Big Pine man arrested for fleeing

A Big Pine Key man was arrested Thursday evening for fleeing from a traffic stop.

Deputy Ryan Chlebanowski was on patrol at the 10 mile marker of the highway just before 8 p.m. when he saw a suspicious vehicle. The Dodge Caravan was parked on the side of the road, facing traffic; the driver was inside. Deputy Chlebanowski stopped his patrol car behind the van to ask the driver what he was doing there.

The driver, later identified as  39 year old Nakomus Kyle McCauley, refused to tell the deputy why he was there or what his name was. When the deputy returned to his patrol car to call his supervisor, McCauley took off, northbound. Deputy Chlebanowski followed him with his lights and siren. McCauley finally stopped at the 13 mile marker.

Backup officers arrived. McCauley was placed under arrest for fleeing from a law enforcement officer. His identification was located and a computer check on his name revealed he was wanted in Indian River County for two counts of failure to appear in court. A check on his driver’s license revealed it was suspended for failure to appear on a traffic summons. Inside his car, officers found marijuana and drug paraphernalia.

McCauley was booked into jail.

Pharmacy employee arrested for stealing drugs

A pharmacy employee in Key Largo was arrested Tuesday evening after a fellow employee allegedly caught her stealing prescription medication while on duty.

Deputy Annette Simo responded to the CVS Pharmacy at the 99.4 mile marker at 8:30 p.m. When she arrived, she met with the store supervisor who called in the report. He said pharmacy employee 53 year old Heather Burckhard had taken Oxycodone from a prescription prepared for a customer.

Another employee discovered the theft when he noticed the prescription packaging had been tampered with. The bag was separated from its label and the bag was crumpled. When he checked the prescription, which he had filled himself, he discovered pills missing. He confronted Burckhard, who reportedly admitted to taking the pills and took them out of her pocket and gave them back.

A surveillance camera in the pharmacy provided further confirmation; it showed Burckhard taking the bottle out of the bag and removing the pills.

Burckhard was arrested. She was charged with grand theft and possession of a controlled substance without a prescription. She was booked into jail.

Marathon man arrested for a variety of crimes

A Marathon man is in jail, charged with vehicle burglary, theft, possessing credit cards not in his name and possessing a suspended driver’s license. He was on probation and was violating the terms of that probation, so he was also charged with that crime.

Deputy John Allen responded to Big Time Bait and Tackle on 114th Street in Marathon at 10 a.m. He met with an employee of the store who said a man had been in the store and had asked to buy a $3,500 coin with a credit card. He was told they don’t take credit cards. He later tried to steal a donation container with cash inside. The container was attached to a security cable, which the man was allegedly trying to unscrew when he was caught. The employee confronted him. The man – later identified as 25 year old John Kornetti – said he was an engineer and he was just looking at the device to see how it works.

Kornetti then left the store on a bicycle. The store employee said after Kornetti left, he saw him checking parked vehicles for open doors. He said he saw him climb into a white van at one point. He was able to give a detailed description of Kornetti, who was still riding his bike in the area and was spotted by other responding deputies.

Deputies questioning Kornetti found he had three credit cards in his possession, none in his name. They also found a suspended driver’s license in his possession. One woman whose name was on one of the credit cards worked at a nearby bank. When deputies contacted her, she discovered her vehicle had been burglarized and her purse had been stolen from inside. Kornetti also told deputies he was on probation and only had permission to leave the house to ride his bike to work and back. He admitted he did not have permission to do anything else on the way to and from work.

Kornetti was booked into jail on the charges.

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Note: The information in these crime reports are supplied by local law enforcement; please remember that all suspects are innocent until proven guilty.