Drunk man steals forklift from Marathon marina

A drunk man from Rhode Island stole a forklift from a marina because he couldn’t find the keys to his car.

The Sheriff’s Office received a call at 9 p.m. that someone was breaking down the fence with a forklift at Marina Junction in Marathon. When Deputy George Zakariadze arrived on the scene, he saw the entrance gates to the marina broken. The reporting person was there and said he’d seen a white male with blue shorts, a tank top and flip flops breaking out of the marina property on a forklift.. He said he saw the forklift heading toward the Sandal Factory on Ocean Terrance.

Sgt. Juan Martin-Reyes called over the radio that he had the person on the forklift detained near 51^st Street.

The suspect, identified as 44 year old Edward Quinton of Greenwich, Rhode Island, told the officers he was in the Keys helping friends to move here. He said he lost the keys to his car and needed something to drive. He said he knows how to drive a forklift, so he took it from the marina.

When the officers asked about the damage to the marina gates, Quinton said it was OK. He said he would be able to fix the gates because he “was a genius”.

Quinton appeared to be intoxicated; he was given a breathalyzer test and blood alcohol level tested at more than twice the legal limit. He was charged with DUI with property damage, criminal mischief, burglary and grand theft. He was booked into jail.