Key West The Newspaper

Miami men charged with illegal dumping

Two men from Miami were caught in the act of dumping trash on the side of the road on Big Pine Key Friday.

An alert citizen called the Sheriff’s Office to report seeing the men dumping trash from a trailer onto the side of the road on Chapman Lane, Big Pine Key at 12:15 p.m. Deputies Ken Fricke and Jon Riggs arrived in time to see the dumping taking place.

They required the two men to pick the trash back up and put it back in their trailer. 40 year old Yosvany Padron and 51 year old Osmar Cisneros were then issued notices to appear in court on charges of illegal dumping.

Reckless drunk driver found to have three children in the car

A Hialeah man was arrested Sunday for drunk reckless driving with children in the car.

Sheriff’s dispatchers received a report of a reckless driver southbound in Big Pine Key at 2:30 p.m. Sunday. Deputy Ken Fricke spotted the 2015 Nissan passenger car on the Niles Channel Bridge, traveling 87 miles per hour in a 45 mile per hour zone. As Deputy Fricke turned around with his lights and siren on, the Nissan sped up and passed four cars in the center turn lane on Summerland Key. A number of vehicles had to pull to the side of the road to avoid a collision.

Deputy Fricke caught up with the car at the south end of Summerland Key when it turned right onto a dead end access road. The driver refused to follow instructions from the deputy, who could see children in the rear seat of the car.

The driver, 39 year old Ruben Aboy of Hialeah, smelled strongly of alcohol. He refused roadside sobriety exercises and refused a breathalyzer test. A second adult was in the car, sitting in the rear seat with a small child on her lap. The child was not in a car seat, as required by law. Two other older children were also in the car.

A check on the car’s license tag revealed it was a tow truck transporter tag. Aboy reportedly owns a tow truck company and said he decided to put the tag on the vehicle to come to the Keys for vacation. A check on his driver’s license revealed a previous driving under the influence charge and a restriction on his license only allowing travel to and from work, church and school. He was charged with both of those violations, along with driving under the influence of alcohol and child neglect, for driving dangerously with children in the vehicle. He also received citations for having no proof of insurance, refusing to submit to tests, passing in a no passing zone, speeding and having no proof of insurance.

Sexual Predator registers new address

A man designated as a sexual predator has changed addresses. By state law, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office is required to notify the public when such a change takes place in regards to a person designated by the courts as a sexual predator.

Terrance Howard, 53 years old, registered a previous address on Aviation Boulevard in Marathon. His new address, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, is: Coconut Cay (Aviation near #17) in Marathon, Florida.

More information about Howard can be found on the FDLE website, including his photo and details about his past charges. He is currently under the supervision of the Department of Corrections.

Three men arrested in February fraud case

Three more suspects have been arrested in connection with February fraud cases in which forged checks were cashed at several banks in the Florida Keys. A Fort Lauderdale woman was the first suspect in the case, arrested in February as she was cashing a forged check.

Detectives say a group of Miami-Dade and Broward County residents traveled throughout the Keys in early February, stopping at a number of Centennial Banks in the Lower, Middle and Upper Keys. In one case, they are accused of cashing six forged checks at the banks for a total of $41,924.23. The business name on the checks they cashed was Azure Delray Modern Intercostal, LLC. The account number and other information on the checks, however, belonged to a legitimate business, Azure Delray Modern Intracoastal, LLC. When they cashed the forged checks, they presented their own identification documents. Once the fraud was uncovered, these identifying documents were turned over to detectives.

When officials of the bank realized what was taking place, they called the Sheriff’s Office. They also put their other banks on alert to be on the lookout for similar schemes. On February 6th, 24 year old Rose Marie Normann of Fort Lauderdale attempted to cash a similar forged check, with a different business name, at the Centennial Bank at the 100.2 mile marker. The bank manager recognized the fraud and called the Sheriff’s Office. Normann was placed under arrest and booked into jail for uttering a forged instrument and criminal use of personal identification. Her bond was set at $40,000 and she bonded out of jail on February 9th. Two men with her at the time were identified and released pending further investigation. One of them was identified as 24 year old Armondo Mejide Mir of Miami.

After further investigation, warrants were issued for three more suspects. Mejide Mir, who is charged with two counts of grand theft and two counts of passing forged checks. He was arrested in Miami Dade County on April 29th and transferred to Monroe County Wednesday. His bond is set at $75,000. A second suspect, 51 year old Nelson De Leon of Homestead, was arrested on March 13th. He bonded out of jail in Miami on charges of grand theft and forgery. Bond on the warrant was $40,000. The third male suspect, 24 year old Eduardo Morejon of Miami, was arrested April 7th and is still in custody in the Miami-Dade County jail for two counts each of grand theft and forgery; his bond is set at $65,000.

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Note: Information in these crime reports has been provided by local law enforcement.  Please remember that all suspects are innocent until proven guilty.