Key West The Newspaper

Stolen truck recovered; Homestead man arrested

A stolen F350 truck has been recovered and a Homestead man was arrested for fleeing from deputies in it early on Saturday.

Deputies in the Upper Keys are on particular alert when it comes to large pickup trucks because a number of them have been stolen within the past few months. When Deputy Matthew O’Neill spotted a white F350 truck at 6 a.m. northbound on U.S. One at the 97 mile marker of the highway, he asked dispatchers to check the truck’s tag through their computers. The tag turned out to belong to a different vehicle, so he turned on his lights and siren to pull the truck over.

Instead of stopping, the truck fled. It made numerous dangerous high speed maneuvers in an attempt to avoid being apprehended, once almost hitting the deputies vehicle and a second vehicle, braking suddenly, running stop signs and then driving through a parking lot. The driver finally lost control of the truck, crashing into a boulder and some bushes on 2nd Avenue. The driver jumped out and ran from the truck and was seen by witnesses running into the Denny’s Restaurant nearby. He was apprehended without incident inside the restaurant. He was identified as 36 year old Oyantay Perez of Homestead.

A further check on the truck revealed it had been stolen on November 11th from a residential parking spot on Angler’s Way in Islamorada.

Perez was arrested. He was charged with grand theft of a motor vehicle, fleeing an deluding police and resisting arrest. He was booked into jail.

Unknown man found dead on Ramrod Key beach

The body of an unidentified man was found on a beach on Ramrod Key Saturday evening.

Detectives say there was no obvious signs of trauma on the man’s body which was found lying on the remote strip of beach by the owner of the Ramrod Key property and some friends. The dead man had two bottles of water and a small amount of food near him when he was found.

The previous evening – Friday at 6 p.m. – deputies had responded to the area after the U.S. Coast Guard reported seeing a man on the beach in the same area waving as if to get their attention. Deputies responded to the area to look for the man but were unable to find him.

The time of the Coast Guard report was also close to the time a group of migrants were found by the Coast Guard, having landed near Little Palm Island offshore of Little Torch Key, according to detectives.

It is unknown if the dead man was a Cuban migrant or if there is some other explanation for him having been found on a remote strip of beach with no vehicle nearby. The body has been turned over to the Medical Examiner’s Office and detectives with the Sheriff’s Office Major Crimes Unit will be investigating and will be attempting to identify the dead man.

Search warrant served in Marathon

Marathon – A search warrant was served Monday evening in a Marathon residence. Detectives from the Special Investigations Unit, along with Agents for the Drug Enforcement Administration served the warrant at 568 82nd Street (Ocean), in Marathon. Inside the residence Detectives found 31 year old Alana Williams.

The search of the residence turned up trafficking amount of cocaine – approximately thirty one grams – as well as drug paraphernalia and over five hundred and forty dollars of possible drug proceeds. Williams was charged with possession of cocaine with the intend to sell, possession of drug paraphernalia and tampering with evidence. The tampering charge was due to Williams attempting to flush some of the drugs down the toilet as detectives were entering the residence.

Williams was booked into the Marathon jail.

Convicted felon charged with purchasing gun

On Monday, Special Investigation Detectives received information regarding a convicted felon who wanted to purchase a firearm; the information received was that Pulido wanted to use the weapon to rob an armored Wells Fargo truck and subsequently flee with the money to Cuba.

57 year old Jose Pulido of Stock Island purchased a Glock-23, .40 caliber handgun from an undercover operative from the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, for $300.00. The transaction took place at the CVS pharmacy parking lot on Stock Island Monday evening. Pulido did inform the undercover operative he intended to use the firearm to commit an armed robbery. Pulido also had several active warrants for unrelated charges.

Pulido was arrested and charged with possession of a firearm by a Florida convicted felon, conspiracy to commit a first-degree felony (armed robbery), and unlawful use of a two-way device. Pulido was transported to the Key West Jail.

Pulido has felony convictions for sexual battery on a victim under 16 years of age, aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer and fleeing and eluding police. His warrants were all related to sexual offender registration violations.

Search Warrant, Big Pine Key

A search warrant was served Wednesday evening at a Big Pine Key residence. Detectives from the Special Investigations Unit, along with Agents for the Drug Enforcement Administration and Homeland Security Investigations served the warrant at 1309 West Shore Drive, in Big pine Key. Inside the residence Detectives found 52 year old Aaron Pannell and 29 year old Tanya Rego.

The search of the residence turned up over four ounces of cocaine, fifteen grams of crack cocaine, three grams of heroin, sixty grams of hashish, fifty-five grams of marijuana, over twenty Xanax pills; multiple items of drug paraphernalia, more than two hundred other various pills and fifty-two hundred dollars of possible drug proceeds.

Rego was charged with possession of marijuana over twenty grams and possession of drug paraphernalia. Pannell was charged with cocaine trafficking, possession of a controlled substance without a prescription, heroin possession with the intend to sell, possession of Marijuana over twenty grams, possession of a schedule IV substance with the intent to sell, and possession of drug paraphernalia. Additionally, Pannell had an active arrest warrant for sale of cocaine. Both Rego and Pannell were booked into the Key West jail.

Two charged with drug warrants

Two Key West residents were arrested Wednesday, charged with outstanding warrants related to sale of Oxycodone.

The warrants stem from an incident in April; an undercover operative purchased Oxycodone and cocaine at a home on Flagler Avenue in Key West. The sale was facilitated by both 50 year old Odalys Delisle and 56 year old Gerardo Cutino.

After the sale took place, warrants were issued for their arrest. On Wednesday, detectives from the Sheriff’s Special Operations Unit arrested Delisle and Cutino; they were charged with sale of the two illegal substances. Because the Flagler Avenue residence is within 1000 feet of Grace Luthern Church and School, the charges carry an enhanced penalty. When he was arrested, Cutino had cocaine in his possession so he was further charged with possessing cocaine.