercedes Lane.He was charged with lewd and lascivious molestation of a child under the age of12.

The victim told detectives Roberts fondled her sexually on anumber of occasions between June of 2011 and the present day.

Man found floating identified as missing Chicago man

2012-01-22T16:15:00.001-05:00

Key West – Sheriff’s detectives say the man’s body, foundfloating near the White Street pier last week, has been identified as a manreported missing in Chicago.

The family of 65 year old John Hanson told Chicago policethey last saw him at 8 a.m. on January 9^th when he left to go towork. On January 13^th, his body was found offshore of the WhiteStreet Pier with no identification.

Detectives worked all week, canvassing various places to seeif anyone knew who the man was. On Saturday, his family called the Key WestPolice Department. They said they had received a package in the mail, from KeyWest, with Hanson’s wallet, identification and other personal items inside. KeyWest Police put the family in touch with the Medical Examiner’s Office and apositive identification of Hanson was made.

It is still unknown how Hanson died; an autopsy showed signsof drowning, but toxicology tests are still pending. There were no signs offoul play in evidence on the body.

Homeless man found dead in wooded area

2012-01-21T10:10:00.001-05:00

Marathon – A local homeless man was found dead in a woodedarea of Marathon Friday afternoon.

Detectives from the Sheriff’s Major Crimes Unit areinvestigating along with the Monroe County Medical Examiner’s Office. Anotherhomeless man, staying in the vicinity, reported finding the body in a woodedarea near 62^nd Street at 2:30 p.m. There were no obvious signs offoul play in evidence on the body.

The deceased man, who is familiar to law enforcementofficers, is not being identified to the public pending notification of hisnext of kin. The Medical Examiner’s Office will be performing an autopsy todetermine the cause of his death.

Bank Robbery suspect

2012-01-20T15:46:00.001-05:00

Photo of man who robbed Centennial Bank this morning at 10 a.m. Anyone who knows anything about it, or who might recognize the suspect, should call the Sheriff's Office immediately.

Convicted murderer arrives for court hearing

2012-01-20T14:20:00.002-05:00

Photo of convicted murderer Thomas Overton, arriving at theKey West Airport today. He was greeted by members of the Sheriff’s OfficeSpecial Weapons and Tactics team, who escorted him to the Monroe CountyDetention Center where he will be housed in the high security section of thefacility while he is in town for a court hearing.

Bank robbery on Big Pine Key

2012-01-20T11:03:00.001-05:00

Big Pine Key – Detectives from the Sheriff’s Office and theFederal Bureau of Investigation are working together to investigate a bankrobbery this morning at Centennial Bank on Big Pine Key.

At 10 a.m., a man wearing a mask walked into the bank anddemanded money from one of the tellers at the bank. He handed her aplastic bag, she placed the money in the bag and he left the bank. Detectivessay they believe he left the area in a dark colored, full sized sport utilityvehicle.

The suspect is believed to be a Hispanic male, 5’8” to 5’10”tall, approximately 180 pounds. He was wearing a mask over his face, a blackcolored “hoodie” sweatshirt with a light colored design on the front, darkcolored jeans and shoes.

Anyone with information about this robbery should call theSheriff’s Office immediately. Callers who wish to remain anonymous can callCrime Stoppers of the Florida Keys. If a tip leads to an arrest, the callerwould be eligible for a cash reward from Crime Stoppers. The Crime Stoppers hotline number is 1-800-346-TIPS. Tips may also be submitted on line at www.tipsubmit.com.

Detectives investigate death in fire

2012-01-20T05:55:00.002-05:00

Big Pine Key – A man was found dead inside a motor homewhich had caught on fire Thursday night. Detectives are investigating.

Deputies Scott Ward and Spenser Bryan responded to reportsthat a motor home was on fire at Seahorse Campground on Big Pine Key justbefore 10 p.m. When they arrived, they saw a man walking away from the motorhome carrying a fire extinguisher.

They could see smoke coming from the vehicle, but no flames.They attempted to enter the vehicle to check for anyone inside. The heat andsmoke made it difficult for the deputies to see anything; they yelled but gotno response. They could see what looked like a foot and leg on a mattressinside, but were unable to get any further inside due to the inability tobreath in the heat.

They retreated outside; a short time later, they enteredagain; they found the body of a man inside. Paramedics arrived and confirmedthe man was deceased. He has been identified as a 65 year old resident of thecampground. His next of kin have not yet been identified.

Detective Deborah Ryan from the Sheriff’s Major Crimes Unitresponded. She will be investigating the death. The Monroe County MedicalExaminer will be investigating the cause of the man’s death; the Fire Marshallwill investigate the cause of the fire.

Two residents of the park were interviewed; 53 year old RobertBeda told Deputy Ward he saw the flames and put them out with his fireextinguisher; 46 year old Timothy Potter said he saw smoke coming from thevehicle and called the Sheriff’s Office to report it. He said he and a friendthen started evacuating neighboring trailers.

Major Crimes detective works two death investigations

2012-01-13T15:18:00.002-05:00

Lower Keys – A diver death and a man found floating in thewater offshore of Higg’s Beach have kept Major Crimes Detective Manny Cuervobusy this afternoon.

At 11:20 a.m., Detective Cuervo responded to Front Street onStock Island, where a diver was being brought in unresponsive, not breathing.Paramedics responded as well and transported the Ohio man to Lower KeysHospital, where he was pronounced dead. He was on board a commercial divevessel; he and a group of divers on the boat were doing a “test dive” in about30 feet of water in preparation for a later dive on the Vandenberg. Otherdivers in the group said he surfaced and gave the “OK” sign, but when they sawhim just minutes later, he was floating on the surface of the water, notbreathing. Detective Cuervo is attempting to reach his family to notify them ofhis death. An autopsy will be done to determine the cause of his death.

Just 20 minutes later, Key West Police notified Sheriff’sdispatchers of a man’s body, found about 400 – 500 yards offshore of the Higg’sBeach / White Street Pier area of Key West. A jet skier in that area found theman floating in the water. Key West Police recovered the body and took it tothe U.S. Coast Guard station, where Detective Cuervo met them to conduct hisinvestigation.

According to the detective, there is no obvious sign of foulplay in evidence on the body. There is also no identification on the body, soDetective Cuervo is hoping someone will recognize his description. He is awhite male, late 40s to late 50s with medium length salt and pepper hair. He isabout 5’10” to 6’ tall and weighs in the neighborhood of 250 pounds. He iswearing blue jeans, a brown “Key West” t-shirt, tucked in, with a brown belt.On his feet, he was wearing “water shoes”. On his left ring finger is a smallkey ring, worn like a ring. He may have been in the water anywhere from 6 to 12hours.

Anyone with information about the man’s identity shouldcontact the Sheriff’s office immediately.

Detention Deputy is Master Deputy

2012-01-13T06:35:00.001-05:00

Detention Deputy Adelaide Killian was awarded Master Deputy
status at last week’s Sheriff’s Staff meeting. Left to right,
Chief Tommy Taylor, Killian and Sheriff Bob Peryam.

Lieutenant meets Senator Graham

2012-01-13T06:32:00.003-05:00

Lt. Derek Paul, pictured with Senator Bob Graham last week
at the Flagler Railroad Centennial celebration and
wall mural dedication in Key Largo.

Cadets/ Explorers learn about Hazardous Materials

2012-01-13T06:29:00.005-05:00

Cadets and Explorers attended training in how to use the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Emergency Response Guide to Hazmat Situations from Mrs. Mirine Dye of the Florida Keys Medical Reserve Corps recently.

Employees of the Fourth Quarter, 2011

2012-01-13T06:25:00.000-05:00

Congratulations to our Employees of the fourth quarter, 2011.
Pictured with the Sheriff, left to right, Detention Deputy Saul Ottey,
Detective Robert Dosh, Support Employee Rhonda Kahle,
Reserve Captain Ted Migala. Not pictured: Explorer Cindy Zaldivar.

Breast Cancer Awareness

2012-01-13T06:22:00.003-05:00

Members of the Sheriff’s Office show their support for Breast Cancer Awareness
by wearing pink Converse sneakers. Left to right, Lt. Cindy Peryam,
Colonel Rick Ramsay, Lt. Anne Sweeney, Deputy Sheila Tabone
and Deputy Peco Broussard.

Marathon man charged with gun threats

2012-01-13T06:06:00.002-05:00

Marathon – A Marathon man is in jail, charged withthreatening another man with a gun.

The charges stem from an incident which took place January 7^thin the early morning hours at JJs Doghouse bar. Just after 3 a.m., deputiesresponded to the bar to reports of a man with a gun.

When they arrived, they met with the victim, who said thesuspect, 36 year old Enrique Valdes Jr., had chased him down the street with agun in his hand.

The two men had a previous altercation, about a weekbefore, during which Valdes was struck in the eye. The victim said when Valdessaw him in the bar he left, telling the victim he’d “be right back”. The victimsaid he was afraid Valdes was going to get a weapon, so he armed himself with apool cue. He said when Valdes returned a short time later, he had a gun in hishand. At that point, the victim said he fled on foot down the street withValdes chasing him.

Witnesses corroborated the victim’s story. An employee ofthe bar at first refused to make a statement, but later told Sgt. Joel SloughValdes had shown him a handgun tucked in his waistband. Another witness said hesaw the suspect running after the victim carrying a handgun.

A warrant was issued for Valdes; on Thursday, he wasarrested and charged with aggravated assault with a firearm and being aconvicted felon in possession of a firearm. He was booked into jail.

Man arrested for stolen auto; investigated for burglary

2012-01-12T05:56:00.003-05:00

Stock Island – A Tallahassee man, arrested after he wascaught driving a stolen auto, is under investigation for several burglaries.

Detective Donald Catala spotted 40 year old Robert Skinnerdriving the silver colored Chevrolet Silverado Wednesday afternoon. WhenSkinner saw the detective’s unmarked law enforcement vehicle, he began actingas if he were nervous; Detective Catala decided to run the truck’s license tagto see if Skinner had reason to be nervous. The tag revealed the truck had beenreported stolen from Hillsboro County.

The truck was stopped as it left Key West, over the Cow KeyChannel Bridge, by Detectives David Chavka and David Cruz and Deputy MattDowling. Skinner was taken into custody on the Hillsboro County grand theftauto charge.

The truck matched the description of a vehicle involved in aKey Largo burglary earlier in the day. Property found in the truck, includinglaptop computers, cameras, fishing equipment and ammunition, may have come fromburglaries committed earlier in the day in Key Largo and on Grassy Key.

Skinner claimed a man he met at the Waffle House in Key Westearlier in the day had loaned him the truck and asked him to use it to get himdrugs. He also said the same man asked him to take the property in the truck toa pawn shop for him. He could not give detectives the man’s name ordescription. He also couldn’t explain why he had two credit cards in his walletthat did not belong to him.

Investigations are continuing as detectives attempt to matchthe items in the truck with the burglaries, and try to locate other itemsSkinner may have pawned. More charges are pending. According to detectives inHillsboro County, Skinner is well known to them and has more charges pendingthere as well.

Miami man charged with burglary

2012-01-12T05:55:00.002-05:00

Plantation Key – A Miami man was charged with a residentialburglary after his fingerprints were found at the scene.

The burglary took place in February of 2011 at a home onBessie Road. The homeowner was sleeping in the home when the crime occurred.When he woke the next morning, he found a window and a sliding glass door open.He then found his wallet, a small safe, two guns and cash missing from hishome.

Detectives Barney Sajdak and Ralph Williams responded to thehome and conducted an investigation, finding fingerprints on the sliding glassdoor, and on the plastic wrapping from some duct tape found on the floor of thehome. They sent the fingerprints to the Florida Department of Law Enforcementfor database comparison.

In September, FDLE identified the prints as coming from 20year old Arnold Junior Valdes, of Miami. A warrant was issued for his arrest.On Wednesday, he was booked into the Monroe County jail on the warrant, chargedwith burglary, grand theft, two counts theft of firearms and grand theft from aperson 65 years of age or older.

Sheriff’s Office has new tool against suspended licenses / stolen vehicles

2012-01-11T16:16:00.003-05:00

In the constant effort to keep our streets safe, theSheriff’s Office has a new tool. For the past month, deputies have been drivinga specially equipped patrol car which can read license plates, and which givesan alert when a car has been reported stolen, or the owner of the car has a suspended license.

The car looks just like a normal patrol vehicle – citizenswon’t know the difference when they see it unless they notice the unobtrusiveblack boxes mounted beside the light bar on top. Inside it is equipped withfour digital tag readers which feed information to a laptop computer in thecar. The readers can read tags in front of the patrol vehicle, and to each sideof it. The computer automatically checks the tags through a database which isupdated every half hour to reflect up to date information on stolen cars andsuspended licenses.

Once alerted, the deputy checks the actual car’s tag withthe one showing on the screen to make sure the reading is correct. If it is, hecan pull the vehicle over and ticket the driver if necessary.

“We have been operating this car 24 hours a day in variousareas of the county and it has been very successful,” said Colonel Rick Ramsay.“It checks an average of 1200 – 1500 tags per shift, depending on time of dayand traffic. We are still collecting data on it, but as an example, we workedin the city of Key West with KWPD for a week. In one night, we got 74 hits ontags and wrote 25 tickets.”

“This is one more tool in our arsenal,” Sheriff Bob Peryamsaid. “If someone’s license is suspended, it is for a reason. Usually, it isbecause of dangerous driving habits. We don’t dangerous people driving on ourroadways, endangering our law abiding citizens,” he said. “And if a car isstolen, we definitely want to catch the person driving the stolen vehicle andreturn the it to its owner.”

40 deputies assigned to various areas of the county wentthrough a four hour training session to learn how to operate the equipment.Most of the time, the vehicle is operated by two patrol officers; one drivingand one working with the tag reader.

Two Miami woman charged with mortgage fraud; one still at large

2012-01-11T15:00:00.001-05:00

Two Miami women were arrested, accused of committingmortgage fraud in the purchase of a Sugarloaf Key home. A third one is wantedon an outstanding warrant.

The women conspired in 2007 to falsify documentsregarding the purchase of a home on Pinetree Lane, Sugarloaf Key. The actualhouse purchase price was $899,000.00; paperwork falsified by the women showedthe sale price at $1,940,000.00. Detective Diane Mimosa received ananonymous tip about the crime in February of 2011.

Detective Mimosa’s lengthy and detailed investigationsshowed that during the process of purchasing the home, the women conspired totake a mortgage out on the property using the falsified and inflated propertyvalue; they then paid off the seller, the real estate agent and other costsbased on the original sale price, pocketing the remainder of the mortgageamount – about $450,000.00 in all.

Warrants were issued on January 4^th for 31 yearold Sacha Rodriguez of Miami and 45 year old Alba Fito of Hialeah. Theywere both booked into jail Tuesday, charged with grand theft over $100,000.00 –a first degree felony, and mortgage fraud, a second degree felony.

A warrant has been issued for a third woman, 43 year oldAnayansi Perez of Miami. Perez is accused of knowingly allowing the two otherwomen to use her identity when applying for the fraudulent mortgage. She willalso be charged with grand theft and mortgage fraud.

Rodriguez has been convicted of similar crimes in otherjurisdictions in Florida; Fito has been charged with similar crimes and casesagainst her are still ongoing.

Sexual Predator registers his address in the Lower Keys

2012-01-10T11:10:00.000-05:00

Florida State Statutes require public notification when aperson designated as a “Sexual Predator” moves in to a community.

Pursuant to that law, this is notification that Donald P.Eisenhart has registered an address in the Lower Florida Keys as his newresidence. Eisenhart, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’sregistry web site, (FDLE) has been convicted of sexual battery / coerce childby adult, F.S. 794.011 in Hernando County, Florida.

Eisenhart, pictured at the left, gave a current address of 42 Beach Drive on BayPoint when he registered, as required by law. He is currently under supervisionby the Department of Corrections. Detectives with the Sheriff’s Major CrimesUnit has made notification to all residents living in and around hisneighborhood, including a flyer put up at a neighborhood park in the vicinity.

For more information about his crime, contact the FloridaDepartment of Law Enforcement or Hernando County, Florida.

Acomplete listing of Florida sexual offenders and predators can befound at FDLE’s web site at www.fdle.state.fl.us.

Miami man caught with fraudulent credit cards

2012-01-08T09:28:00.001-05:00

Marathon – A Miami man who tried unsuccessfully to useseveral fraudulent credit cards at the Marathon Publix grocery store wasarrested Saturday afternoon.

Deputy Bradford Colen responded to Publix at 2 p.m. afterthe manager called to report a man was attempting to use fraudulent creditcards in the store. When the deputy arrived, the manager pointed the man out,handing over two of the cards he tried to use. He said the man had tried to buytwo $300 Publix gift cards using several cards, none of which were legitimatecards.

When 35 year old Eladio Gonzalez saw the deputy walk in, hefled from the store with the deputy in pursuit. Gonzalez ran behind the storeand into a wooded area. Sgt. Dennis Coleman arrived as back-up; he ran into thewooded area after Gonzalez. The officers caught up with him, with Sgt. Coleman orderingGonzalez to the ground. Instead of complying with the sergeant’s orders,Gonzalez began reaching into the front of his pants. Fearing the man had a weapon,Deputy Colen deployed his Taser. Gonzalez was then handcuffed and taken intocustody.

Gonzalez’ wallet was recovered from a trash can at Publix.Inside, deputies found 19 fraudulent credit cards and a fake Pennsylvaniadriver’s license. He was charged with possessing the fake license, fraudulentuse of a credit card, five counts of passing counterfeited credit cards andresisting arrest. He was booked into jail.

Victim of snorkeling accident dies

2012-01-05T17:33:00.002-05:00

The victim of what appears to be a snorkeling accident atSombrero Reef on New Year’s Day has died at Kendall Regional Medical Center.

28 year old Vinayak Devasthali of Massachusetts died onJanuary 3^rd while being treated at that hospital. The Miami-DadeMedical Examiner’s Office performed an autopsy to determine the cause of hisdeath. Tests are still pending. Contact their office for more information.

According to detectives, the death appears to be accidentalin nature.

Man refuses to stop for deputy; crashes on motorcycle

2012-01-04T08:35:00.001-05:00

Marathon – A Marathon man on a motorcycle refused to stopfor a deputy trying to pull him over; he crashed and was airlifted to Miami tobe treated for injuries related to the crash.

Deputy Thomas Hill was northbound on Highway U.S. One nearSadowski Causeway just before midnight when he saw the motorcycle pull out ofthe Circle K parking lot and immediately accelerate to 91 miles per hour in a45 mile per hour zone. As the deputy turned on his lights and siren andattempted to catch up with the bike, the driver accelerated through the redlight at Coco Plum Road, traveling at a high rate of speed northbound.

At that point, the deputy decided not to chase themotorcycle for fear it would cause the bike’s rider to drive even moredangerously. Deputy Hill continued north and, when he reached the 56 milemarker, he saw black plastic scattered across the highway and several vehiclesstopped with their emergency flashers on. He then saw the motorcycle off theroad with the driver lying beside it.

Another vehicle with rear end damage was on the scene; thetwo people in the vehicle complained of some pain; they were treated on thescene but refused transport to the hospital.

Deputy Hill called for an ambulance and for Florida HighwayPatrol to respond to investigate the accident. He then treated the motorcycledriver as he waited for the ambulance. The man identified himself as CharlesMotschall of Marathon. Deputy Hill said when the man spoke, he could smell theodor of alcohol on his breath.

A short time later, a man arrived on the scene who alsoidentified himself as Charles Motschall. He told Deputy Hill the injured manwas his brother, Daniel. He said he and Daniel own the motorcycle together. Hesaid Daniel probably gave a false name because he did not have a motorcycleendorsement on is license.

25 year old Daniel Motschall was airlifted to Miami fortreatment of his injuries. FHP is investigating the case.

Man on scooter faces multiple traffic charges

2012-01-02T10:13:00.003-05:00

Marathon – A 24 year old Marathon man is in jail afterfailing to stop his scooter for deputies, then fighting with them as theyattempted to handcuff him.

Sheriff’s dispatchers received a call at 8:45 p.m. Saturdayof a reckless driver on a motor scooter northbound on U.S. One in Marathon.Deputy Christian Galls was at the stoplight at U. S. One and 55^thStreet when he saw a vehicle in back of a scooter; the driver of the vehicleflashed his lights and yelled to the deputy that the scooter driver was drivingas if he was impaired.

Deputy Galls attempted to stop the scooter as the drivercontinued on U.S. One to 68^th Street. The scooter failed to stop asit turned on 68^th Street, then pulled into the driveway of aresidence.

Deputy Galls got out of his vehicle yelling at the scooterdriver to get off the scooter. The driver, later identified as Brandon Smith,tried to take off on the vehicle, but the deputy grabbed him, dragging him tothe ground.

As Smith resisted, Deputy Galls struggled with him finallygetting him in handcuffs. At that point, Deputies Danielle Malone and NicholisWhiteman arrived as back up.

Smith refused medical treatment, refused field sobrietyexercises and refused a breathalyzer test. He reportedly appeared to beimpaired, had trouble keeping his eyes open and spoke with slurred speech,having trouble answering deputies questions.

Once at the jail, because of his impaired state, Correctionsofficers insisted he be cleared by the hospital before being booked into jail.After he was cleared at the hospital, Deputy Galls was standing beside himopening the door of his patrol car to put him inside when Smith again began tostruggle. During the struggle, he kicked the deputy and grabbed for his gun.Deputy Galls got him back under control and transported him to jail forbooking. Once at the jail, he continued to struggle and had to be placed in arestraint chair for his own safety and the safety of the officers involved.

Smith was charged with driving under the influence, fleeingand eluding police, resisting arrest with and without violence and battery on alaw enforcement officer.

Snorkeling accident offshore of Marathon

2012-01-02T10:12:00.002-05:00

Marathon – A man was airlifted to Miami after a snorkelingaccident offshore of Marathon Sunday.

According to reports by Deputy Nancy Torrios, she respondedto the Seven Mile Marina to meet a U.S. Coast Guard vessel coming in with a manwho’d stopped breathing while he was snorkeling at Sombrero Reef.

According to witness reports, the crew of the vessel“Spirit” had taken a group snorkeling at the reef. When they arrived, they sawa man floating on the water nearby. They pulled him from the water, started CPRand called the Coast Guard for assistance. The Coast Guard responded and broughtthe man into shore, continuing CPR. It was later found that the victim, 28 yearold Vinayak Devasthali, was from another snorkeling vessel, the “Starfish”,which was also at the reef that day.

The crew of the “Starfish” heard on the marine radio about thesnorkeler in distress and did a head count of passengers; when they realizedthey were missing one, they also responded to shore. Devasthali was with agroup of people on board the “Starfish” visiting from Massachusetts and NewHampshire; it is unclear from the deputy’s report where Devasthali is from.

Paramedics met the Coast Guard and took the victim toFishermen’s Hospital. He was revived and airlifted to Kendall Regional MedicalCenter where he is currently being treated in the ICU unit.

Two men found dead inside boat

2011-12-30T15:30:00.003-05:00

Key Largo - Two men were found dead this morning inside aboat. The boat was on a trailer, parked in the boat yard at the Pilot HouseMarina in Key Largo.

Detectives say there are no obvious signs of foul play andthe deaths may be accidental. They found the owner of the 32 foot Wellcraft, 45year old Bernard Boucher, of Fort Lauderdale and 58 year old Benoit Paquet alsoof Fort Lauderdale, in the enclosed cabin of the boat; there was a portablegenerator in the engine compartment.

Both men exhibited signs of possible carbon monoxidepoisoning; their skin was reddish pink in color. They had no other visibleinjuries.

A friend of Boucher said Boucher had come to the Keys topick up his boat. He was going to trailer it back to Fort Lauderdale so itcould be worked on.

The Medical Examiner’s Office will be investigating thecause of the men’s death.

Detective asks for help from the community to catch vehicle burglar

2011-12-28T14:27:00.000-05:00

Stock Island – Sheriff’s Detective David Cruz would like thepublic’s help identifying a vehicle burglar captured on video tape burglarizinga van on Stock Island in late November.

The crime took place November 26^th at 4 p.m. inthe parking lot of Unlimited Electric Technologies at 5585 2^ndAvenue on Stock Island. The suspect is shown walking around the parking lot ofUnlimited Electric Technologies; after several minutes, he picks up a rock andthrows it at the van’s window, breaking it. He reaches in, unlocks the door,opens it and removes items from inside, including a quantity of electricalwiring. The suspect then loads the stolen items onto his bicycle and rides awayfrom the scene in an unknown direction.

The victim, 36 year old John Grodzinski, was able to pullthe video from his outside camera system. Now, Detective Cruz is hoping someonewho watches the video will recognize the suspect.

The video has been posted on YouTube, A link to the videohas been posted on the Sheriff’s Office Facebook page, MCSO – Florida Keys.Anyone who has information which might lead to an arrest in this case shouldcall Detective Cruz at 305-292-7060. Callers who wish to remain anonymous cancall Crime Stoppers of the Florida Keys. If a tip leads to an arrest, the callerwould be eligible for a cash reward. The Crime Stoppers hot line number is1-800-346-TIPS. Tips may be submitted on line at tipsubmit.com.

The video can be viewed at http://youtu.be/aqK17jo1E48and http://youtu.be/lkeQZyVso0w, or there is a link on our Facebook page, MCSO –Florida Keys.

Man arrested for cutting another man’s neck during fight

2011-12-27T05:59:00.004-05:00

Key Largo – One man is in jail and the other one was treatedat Mariner’s Hospital after a fight on board a boat moored offshore of KeyLargo Monday night.

The 32 year old victim, Peter Molo of West Palm Beach, toldDeputies Vaughn O’Keefe and Julie Smith his girlfriend dropped him off at about8 p.m. at Mandalay Marina Restaurant afterthey got into an argument. He was in the bar when he met the suspect, 49 yearold Scott Brady. Brady reportedly asked him back to the boat he lives on, whichis moored just offshore.

Once on the boat, the two men continued drinking. They gotinto an argument. The victim said Brady made sexual advances toward him whichhe rejected; he said Brady then became angry and cut his throat with a knife.Brady told deputies the victim became enraged for an unknown reason and triedto choke him, so he grabbed a knife and cut him with it.

After the fight, Brady got into his dinghy with his dog and returnedto shore. At the Mandalay Marina restaurant, he told the restaurant manager he’dcut the victim during a fight. The manager called the Sheriff’s Office at 9:20p.m. for assistance.

Marina staff assisted deputies in going out to the boat tocheck on the victim; they brought him back to shore where he was taken byparamedics to Mariner’s Hospital to be treated for a cut on his neck. Brady wasarrested and charged with aggravated battery. His dog was taken to the Key LargoAnimal Shelter for care while the owner is in jail.

Man arrested for trying to steal metal pieces

2011-12-27T05:59:00.000-05:00

Stock Island – A Key West man was caught as he was trying tosteal pieces of metal from a business on Stock Island.

One of the managers of F & W Fencing on 3^rdAvenue was riding her bike to work just before noon Monday when she heardclanking metal coming from the fenced area owned by the business. When shestopped to check on it she saw 49 year old Serafin Alvarez picking up pieces ofmetal and throwing them over the fence. She called her husband, who is theother business manager; he responded and began talking to Alvarez as his wifecalled the Sheriff’s Office.

When Deputy Kim Trullender arrived, Alvarez was still on thescene. He was placed under arrest, charged with burglary and he was taken tojail.

Four arrested for boat burglaries

2011-12-26T08:58:00.003-05:00

Key Largo – Four people from Miami were arrested early onChristmas morning, caught in the act burglarizing a boat in Key Largo.

Sheriff’s dispatchers received a call at 2:45 a.m. from aman who lives on Island Drive. He said he was looking out the window and couldsee someone on his boat, docked behind the house.

Deputies James Warino, Tony Conde, Matthew O’Neill and Sgt.E.B. Askins responded. When they arrived, they saw the cabin door of the boatajar; they ordered the two men on board to come out and lie down on the boat’sdeck. The men complied with the orders.

Investigations revealed they had two backpacks with them,and were using screwdrivers to remove the electronics from the console of theboat.

Detective Sgt. David Carey responded, along with Crime SceneDetective Barney Sajdak. The victim told them he’d seen a strange car parked ina nearby vacant lot. The two detectives approached the car and found two womeninside. The women admitted they were in Key Largo with the men caughtburglarizing the boat. Both women said they knew what them men were up to, butdid not report the illegal activity to the police. One of them said she’d beento the Keys before with her boyfriend to “steal things”.

In the car, detectives found two GPS systems, a flat screentelevision and other electronics. An investigation of homes nearby revealedanother vessel with damage and missing electronics. The owner was contacted andhe identified one of the GPS devices as belonging to his boat.

All four people were arrested. 26 year old Victor Matias and21 year old Terrance McCray were both charged with two counts each of burglary,criminal mischief and possession ofburglary tools; 25 year old Nadiege Andre and 18 year old Jackqlin McCray wereboth charged with two counts each of being an accessory after the fact to thosecrimes.

Investigations into their activities is continuing.Detectives say they believe the group may have been involved in other boat burglarieswhich have taken place in the upper Keys in recent weeks.

Man arrested after firefighters report shots fired

2011-12-26T08:57:00.000-05:00

Key Largo – A Key largo man was arrested after firefightersreported he was shooting at them on Christmas Eve.

Firefighters responded to reports of an illegal fire on CoralWay. When they arrived, they found the fire still smoldering. As they wereinvestigating the circumstances, they suddenly radioed Sheriff’s dispatchersthat the homeowner was shooting at them. They said he was reloading his gun andcoming after them and they needed assistance.

In later interviews with firefighters, they told deputies thehomeowner, 29 year old John Ferraro, was extremely belligerent to them; he begancursing at them; he told them when he found out who reported the fire he wasgoing to drag them through the fire and kill them. They said at one point he went into his house,and because of his demeanor, the firefighters decided to get behind their firetruck as a protective measure. One of them reported seeing Ferraro run from hishouse carrying what looked like a shotgun or rifle. It was at that point they heard three loudbangs which sounded to them like gunfire.

Deputy Tony Conde was first on the scene. He approached thehouse cautiously, carrying his patrol rifle. Ferraro’s wife came out of thehouse, followed by Ferraro who began yelling and cursing at the deputy,challenging him to put down the gun and “fight like a man.” He was ordered tothe ground and refused to comply, continuing to yell challenges at DeputyConde.

Ferraro turned around and began to walk away, putting hishand in his shorts pocket. At that point, the deputy used his Taser to gaincompliance.

Ferraro continued his refusals to comply with the deputiesorders. He was tased two more times before he could be taken safely intocustody.

Further investigations revealed Ferraro did not have a gun;he had actually grabbed a pipe, pointed it at the firefighters and then had hitseveral objects with it, making the loud banging noise.

He was arrested, charged with resisting arrest and he wastaken to jail.

Reminder: traffic will be heavier beginning next week; be safe during the holidays

2011-12-23T14:10:00.001-05:00

The Sheriff’s Office would like to remind everyone that theweek between Christmas and the New Year usually marks the time when our busiestseason starts in the Keys, and traffic begins to get heavy on Highway U.S. One.Keep this in mind as you are traveling and plan extra time for your trip,wherever you may be going. Being patient while driving is crucial to stayingsafe; passing can be very dangerous and because of the oftentimes heavytraffic, passing generally doesn’t get you there much faster.

One particular problem area on the highway is at the trafficlight on Big Pine Key. During the busy tourist season, traffic can back up atthe light and cause significant slowdowns. Smart cameras installed at theintersection have helped this situation somewhat, but it can still be a problem,particularly in the early afternoon. If there are significant backups at thelight this season, the Sheriff’s Office will do it’s best to have deputies inthe area to manually move traffic through the intersection.

During the coming week, if you are planning to attend anyholiday parties and partake in alcoholic beverages, take a moment first to makesure you have a plan for getting home safely. Designate a sober driver, or takea cab home. Please don’t drink and drive.

Have safe and happy holidays from all of us at the Sheriff’sOffice.

Bond agent arrested for paying inmates to solicit bonds

2011-12-23T13:33:00.002-05:00

A bonds agent has been arrested, charged with five counts ofillegally soliciting bonds using inmates in Monroe County jail facilities.

According to an investigation by Detective Francisco Gaete,50 year old Jacqueline Canela used inmates to solicit bonds from other inmates.In return, she offered to reduce the amounts they had to pay her for their own bonds;in some cases she offered to pay the inmates money, either into their canteenaccounts at the jail, or to a family member. Detective Gaete beganinvestigating the case in November after another bonding agent reported the illegalactivity. He told the detective a long-time client of his was being paid tosolicit bonds for Dondee Bail Bonds out of Homestead, Florida.

Detective Gaete began looking into the accusations, pullinga number of audio recordings from the jail’s phone system. He found a largenumber of conversations between Canela and various inmates which confirmed theillegal activity was taking place.

During the course of his investigation, he also found aconversation between 22 year old Gyselle Venero and an inmate at the detentioncenter. During the phone call, Venero claims to be a bond agent and claims towork for Dondee Bail Bonds; she tells the inmate she will pay her if shesolicits bonds for her inside the jail. Further investigation revealed Venerois not a licensed bond agent and is not registered to write bonds for Dondee BailBonds.

Today, Miami Dade Police picked up Canela at her Miami home andbooked her on an outstanding warrant for five counts of using inmates tosolicit bonds; detectives say they have not been able to locate Venero, who iscurrently wanted on one count of acting as a bond agent without a license.

The investigation into the case is continuing and morearrests may be pending.

Boat, stolen from Key Largo, recovered in Mexico

2011-12-23T12:22:00.002-05:00

A yacht, stolen from a Key Largo marina in October, wasrecovered recently in Mexico. Investigations into its theft are continuing.

The 55 foot Sedan Bridge Sea Ray, valued at $800,000,was taken from Marina Del Mar on October 13^th. Called the “Cynthia Marie”,it belonged to a man from Miami Beach. He said he brought the boat to the keysand left it at the marina intending to return later in the week with his familyfor a weekend stay. He said he gave no one permission to take it.

According to detectives working the case, the company whoinsured the vessel recovered it somewhere in Mexico and returned it to theUnited States where it is currently being stored at the U.S. Coast Guardstation in Key West; investigations into the boat’s theft are continuing.

Cudjoe man injures himself and his friend in explosion

2011-12-23T11:55:00.002-05:00

Cudjoe Key – Deputies responded to Doubloon Lane early todayafter neighbors reported hearing a loud booming sound, possibly an explosion.

When Deputies Massiel Brimo, Spencer Bryan and Chris Duncanarrived at 12:30 a.m., a number of residents were standing outside their homes.They told the deputies a truck had just left one of the homes on Doubloon Laneand appeared to be in a hurry. The deputies managed to catch up to the truckand pull it over; the driver, 45 year old Fredrick Lytton, appeared to beimpaired; he said he had just left the house at 131 Doubloon Lane because “abomb just went off”. The deputies asked him if anyone at the house was hurt andhe said yes, a man was in the house and was hurt.

Deputies returned to the house where the explosion occurred;a man and a woman were underneath the house. They were asked to come away fromthe house for their own safety. Sherry and Derwood Stewart told the deputiestheir son, 37 year old Brett Stewart, and his friend Lytton had been drinkingand had blown something up under the house using welding torches. Stewart wasupstairs in the house in the shower with the window open. The deputies couldhear him through the open window moaning in pain. He couldn’t hear them callingto him, however, because his ears had been damaged by the noise of theexplosion.

Paramedics were called to the scene. Sgt. Tom Walkerresponded and was able to shut off the welding torches that were under thehouse and render the scene safe. Deputies were then able to enter and bringStewart out of the house for treatment of his injuries. He suffered burns onhis torso and he was transported to Lower Keys Medical Center for treatment.

Lytton was also transported to the hospital to be checkedfor injuries. Before his transport, he told Deputy Bryan he and Stewart weredownstairs drinking when Stewart said “watch this”. He grabbed a black trashbag and began to fill it with acetylene and oxygen from a welder he uses towork on cars under the house. Steward said as the bag began to expand they bothhad their arms wrapped around it. It exploded in their arms injuring both men.

Sheriff awards first two “Master Deputies”

2011-12-21T15:00:00.002-05:00

Sheriff Bob Peryam recently awarded two Corrections Deputieswith the enhanced “Master Deputy” title, a new program in the Sheriff’s Officefor corrections officers which promotes education and public .

Detention Deputies Brittany Linares and Michelle Heavilandboth earned the title “Master Deputy” by complying with a list of requirements,including:

· At least five years of service with theSheriff’s Office

· Above standard performance evaluations for thepast three years

· An enhanced education, including at least 30semester hours in college, or at least 120 hours of specialized law enforcementtraining

· Meeting all Annual retraining requirements,including maintaining all required certifications, such as CPR, Firearmstraining, training in OC gas, baton, Taser or anything else required by theircurrent assignment

· No discipline in three years

· At least 20 hours of community service /volunteer work in the community in a one year period

In order to maintain their Master Deputy status, they mustcontinue to comply with the requirements of the program each year.

“I believe strongly in the importance of a continuingeducation, and in community service,” said Sheriff Bob Peryam. “This programwas designed to encourage our employees in both those areas,” he said. He saidhe hopes to have a Master Deputy program soon for road patrol officers as well.

Detention Deputy Brittany Linares receives her Master Deputy stripes.

Detention Deputy Michelle Heaviland receives her Master Deputy stripes.

Shopping for Toyz for Keyz Kidz

2011-12-20T12:32:00.003-05:00

And now, the fun part! Last week, shoppers fanned out
county-wide buying up massive amounts of toys
with the money donated to Toyz for Keyz Kidz. The toys
were distributed over the weekend to needy families
to make sure Monroe County kids all have a terrific Christmas!!!
Top, Upper Keys Records Supervisor Peggy Bryan and her group.
Bottom, Det. Sgt. Linda Mixon and her crew.

Santa and Mrs. Claus

2011-12-20T12:24:00.001-05:00

Islamorada Captain Corey Bryan and Records Supervisor
Peggy Bryan were Santa and Mrs. Claus at Light up Key Largo recently.

Pageant raises money for Toyz for Keyz Kidz

2011-12-20T12:22:00.003-05:00

A beauty pageant held in Marathon raised money for
Toyz for Keyz Kidz this past weekend. Above,
Below, some of the participants that made it all happen.

Cadets continue to learn and grow

2011-12-20T12:14:00.004-05:00

Upper Keys Cadets continue to develop their skills, this week learning
First Responder techniques from Assistant Fire Chief Terry Abel from
the Islamorada Fire Department.

Deputies clean up the shoreline in Islamorada

2011-12-20T12:13:00.002-05:00

Members of the dive team and boat deputies turned

out for a shoreline clean up in Islamorada recently,

removing a large garbage can full of trash from the water.

Traffic stop leads to Marijuana arrest

2011-12-17T10:34:00.003-05:00

Key Largo – Deputies on routine patrol stopped a vehiclewhich was driving with it’s headlights off. They found a large amount ofmarijuana inside.

Deputy Bryan Cross and Sgt. Jason Madnick saw the goldcolored Suburban turn onto the highway from a side street near the 97 milemarker at 1 a.m. The vehicle did not have its headlights on. As the car passedthe two patrol cars, the driver turned on his vehicle’s lights. Deputy Crossdecided to pull the vehicle over to make sure the driver was all right.

As Deputy Cross approached the car, he heard something hitthe ground on the passenger side, as if it was thrown from the window. Sgt.Madnick recovered a glass smoking pipe on that side of the vehicle. On thefloorboards in the back of the Suburban, Deputy Cross spotted a bud ofMarijuana. Sticking out from under the rear passenger seat was a plastic bagwith 74 grams of marijuana inside. In the rear passenger’s pocket was anotherplastic bag with 14 grams of marijuana inside. He also had $604 in cash in hispockets, which was seized.

19 year old Daniel Ospina of Tavernier, was arrested forpossession of marijuana after admitting all the marijuana was his. The frontpassenger, 19 year old Kevin Henry of Tavernier, admitted the pipe was his sohe was issued a notice to appear in court for possession of drug paraphernalia.The driver, 19 year old Erdel Yanes of Plantation Key, was issued a warning fordriving without headlights.

Operation Taxi Cab Confessions

2011-12-16T11:56:00.000-05:00

Special Investigations Detectivescompleted an extensive investigation Thursday they called Taxi Cab Confessions.

Over a four month time period,undercover detectives worked as cab drivers in the Marathon area. During thecourse of the investigation, they purchased a number of illegal substances frompeople and purchased stolen property as well. Detectives made purchases ofmarijuana and cocaine, and also purchased six stolen GPS devices and two stolenradar detectors. The stolen property was traced back to a number of carburglaries which took place between Marathon and Cudjoe Key.

Detectives were able to identify anumber of drug dealers, as well as where they lived. On Thursday morning, theywrapped up the investigation by serving a search warrant at the Marathonhome of a woman who had sold them cocaine on two occasions.

The warrant was served at 10 a.m. Wednesday, at 167 23^rdStreet Ocean in Marathon. The search turned up a black zippered case with tengrams of powdered cocaine and two and a half crack cocaine cookies inside. Thecase was hidden outside the back of the house.

38 year old Pshantell Scott was on the premises when thewarrant was served and was taken into custody for two outstanding warrants forsale of cocaine. The warrants were issued during the course of Operation TaxiCab Confessions. She was booked into jail.

During the course of the day,detectives also served more outstanding warrants issued as a result ofOperation Taxi Cab Confessions, including:

46 year oldLetty Ann Laster of Marathon, charged with Sale of cocaine andSale of Marijuana.
45 year old GregoryAllen Davis of Marathon, charged with 3 counts of Sale of cocaine and Sale ofMarijuana.
18 year oldAric Tanner Jinks of Marathon, charged with 2 counts of Sale of Marijuana.
17 year oldYosvany Torna charged with 3 counts of dealing in stolen property and 2counts of sale of marijuana.

Several more arrests are expectedin connection with the operation.

Stolen truck, excavator recovered in Miami

2011-12-15T06:10:00.000-05:00

Miami – Miami Dade Police recovered a stolen tractor trailerrig with the excavator machinery on the back taken from Marathon.

The truck was stolen sometime between December 8^thand December 11^th. It was being used in connection with sewer workin the Marathon area.

The equipment was found, abandoned, at 3611 N.W. South RiverDrive in Miami. According to reports, the ignition had been punched on thetruck in order to start it.

There was no arrest made in the case, which is still underinvestigation.

Bank Robbery on Stock Island

2011-12-14T14:52:00.002-05:00

Stock Island – Sheriff’s detectives are investigating a bankrobbery at a branch of First State Bank on Maloney Avenue, Stock Island.

At 11 a.m. today, a man walked in to the bank and demandedmoney from one of the tellers. She complied with his request and he left onfoot in an unknown direction of travel. The white male suspect was wearing adark blue hooded sweatshirt, with the hood pulled up and long blue jeans. Hisface was covered with a black ski mask, and he was wearing white colored latexgloves. Witnesses said he had bright blue eyes and spoke with an accent. He didnot display any weapons during the robbery.

A detective was on the scene within four minutes, but asearch of the vicinity did not result in an apprehension of the suspect. Thelead investigator on the case is Detective Donald Catala.

Anyone with information about this crime should contact theSheriff’s Office. Callers who wish to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppersof the Florida Keys. If a tip leads to an arrest, the caller would be eligiblefor a cash reward. The Crime Stoppers hot line number is 1-800-346-TIPS. Tipsmay also be submitted on like at www.tipsubmit.com.

Explorers visit Osceola County

2011-12-12T14:43:00.000-05:00

Monroe County Explorers took part in a boot camp in Osceola County this past weekend. Alex Rojas took first place in semi-auto pistol competition, Tyree Division (top picture). The rest of the group participated in team building skills, including a rope obstacle course with a zip line and other activities. As part of the whole event, all the kids also got to attend a dinner show at the Arabian Knights dinner theater where they all had a terrific time(bottom picture).

Cadets train with Major Crimes

2011-12-12T14:40:00.001-05:00

Sheriff’s Cadets from Post 905, Plantation Key School received a visit from Major Crimes Detective Dan Mehler. Det. Mehler discussed the duties of investigators and their role compared to uniform patrol officers. Mehler demonstrated some of the equipment used for search warrants and other responsibilities of the unit.

Sheriff's Office celebrates the holiday season!Chief

2011-12-12T14:31:00.001-05:00

Chief Lou Caputo as the Grinch at Fishermen's Hospital tree lighting ceremony.
On his left, Sgt. Amanda Coleman; on his right, Lt. Charlene Sprinkle-Huff.

Detective Manny Cuervo as Santa at the Marathon Library.

Sheriff Bob Peryam at Fishermen's Hospital tree lighting ceremony.

Kids raise money for kids!

2011-12-12T14:28:00.004-05:00

Keys Cops for Kids helped raise over $350 for Kreative Kids Christian Academy
in the first annual Yard Sale. Special thanks to Dakota Coleman and
Jake MacCrory for working the tables!

Light Up Key Largo

2011-12-12T14:23:00.004-05:00

The Sheriff’s Office was well represented December 7th at the Light Up Key Largo event,
held at the Murray Nelson Building in Key Largo. Left to right, Lt. Derek Paul,
Lt. Nancy Alvarez, Colonel Rick Ramsay, Victim Advocate Debbie Shepherd,
Chief Lou Caputo, Victim Advocate Carol Albury-Johnson and Captain Don Fanelli.

Teen arrested for throwing rocks at deputies

2011-12-12T12:45:00.005-05:00

Marathon – An 18 year old Marathon teen was arrested earlySunday after he threw rocks at two patrol cars, and then fled when deputiestried to stop him.

Sgt. Joel Slough and Nicholas Abroe responded to 55^thStreet just before midnight Saturday after reports that someone was throwingrocks at vehicles parked at the BrassMonkey bar. While they were parked in the lot investigating, they heard rocksimpacting the parking lot beside their vehicles; then they saw a rock hit oneof the patrol cars.

They began walking around the area looking for suspects in therock throwing incidents. They found a young man, later identified as SeanQuinlan. When Quinlan saw Sgt. Slough, be took off running. The sergeant ranafter him, through Eastwind Apartments. During the chase, he knocked overseveral items, including a large propane grill. A witness tried to stop him,holding him for a short time, but Quinlan broke away and kept running, hidingin a mangrove area near the apartments.

Deputy Abroe, Deputy Anthony O’Dea and Sgt. Slough searchedthe area. Quinlan was finally apprehended. When the sergeant asked him why heran, he said he was afraid he would be arrested for throwing rocks. He wascharged with throwing a deadly missile, criminal mischief and resisting arrest.He was booked into jail.

Tractor Trailer rig reported stolen

2011-12-12T12:45:00.002-05:00

Marathon – Deputies in Marathon took an auto theft reportthat was rather unusual over the weekend. An oversize tractor trailer truckwith an Excavator on the back was taken from its parking spot on 122^ndStreet in Marathon.

Sunday night, an employee of H.L. Pipeline company called toreport the truck had been taken. He said he is currently working on the sewerproject in the city of Marathon. He said he parked and locked the truck on theafternoon of December 8^th. When he returned to the area on Sundayevening, it was gone. A red caution flag that had been in the truck was foundalong with some broken glass.

The truck is a Mack Truck with a Lowboy trailer. It had aPC300 Track Excavator on the back. He said it is 75 feet long, almost 12 feetwide and over 14 feet tall; it is so wide it requires an escort permit tooperate on the highway.

Detectives will be investigating the case.

Detectives working to find owners of stolen property

2011-12-12T12:44:00.001-05:00

Sheriff’s detectives say they are trying to find the ownersof property recovered during the investigation of automobile burglaries in theupper Keys.

On December 6^th, 39 year old Jason Seeger of KeyLargo was arrested after he was caught trying to sell a power saw he had stolenfrom a vehicle on Plante Street in Key Largo. In his car, detectives found alarge amount of stolen property. Subsequent investigations revealed Seeger hadburglarized a number of vehicles parked unlocked on the streets of Key Largo. Hehas been charged with at least eight vehicle burglaries so far with morecharges possibly pending. Much of the stolen property has been returned to theowners of those cars.

During the course of the investigation, though, detectivessay they found property in his possession that did not come from any burglariesreported to the Sheriff’s Office. In addition, Seeger told detectives he’dcommitted an estimated 30 burglaries during his crime spree.

“We believe there are quite a few victims out there whosevehicles were burglarized who have not reported it,” said Captain Don Fanelli. “Weneed those people to come forward so we can return their property to them,” hesaid.

Stock Island man charged with burglary

2011-12-09T05:45:00.001-05:00

Stock Island – A Stock Island man caught burglarizing avehicle Thursday afternoon was arrested.

Deputy Kim Trullender responded to reports a man hadburglarized a car and was now fleeing onfoot down Suncrest Avenue at 4:30 p.m. When he arrived, the owner of a vehiclerepair business was detaining a man he said he caught in the act ofburglarizing a Lincoln Aviator parked at his business.

The suspect at first identified himself as Jose Fernandez;he later admitted this name was false. He was finally identified as 30 year oldDaniel Rodriguez. He could give no explanation as to why he’d been inside thevehicle that did not belong to him. A large amount of change was found in hispocket.

He was placed under arrest for vehicle burglary and giving a false name to a lawenforcement officer. Once at the jail, a check on his name revealed fiveoutstanding warrants for writing bad checks. He was also charged with thosewarrants and was booked into jail.

Search warrant in Layton

2011-12-08T14:16:00.001-05:00

Layton- Sheriff's Special Investigations Detectives served a searchwarrant at 9:30 a.m. today on a house in Layton suspected of drugactivity.

Thewarrant was served at 119 Long Key Lake Dr. Unit 3. Detectives receivedinformation from road patrol deputies that they noticed the smell of marijuanafrom this location. Detectives made contact with George Mitchell Allen at hisfront door. When he answered the door, detectives were overwhelmed with theodor of marijuana coming from inside. They were able to obtain a search warrantfor the residence. A search revealed two rooms and three closets beingused to cultivate a total of 42 marijuana plants. The search also turned upapproximately 3 pounds of processed marijuana, some that was pre-packaged forsale.

Allenwas charged with cultivation of marijuana, possession of marijuana with intentto sell, and possession of drug paraphernalia and he was booked into jail. BorderPatrol assisted in the investigation.

California man arrested for fraudulent charges on credit card, cell phone

2011-12-08T11:14:00.001-05:00

A California man who used to live and work in the Keys is injail in Monroe County, accused of using the credit card belonging to his formeremployer to make purchases; he also used the business’s cellular phone accountwithout permission, racking up over a thousand dollars worth of charges.

In December of 2010, the owner of Florida Keys Party Rentalscalled to report someone had used his business credit card to charge merchandisefrom Amazon.com without his permission. When Detectives contacted Amazon.com,they were given the email address used to make the charges and the address theitems were shipped to. The address came back to the sister of 26 year old DavidAcerra, and the address came back to a previous address of his; an addresswhere his ex-wife and child still live in Beverly Hills, California.

Acerra’s sister said she did not give her brother permissionto use her email address. She said she received an email confirmation of thepurchase and confronted him about it. He admitted to fraudulently using thecredit card. She told detectives he had the credit card information becauseboth she and Acerra had worked for the company.

In February of 2011, while the credit card investigation wasstill going on, the business manager discovered the same email address had beenused to change the business’s Verizon Wireless account on line. Investigationsrevealed Acerra had changed the email address so the business would no longerreceive their billing statements, then had charged goods and services totalingover $1,000.00 to the account without permission between February 2010 andFebruary of 2011.

Warrants were issued for Acerra for two counts of grandtheft and fraudulent use of a credit card. On Wednesday, he was returned to theKeys from California to face the charges.

Key Largo man caught with stolen property

2011-12-08T11:13:00.001-05:00

Key Largo – A Key Largo man was arrested Tuesday afternoon after he was found to have a large amount of stolen property in his vehicle.

Deputies were dispatched to a business in Tavernier after someone reported a suspicious person in the area. When they arrived, 39 year old Jason Seeger was just returning to his car. The owner of the business told deputies Seeger had just tried to sell him a concrete saw. An employee of the business said he saw Seeger trying to clean some lettering off of the saw before trying to sell it and thought it was suspicious, so he called the Sheriff’s Office.

In Seeger’s car, deputies found a large amount of property, including power tools, snorkeling gear, a computer, cash and other tools. The property was traced back to four vehicle burglaries which had been reported that same day. The burglaries took place on Plante Street, 4 Road and Island Drive in Key Largo. The concrete saw Seeger had been trying to sell came from a vehicle on Plante Street.

Seeger told deputies he got the property from someone named “Joe”, but couldn’t provide “Joe’s” last name, where he lives or his phone number.

Also in Seeger’s possession was a prescription bottle with 61 Oxycodone pills inside. He had taken the prescription from his female roommate. She told deputies she did not give him permission to take the pills. A Sunpass transponder was found in the car which was traced back to a Key Largo woman. When deputies contacted her, she told them her car had been burglarized recently and her Sunpass was the only thing stolen.

Seeger was arrested. He was charged with two counts of theft, dealing in stolen property, possession of a controlled substance without a prescription and with burglary. More charges are pending as detectives match property with burglary reports and trace the stolen property to the owners.

Animal Farm Christmas Celebration

2011-12-06T12:06:00.001-05:00

Santa and Mrs. Claus will be visiting the farm.

Join the Sheriff’s Office and the Sheriff’s Animal Farm onSunday, December 18^th for the Annual Christmas on the Farmcelebration!

Bring the family and join the fun at the farm; the event isfree of charge and offers something for everyone. There will be Christmas musicby local musicians from Horace O’Bryant Middle School, a visit and photo withSanta and Mrs. Claus; face painting, arts and crafts and, of course, visitswith all the animals at the farm.

Mark your calendars and come to the farm between 1 and 3p.m. on December 18^th. The farm is located just off of College Road,at the Sheriff’s Office on Stock Island.

MARC House Christmas

2011-12-06T09:56:00.001-05:00

In the spirit of the season, members of the Sheriff’s Office unloaded Christmas trees at the MARC house in Key West recently. Left to right, Lt. Jon Crane, Capt. Gene Thompson, Lt. Donnie Elomina, Colonel Rick Ramsay and Chief Mike Rice. The MARC House has great trees, as well as ornaments, wreaths, poinsettias; they also have a nice plant nursery as well. They are located in the city of Key West, at in back of May Sands School on United Street.

CART team members attend training

2011-12-06T09:53:00.001-05:00

Ten members of Monroe County’s Child Abduction Response team (CART) attended a four day training in Miami recently. Members included Victim Advocate Debbie Shepherd and Detective’s Dan Mehler and Manny Cuervo. From Islamorada Fire K9 Search and Rescue, Dr. Glade, Lt. Abel, Jason Mumper, Adam Geaneas and Miriam Barkus. Mike McKay from DEP and Stacie Swain from DCF.

The class included a candle light vigil for missing and abducted children. The candle light vigil was attended by families of missing and abducted children from all over the country.

Monroe County’s CART team is one of only 17 teams that is nationally certified. They have conducted two mock exercises in the past three years. Along with the unconditional support of Sgt. Linda Mixon, members of the CART have attended some of the best training available.

Toyz for Keyz Kidz

2011-12-06T09:48:00.001-05:00

Detective Sgt. Linda Mixon, accepting donations for Toyz for Keyz Kidz. Top, Organized Fishermen donates to the cause; Bottom, the Shriners donated to the toy drive, which seeks to provide Christmas toys to needy families in Monroe County. To find out more aboiut Toyz for Keyz Kidz, go to www.keysso.net and clink on the link at the top right.

Traffic Unit participates in air / speed operation

2011-12-06T09:47:00.001-05:00

The Sheriff's Office Traffic Unit conducted an aircraft speed enforcement detail in November in Tavernier.

Deputy Mike Sharp was in the airplane clocking vehicles southbound at the 93 mile marker, where

there have been numerous complaints about speeding.

Key Largo man arrested after domestic incident

2011-12-04T08:20:00.001-05:00

Key Largo – A Key Largo man who beat and kicked his live-ingirlfriend was stabbed in the foot as she defended herself; he was alsoarrested and taken to jail.

A neighbor who lives in the vicinity of Kay Drive and AvenueA called the Sheriff’s Office at 2 a.m. today to report two people fighting inthe street. He told responding Deputy Vaughn O’Keefe the man knocked the womanto the ground and was kicking and “stomping” her. He said he saw her grab hercell phone to call for help, and saw the man smash the phone on the ground.

When Deputy O’Keefe arrived, along with Deputies Brian Crossand Pedro Garcia, the couple was gone, but as he began driving around looking forthem, he found them near Avenue A and Village Drive. He saw the man throw thewoman to the ground and heard her screaming.

As he accelerated toward them, both people ran into a houseat 27 Avenue A. He knocked on the door of the residence and announced himself.A woman – the victim – answered the door.

She told Deputy O’Keefe she and her boyfriend, 31 year old Jesus Galindo, had been fighting. Shesaid she went outside because she has three young children and didn’t want tofight in front of them. She said at one point she was able to run back into thehouse and grab a steak knife which she used to defend herself. She said shetried to call for help twice, but Galindo smashed the first phone and removedthe battery from the second phone, telling her she could not call anyone forhelp.

She said at one point, Galindo was hitting and kicking herand she pulled out the steak knife. She said he tried to kick it out of herhand and the knife went through his foot.

Galindo was found in the residence with the knife bladestill all the way through his right foot. He was taken to the hospital fortreatment of his injury, then was booked into jail for domestic battery and twocounts of depriving the victim of the ability to call 911.

Traffic stop results in drug arrest

2011-12-04T08:18:00.001-05:00

Marathon – A Key West man, stopped after he was reported asa reckless driver, was arrested on drug charges.

Sheriff’s dispatchers received a call about a recklessdriver at 9 p.m. Saturday. The caller said a silver Hyundai was northbound atthe 33 mile marker and was swerving in it’s lane.

Deputy Nicholis Whiteman was at 15^th Street inMarathon when he saw the car pass him a short time later. He followed it,observed it swerving in the roadway, and pulled it over at Highway U.S. One and55^th Street. As the driver, 52 year old Timothy Homrighausen, exitedthe car, the deputy could smell Marijuana coming from inside.

Deputy Whiteman called for an assist by K-9 team DeputyDanielle Malone and Tracer. The dog alerted on the car, indicating the presenceof drugs inside. A search of the vehicle turned up Marijuana, Hash, Heroin anda number of pills of various sorts.

Homrighausen was arrested. His car was seized for possibleforfeiture, along with $1,880.00 in cash found inside. Homrighausen was chargedwith possession of all the illegal substances and possession of drugparaphernalia. He was booked into jail.

Stabbing in Marathon

2011-12-03T06:25:00.001-05:00

Marathon – A man was airlifted to a Miami hospital afterbeing stabbed Friday evening.

Witnesses say they saw the victim, Francisco Alvarez,driving a white Chevrolet pickup truck in the parking lot of D & D Seafoodon Coco Plum Road just before 6 p.m. They told Deputy Danielle Malone thesuspect was walking on the bike path when it looked like Alvarez tried to hithim with the truck.

The victim then reportedly parked the truck, got out and aconfrontation ensued between the two men. The victim swung his fists at thesuspect; the suspect then reached into his pocket and pulled out a knife. Thesuspect swung the knife, stabbing the victim in the area of his shoulder andneck.

The victim reportedly began running away with the suspectchasing him. The victim was found about a quarter mile away, down Coco PlumRoad. The suspect fled the scene on a moped.

The victim was airlifted to Kendall Regional Medical Centerin Miami for treatment of his injuries. The suspect is still at large.Investigations continue.

Confrontation with gun leads to arrest

2011-12-01T13:48:00.001-05:00

Marathon – A confrontation between two men this morninginvolving a gun led to the arrest of the gun-wielding suspect for aggravatedassault.

The suspect, 46 year old Jorge Fundora of Hollywood,Florida, reportedly pulled up to the fuel dock on Oceanview Avenue at 5:19 a.m.in his pickup truck with two other men. The victims, 47 year old Luis Rodriguezand 19 year old Andrew Morales of Marathon, were already there getting ready togo out on a boat.

Fundora allegedly confronted Rodriguez, telling him they had“unfinished business”. Rodriguez, who told Deputy Joshua Brady he feltthreatened by the three men, said he picked up a wooden stick and a tire ironto defend himself if necessary. At that point, Morales stepped between the twomen in an attempt to stop the confrontation.

Fundora then reportedly got into his truck and drove a shortdistance away. He returned on foot carrying a handgun. He pointed it atRodriguez and threatened to shoot him. Morales again intervened, steppingbetween the two men. Rodriguez ran away from the scene, yelling that he wasgoing to call the Sheriff’s Office for assistance.

According to Fundora, the confrontation was sparked whenRodriguez pulled up next to him at a traffic light and began to yell at him andthreaten him. Fundora said he then followed Rodriguez to the docks to confronthim about it.

After interviewing all the witnesses at the scene todetermine what happened, Deputy Brady arrested Fundora, charging him with twocounts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and improper exhibition of afirearm. The gun was seized along with Fundora’s concealed weapon permit. He wastaken to jail.

Robber returned to face charges

2011-12-01T06:39:00.001-05:00

Stock Island – A man wanted for attempting to rob the BurgerKing restaurant on Stock Island was returned to Monroe County to face thecharges.

38 year old Derek Shaeffer is accused of entering the BurgerKing on November 6^th at 8:30 p.m. He demanded money from an employeebehind the counter, saying he had a gun. Shaeffer had something covering hisleft hand and arm.

The employee told him he’d have to get a key to the cashregister and left the counter area. When Shaeffer realized the employee was notgoing to return, he left the restaurant.

He was identified from video surveillance footage by adeputy who knew his identity and subsequently identified in a photo line up bythe restaurant employee. A warrant was issued for his arrest for robbery.

Shaeffer was in custody in Miami-Dade County on the warrantand was returned to Monroe County overnight to face the local charges.

Man who fled from deputies is arrested

2011-12-01T06:37:00.001-05:00

Plantation Key - a man who fled from deputies in hisBMW on the afternoon of November 11^th was arrested Wednesday.

Deputy Luis Gomez was at the 89 mile marker of the highwayat 2:30 p.m. when he saw 26 year old Richard Roof drive by in his white BMW.Deputy Gomez knew Roof had outstanding warrants for grand theft and violationof probation, so he pulled behind him and attempted to stop the car with hislights and sirens activated.

Instead of stopping Roof fled, turning on to several sidestreets at a high rate of speed. Deputy Gomez lost sight of the vehicle. Sgt.Roy Bogue found it a short time later, parked on the old highway at SchoonerBay Drive. In the car was a woman and her eight year old daughter. They toldSgt. Bogue Roof had jumped out of the car and fled into a wooded area.

The car was seized. A warrant was issued for Roof. OnWednesday, he was arrested and charged with fleeing from deputies, and with theoriginal warrants for grand theft and VOP. He was booked into jail.

Stock Island man charged with burglary

2011-12-01T06:36:00.001-05:00

Stock Island – A woman who lives in an apartment on 7^thAvenue returned home early Wednesday to find a man sleeping in her apartment.He was arrested for burglary.

The victim found 45 year old Amado Cardenas sleeping on herliving room floor when she got home shortly after 7 a.m. She told deputies shetried to wake him, but he wouldn’t wake up so she called the Sheriff’s Office.

The house was disturbed; Cardenas had helped himself toalcoholic beverages, gone through her drawers and taken cash and medicationsfrom her. He had also tried to take her flat screen television off of the wall.

Cardenas said he thought he was in his ex-girlfriend’shouse. His ex-girlfriend lives next door to the victim.

Cardenas was arrested, charged with burglary and theft andhe was booked into jail.

Missing woman home safe

2011-11-30T11:57:00.001-05:00

The elderly woman reported missing November 28^thfrom her Tavernier home has been located, according to her family.

Deputies spoke with her family today and confirmed she washome and safe. She told them she left driving the family car, a 2005 Pacifica;she told them she got a flat tire a short time after leaving and called herhusband to pick her up.

Weekend events expected to impact traffic

2011-11-29T14:20:00.001-05:00

There are several events this weekend which are expected tohave an impact on traffic in the Florida Keys. Those people planning to be onthe roadways should be aware of the dates and times of these events.

Traffic in the vicinity of Founders Park in Islamorada maybe slowed by the holiday event planned for that location Friday night. Sheriff’sdeputies will be on hand between the hours of 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. to help makesure everyone attending the event, and those simply driving through the area,can do so safely and with as little delay as possible.

On Saturday morning, there will be a triathlon held in thelower Keys which is expected to have some impact on traffic between the Cow KeyBridge on Stock Island, north to the 8 mile marker of the highway. One lane oftraffic flow will be maintained in each direction during the event, but plansome extra time to get through the area if you are planning to travel in thatvicinity between 7 a.m. and 11 a.m.

A large group of motorcycles is expected to travel throughthe Upper Keys Saturday morning participating in a charity event. They shouldbe crossing the county line southbound at about 11 a.m. headed for Islamorada’sHoliday Isle. Law Enforcement will escort the group, which will be kepttogether as they travel. Officers will block intersecting roads for a shorttime as the group of motorcycles passes. Traffic should only be impacted forshort periods of time.

The Sheriff’s Office and Wesley House hold Bike Drive

2011-11-29T09:39:00.001-05:00

The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office in the Lower Keys and theWesley House are working together to provide new bikes to kids for Christmas.

Anyone who wants to donate a bicycle can call and someonewill pick it up. The program accepts new bicycles only, and will be collectingthem from now until December 12^th.

For more information, or to donate a bike, call Sheriff’sOffice Lieutenant Jon Crane at 305-434-5680 or Lisette Cuervo at the WesleyHouse, 305-797-6800.

Register to receive help from Toyz for Keyz Kidz and the Salvation Army

2011-11-29T09:26:00.003-05:00

The Sheriff’s Office and the Salvation Army will beregistering families throughout the Keys who need help this holiday season. Thetwo agencies work together during the holidays to provide toys to needyfamilies.

In the Upper Keys, registration will be held Wednesday,December 7^th from 3 – 5 p.m. and on Thursday, December 8^thfrom 4 – 6 p.m. at the Roth Building at 50 Highpoint Road on Plantation Key.Registrants should bring with them proof of income, a birth certificate foreach child and proof the family lives in Monroe County, which would includerental receipts, a driver’s license, a utility bill or some similar itemshowing a name and address.

In the Middle and Lower Keys, the Salvation Army will betaking applications from now until December 9^th, Monday throughFriday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Applications can be picked up at 1920Flagler Avenue in Key West and at 2805 Overseas Highway in Marathon.

For more information about Toyz for Keyz Kidz, contactTiffany O’Connell in the Lower Keys at 305-296-2424, Linda Mixon in the MiddleKeys at 305-797-0089 or Peggy Bryan in the Upper Keys at 305-853-3211.

Donations of cash, or new, unwrapped toys can be made at anySheriff’s Office building in the Florida Keys.

Motorcycle event may impact traffic in the upper Keys

2011-11-29T09:26:00.001-05:00

Over 500 motorcycles will be escorted through the upper KeysSaturday morning as part of the Police Officer Assistance Trust (POAT) HolidayGifts for Surviving Children program.

The group will cross the county line on Highway U.S. One atabout 11 a.m. on Saturday; they will be escorted from there to Holiday Isle inIslamorada by Sheriff’s Office Traffic Enforcement Officers along with officersfrom other South Florida law enforcement agencies. As the motorcycles passintersections on the highway, the intersections will be temporarily closeduntil the entire group passes.

“I ask that people be patient during this event. Closureswill be short term and should not impact traffic too much. This event raisesmoney for a terrific cause and should not cause too much trouble for thetraveling public,” said Captain Don Fanelli, Upper Keys District Commander.

The event raises money for the children of law enforcementofficers killed in the line of duty in South Florida. According to informationfrom Rudy Gonzalez, Chief of Staff for POAT, there are now 71 children ofofficers from 14 different law enforcement agencies who benefit from theprogram. The program provides the children with gifts during the holidayseason, and lets them know the deaths of their parents have not, and will notbe, forgotten.

For more information about POAT, or about the Holiday Giftsfor Surviving Children program, call Lt. Rudy Gonzalez at 305-471-2312 or emailhim at r.gonzalez01@mdpd.com. Youcan also visit their website at www.POAT.org.

Elderly woman missing from Tavernier

2011-11-28T14:45:00.001-05:00

Tavernier – An elderly Tavernier woman who suffers fromdementia is missing and her family would like to know where she is, and thatshe is safe.

77 year old Ivette Lemmet apparently left her home at 824Bonito Lane sometime after 8:15 a.m. after her husband left for a doctor’sappointment. When he returned at 11 a.m., she was gone. She is believed to bedriving a blue 2000 Chrysler Pacifica with Florida tag L464DW.

Lemmet is a Hispanic female, with gray hair she often wearsin a pony tail. She is 4’11” tall, 160 pounds and was last seen wearing a pinkshirt and gray pants.

Her family thinks she may be headed northbound. Her daughterlives in Fort Lauderdale, and Lemmet and her husband used to live in the Orlandoarea.

A Silver Alert has been issued for her anda photo of her should be available shortly. The Sheriff’sOffice would like anyone with any information about her location to contact 911immediately.

Marathon man arrested for hatchet attack

2011-11-27T08:40:00.001-05:00

Marathon – A Marathon man is in jail, charged with cuttinganother man with a hatchet.

Witnesses say 32 year old Maykel Borges had been coming totheir trailer in Trailerama Trailer Park on 15^th Street all day Fridayasking for beer. They said they gave him several beers during the course of theday, but when they told him the last time to go away and leave them alone, heleft, then returned with a hatchet. He reportedly began arguing with people atthe trailer, then swung the hatchet at one man, cutting him on the side withit. Borges then dropped the weapon and left the scene.

When deputies arrived just after 6 p.m., they recovered thehatchet and found Borges at his own trailer, not far away. He was arrested,charged with aggravated assault and aggravated battery, and he was booked intojail. The victim was transported to Fishermen’s Hospital for treatment of a smallcut on his side.

Marathon man charged with using stolen credit card

2011-11-27T08:38:00.001-05:00

Marathon – A Marathon man who tried to use a stolen creditcard at the Winn Dixie store in Marathon Saturday afternoon was arrested.

The victim told deputies he’d been at Sombrero Beach thatafternoon and his vehicle was burglarized. He said he had several credit cardsstolen. He said he reported the cards stolen to the credit card company. He wastold they had been used several places in town prior to him reporting themstolen.

According to reports by Deputy Chuck Kellenberger, one ofthe places the cards were used was Winn Dixie. At that store, suspect 36 yearold Jose Ortiz and two women tried topurchase over $700.00 worth of merchandise. Ortiz swiped the card and it wasdeclined; as he was attempting to pay, the women took the shopping cart full ofitems out to the parking lot. Once the card was declined, the cashier and anotheremployee went out to the parking lot to retrieve the merchandise.

They got most of the items back from the suspect and the twowomen with him, although several items remain missing. They then called theSheriff’s Office to report the incident, giving deputies a description of thetruck the suspect was driving.

Deputies found the truck at Publix in Marathon a short timelater. Ortiz and the two women were in the truck. Ortiz denied using a stolencard, instead saying he tried to use two of his own cards which were declined.One of the women admitted they had all been at Sombrero beach that afternoon, although when Ortiz wasquestioned, he said they’d all been on the boat that afternoon.

No credit cards were recovered, but Ortiz was positivelyidentified by the Winn Dixie cashier as the man who used the stolen creditcards. Ortiz was arrested, charged with theft and fraudulent use of a creditcard and he was booked into jail.

Marathon man charged with fleeing from deputies, hit and run accident

2011-11-24T09:16:00.001-05:00

Marathon – A Marathon man is under arrest after he fled fromdeputies early Wednesday, hitting a parked car in the process.

Deputy Nicholas Abroe was northbound on U.S. One at 62^ndStreet at 4 a.m. when he saw 37 year old Jack Carlson and a woman getting into ablack Chevrolet Corvette in the parking lot of Dion’s Quik Mart. The car’s topwas down as Carlson pulled onto the highway behind the deputy.

Deputy Abroe pulled off the roadway and saw Carlsonaccelerate past him, well in excess of the 45 mile per hour speed limit. Thedeputy drove back onto the highway and turned on his lights and siren to pullthe car over.

Instead of stopping, Carlson sped up reaching speeds of atleast 100 miles per hour. He ran a red light turning onto at 107^thstreet, sideswiping a parked gray Chevrolet Trailblazer.

He continued fleeing and Deputy Abroe lost sight of thevehicle, which was found abandoned at the rear of Big Time Bait and Tackle, ashop owned by Carlson.

A woman fitting the description of the one in the car withCarlson was found sitting on a bench nearby. She said Carlson had parked thecar and had run down the street.

Several hours later, Carlson showed up at the MarathonSubstation and wanted to report his car stolen. After an interview withdetectives, he was placed under arrest. He was charged with reckless driving,fleeing and eluding police, hit and run and making a false report of a crime.His vehicle was seized for possible forfeiture.

Naples man arrested for shooting kitten

2011-11-22T07:07:00.001-05:00

Tavernier – A 68 year old Naples man was arrested Mondaynight, charged with shooting and killing a kitten with an Airsoft rifle.

A witness staying at Ocean Pointe Condos saw the incident atabout 7 p.m. He said he was watching a mother cat and two kittens about four tofive weeks old below his balcony when he heard a “pop” then saw one black andwhite kitten begin shaking and twitching, then saw it die. He said he looked tothe side and saw the barrel of some sort of gun protruding over the edge of anearby balcony. He called security, and the Sheriff’s Office was notified.

Deputies Tony Conde and James Warino confronted the man whowas staying in the condo where the gun was seen. At first, 68 year old KennethEllis denied shooting the cat. After further questioning, he finally admittedto shooting the animal. The Airsoft rifle with a scope attached was found inthe condo as well.

Ellis was arrested and charged with cruelty to animals andhe was taken to jail.

Man arrested for drugs; found to have counterfeit money

2011-11-22T07:06:00.001-05:00

Detectives with the Sheriff’sOffice Special Investigations Division and the City of Key West Narcotics Unitcompleted a two month investigation Monday into the drug related activities of39 year old Calvin Eugene Lee of Key West.

Detectives had an outstandingwarrant for Lee for trafficking in cocaine; the warrant was a result of theongoing investigation into his activities dealing in illegal drugs. On Mondaymorning, they spotted him driving a 2004 Nissan Titan on North RooseveltBoulevard. As a marked Key West Police vehicle attempted to pull him over, hefled, refusing to stop. As officers followed Lee, they saw him throwing whitepowder out of the vehicle. He finally stopped in the vicinity of George AllenApartments on 1^st Street, where he lives. He was taken into custody.Detectives located white powder over all over the inside of the vehicle. Thiswhite powder field-tested positive for cocaine.

After arresting Lee detectiveswent to the apartment where Lee was staying in George Allen Apartments,apartment F5. Detectives made contact with 60 year old Wanda Lee who gavedetectives consent to search her home. Their detectives located 7 grams ofcocaine pre packaged for sale, and a cocaine press with residue. Detectivesalso located $2,600.00 in hundred dollar bills. Examination of the moneyrevealed all the bills had identical serial numbers identifying the bills ascounterfeit. The money will be turned over to the Secret Service for furtherinvestigation and possible prosecution.

Lee was charged with fleeing andeluding police, possession of cocaine within 1000 feet of public housing,tampering with evidence, and with an outstanding warrant for trafficking incocaine and use of a two way communication device to facilitate a felony. Hewas booked into jail.

Marathon man charged with taxi driver robbery

2011-11-22T07:05:00.001-05:00

Marathon – A 19 year old Marathon man was arrested Monday,charged with robbing a taxi driver at gunpoint in the early morning hours ofNovember 16^th.

Detectives say Keith White called for a taxi to pick him anda friend up from JJ’s Doghouse at 3:15 a.m. Video from the bar showed the twomen getting into the taxi. The taxi driver was able to provide detectives withthe cell phone number White called him from as well.

The driver told detectives he dropped the friend off; Whitethen instructed him to drive to a home on 109^th Street in Marathon.When the driver pulled into the driveway, White pulled a gun, put it to hishead and demanded his money, which he handed over.

The cell phone used to call the taxi was registered toWhite; detectives were able to identify White’s friend from the video. Whenthey called him in and questioned him, he told them he didn’t know White’s nameand hadn’t known him for long. He was able to identify White from a photoline-up. White has many distinctive tattoos, including a cross tattooed on hisface.

A warrant was obtained for White’s arrest and he was pickedup on Monday. He was booked into jail on robbery charges.

Two charged with wrung, undersized lobster

2011-11-22T07:03:00.001-05:00

Craig Key – A deputy on patrol at the Channel Two BridgeMonday morning arrested two men for possessing short lobster, and illegallywrung lobster tails.

Deputy Sydney Whitehouse saw the two men snorkeling near thesouth end of the bridge at 8:30 a.m. When he asked them to exit the water, theyboth dropped their spear guns and something else he could not see well into thewater.

The deputy told the two men to retrieve what they dropped;they got their spear guns, but nothing else. Deputy Whitehouse could see whatlooked like wrung lobster tails in the water, so he called for assistance andMarine Deputy Mike Cofield responded by water on his patrol boat. DeputyCofield went into the water and retrieved six wrung lobster tails, one of whichwas obviously illegally small.

The two men were identified as 34 year old Dixan Diaz Torresof Cape Coral, Florida and 24 year old Yasmany Quesada Montero of Cutler Bay,Florida. They were both issued citations for possession of wrung lobster tails,possession of an undersized lobster tail, spear fishing in an area which doesnot allow it, having no measuring device and displaying no dive flag. They werebooked into jail.

Annual Bowl-a-thon raises money for Christmas toys

2011-11-20T08:53:00.001-05:00

For those of you who like Bowling, you have the opportunityto do just that and to raise money for Christmas toys for Monroe County kids atthe same time.

The Keys Cops for Kids / Toyz for Keyz Kidz Annual Bowl-a-thonis just around the corner.

The event will take place Sunday, December 4^th atthe Fish Bowl in Islamorada, 83230 Overseas Highway. Bowling times are 12 p.m.to 3 p.m. The cost of the event is $25.00 per person which includes unlimitedgames and shoe rental. Each paying adult is asked to bring one unwrapped newtoy for a child aged 12 or younger.

For information, contact Sgt. Dennis Coleman at 305-797-0884or Peggy Bryan at 305-853-3211.

All money raised and toys contributed will go to needyMonore County children.

Two Islamorada restaurants report dry cleaning scam

2011-11-20T08:17:00.001-05:00

Islamorada – Two Islamorada restaurant managers say theiremployees were scammed by a man asking for reimbursement of a dry cleaningbill.

According to reports by Deputy Todd Wyatt, a man called theGreen Turtle Restaurant Thursday. He said he and his wife were leaving town andhe would be stopping by to be reimbursed for a dry cleaning bill. He said heand his wife dined there and a beverage was spilled on his wife’s cashmeresweater. A short time later he stopped and presented a $60.00 dry cleaningbill. He said one of the managers – he even used the manager’s name – had approvedthe reimbursement. He was given the $60.00 and he left. Later, it wasdiscovered the manager whose name he used did not approve such a reimbursement.

The same thing took place on Saturday at Pierre’sRestaurant. A man fitting the same description came in at 3 p.m. and presenteda dry cleaning bill for $60.00 saying a restaurant manager – again he used themanager’s name – approved reimbursement of the bill.

The suspect is described as possibly Hispanic, five foot 7inches tall with a shaved head and he is clean shaven. He was last seen wearinga white button down shirt and khaki pants.

The Sheriff’s Office would just like to make the FloridaKeys business community aware of this scam. If you or your business has been thevictim of a similar incident please contact the Sheriff’s Office to report it.