Sheriff’s Crime Report
Key West man charged with burglary
A Key West man was arrested Thursday night, charged with burglarizing his ex-girlfriend’s house.
The victim called the Sheriff’s Office at 10:45 p.m. to report her ex-boyfriend was outside her house, pounding on the doors and windows trying to get in. She said she’d locked herself inside with her kids because she was afraid of him.
When Deputies Alexandra Davis and Denise Dery arrived at the house on Sugarloaf Boulevard, they found a silver colored truck parked outside; the suspect, identified as 40 year old Wade Beeman, had entered the house using a hidden key. The victim and her children were locked in the bathroom.
They searched the house for the suspect and did not find him. It appears he left the house through sliding glass doors in the bedroom. When the deputies went back outside, the silver truck, which belongs to Beeman, was gone.
The victim said the only thing missing from the house was two copies of her house keys.
Deputy Davis made contact with Beeman by phone and he agreed to meet with her at his home on Trinity Drive in Key West. He was arrested at that location. He was charged with burglary to an occupied dwelling and theft and he was taken to jail.
Stock Island man faces more charges
A Stock Island man arrested last week for burglarizing a Sugarloaf Key home and pawning the jewelry he stole faces further charges today.
Pawn shop records show that 28 year old Patrick Tierney pawned a number of items reported stolen from a residence on 9th Avenue, Stock Island. The items included three Corona Lite tents and an air compressor, were reported stolen on January 8th.
The items were located at a Key West Pawn Shop and will be returned to the owner. Tierney faces additional charges of grand theft, providing false ownership information during a pawn transaction and dealing in stolen property.
Stock Island man arrested for burglary
A Stock Island man was arrested and charged with breaking into a Sugarloaf Key residence and stealing jewelry.
Deputy Freddy Rodriguez responded to a home on Flying Fish Lane, Sugarloaf Key on February 2nd to a report of a burglary. The residents of the home left around 11 a.m. and returned home at 3 p.m. to find someone had broken in.
Approximately $6,000 worth of jewelry was taken from inside. It appears the suspect broke in through a window and left through the front door.
A witness reported seeing an unfamiliar vehicle in the area – a dark colored Chevrolet Suburban with a large sticker on the driver’s side. A neighbor had surveillance cameras which captured a thin white male wearing blue shorts and a white shirt with long black sleeves on the property about the same time as the burglary took place. The cameras also captured the Chevy Suburban with the large sticker on it in the area at the same time.
Further investigation revealed a vehicle fitting that description parked on 2nd Avenue, Stock Island. Detective David Fernandez, who was assigned to investigate, waited near the vehicle until a man came out and climbed inside. Detective Fernandez pulled the vehicle over and identified the driver as 28 year old Patrick Tierney. Tierney fit the description of the man captured on camera at the scene of the burglary.
A friend who was with Tierney told Detective Fernandez Tierney had given her three rings recently; she turned the rings over to the detective. She also turned over a white shirt with black long sleeves she said belonged to Tierney. In an interview with Tierney, he admitted to breaking in to the home. He said he pawned some of the stolen jewelry at a local pawn shop.
Tierney was arrested. He was charged with burglary, grand theft and criminal mischief and he was booked into jail. The investigation into this case and into other possibly connected cases is continuing. More charges are pending.
Man arrested for threatening behavior
A Canadian man was arrested Thursday night when he threatened to hit another man with a brush from a barbecue grill.
The two men were staying at adjacent campsites at the Fiesta Key campground. The suspect, Daniel Fournier was intoxicated and numerous witnesses said he’d been harassing his neighbors in the campsite next door throughout the day. Security at the campground finally called the Sheriff’s Office after he made threats to hit another man with a large barbecue grill brush. The brush had a sharp scraper on one side and Fournier reportedly held it over his head as if to hit the other man.
The Security officer requested Fournier and his wife be asked to leave the campground. They said the couple could take a taxi to a hotel for the night and return for their belongings in the morning.
Fournier refused to listen when Deputy Seth Hopp told him he would have to leave or be arrested. He was given numerous warnings. Deputy Hopp finally grabbed Fournier by the arm in an attempt to place him in handcuffs and under arrest. Fournier fought with the deputy, struggling to escape from his control.
Fournier was arrested. He was charged with aggravated assault, disorderly intoxication and resisting arrest. He was booked into jail.
Man attacked and robbed in Marathon
A Marathon man told deputies he was attacked and robbed on his way home from work Thursday night.
The 46 year old victim told Deputy Matthew Cory he was riding his bike home from work at about 9:45 p.m. He said he was in the vicinity of the Fairway Market in Marathon when he rode past two men who were walking on the sidewalk. He said he’d seen the men before, around town.
He said one of the men asked him for a cigarette and he stopped to give them one. As he was getting a cigarette out of the pack, the men attacked him. They punched him, knocking him off his bike and onto the ground. They continued to kick and punch him, then rummaged through his pockets. They took his cell phone and his bicycle. They asked him for money, but he said he didn’t have any.
The victim walked to Fishermen’s Hospital for treatment of injuries to his face. The hospital called the Sheriff’s Office to report the attack.
The suspects are described as black males; one in his 30s with “the largest dreads in the city”, according to the victim. The other is in his 40s, very tall with short hair. The victim said the second suspect has only been in town for a short time.
Detective Leon Bourcier has been assigned to investigate the case.
Anyone with information about this crime should contact the Sheriff’s Office. Callers who wish to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers of the Florida Keys. If a Crimestoppers tip leads to an arrest, the caller would be eligible for a cash reward. The Crimestoppers hot line number is 1-800-346-TIPS. Tips may be made anonymously on line at www.tipsubmit.com or via a text message to 274637 using the keyword TIP136.
Woman charged with cashing fraudulent check
A Fort Lauderdale woman was arrested Monday for attempting to cash a fraudulent check at a Key Largo bank.
Sgt. Jason Madnick responded to Centennial Bank at the 100.2 mile marker at 3 p.m. after the bank manager called to report someone attempting to cash a fraudulent check. When he arrived, he encountered 24 year old Rose Marie Normann, who was trying to cash a check for $7,503.99. The check she was trying to cash was similar to a number of fraudulent checks cashed in the past week at Centennial Banks throughout the Keys. Those fraudulent check cases are currently under investigation by Sheriff’s detectives.
The check was written on the account of “Allied Vision Group Inc.” out of Fort Lauderdale. A call to the president of that company confirmed the check to be fraudulent.
Normann had arrived at the bank in a blue Nissan SUV, which was parked at an adjacent business with two men waiting inside. When Sgt. Madnick walked outside to make contact with those two men, they pulled out of the parking lot and began to head southbound on the highway. Deputy Ben Ellmore was on his way to the bank to provide backup and pulled the vehicle over. He identified the two occupants of the car as Armando Mejide Mir and Yoel Perez Corrales, both 24 years old from the Miami area.
In an interview with Sgt. Madnick, Normann said she’d been to the Keys prior to this, a few days before, and cashed another check at a Centennial Bank for a large amount of cash.
She was charged with uttering a forged instrument and criminal use of personal identification. More charges against her and the two men who were with her are pending further investigation.
Traffic stop leads to stolen firearm
A traffic stop led to the arrest of two Homestead men and the seizure of a firearm reported stolen in a vehicle burglary.
Deputy Cody Kerns was on patrol at 7 p.m. Tuesday when he stopped a northbound black Chevrolet Avalanche at the 104 mile marker. The vehicle’s tag light was out. Deputy Kerns made contact with the driver, 34 year old Charles Hanna, who it turned out does not have a valid driver’s license.
Hanna said he was driving the vehicle for a co-worker. Just as he was relating that information to the deputy, a second vehicle – a grey Ford transit van – pulled up behind them. The driver was identified as 43 year old Jacquelyn McCormick. McCormick admitted to knowing Hanna’s license was suspended and letting him drive the vehicle anyway.
Deputy Kerns could smell the odor of marijuana coming from inside the van. He asked both men if they had any weapons in their possession. McCormick said he had a gun – a Luger 9mm handgun – in the center console of the van.
A check of the gun’s serial numbers revealed it had been stolen in a vehicle burglary in Florida City. A backpack in the back seat of the Chevy Avalanche had a container of marijuana in it. Also in the backpack was paperwork with Hanna’s name on it, although Hanna claimed the backpack was not his.
Both men were arrested. Hanna was charged with driving with no valid license and possession of marijuana. McCormick was charged with grand theft of a firearm and allowing someone to drive a motor vehicle knowing they did not have a valid license. They were booked into jail.
Teen arrested for vehicle burglaries
A 16 year old Marathon youth is in jail today. He was charged in connection with multiple vehicle burglaries which took place in the Marathon area late last week.
The 16 year old faces three counts of felony burglary and one count of theft. An expensive pair of Costa sunglasses, stolen from one of the vehicles, was recovered from the suspect and will be returned to the owner. More charges are pending against him and more arrests of additional suspects are expected.
Detectives and deputies took reports of 18 vehicles burglarized in various areas of Marathon between Wednesday morning and Friday morning. A surveillance video of the suspects released to the public netted numerous tips which helped detectives to identify the suspects.
Man dies while diving
A man from New Mexico died while diving offshore of the Upper Keys, on the wreck of the Eagle.
The man’s name is being withheld until detectives can notify his next of kin.
The man was on a dive trip with Key Dives on the vessel Giant Stride when the incident occurred at 9:45 a.m. He was diving with two others when he surfaced and became unresponsive. He was pulled on board the boat and CPR was performed as they brought him back to Bud and Mary’s Marina in Islamorada.
He was pronounced dead at Mariner’s Hospital. An autopsy will be done to determine the cause of his death.