Key West The Newspaper

Woman charged with stolen motorcycle, fleeing police

An 18 year old Homestead woman was arrested after she fled from a Sheriff’s deputy on a stolen motorcycle.

Deputy Wilfredo Guerra was southbound in his marked patrol truck in Marathon at 6:10 p.m. on Friday October 14th, when the incident took place. He saw two motorcycles approach him from behind at a high rate of speed and pass him at the 50 mile marker of the highway. There were two people on each motorcycle; one of the motorcycles did not have a license tag.

Deputy Guerra turned on his lights and siren to stop the motorcycles, but instead of stopping, they sped up and fled from him. He followed for a short distance, but broke off the pursuit due to the danger involved.

Deputy Guerra radioed a description of the motorcycles to any officers south of his location. A detective spotted them a short time later. He was driving an unmarked police vehicle. He followed the motorcycle and saw it turn off the highway at the south end of the Bahia Honda Bridge. He followed it into the parking area and, after the motorcycle parked and the driver and passenger got off of the motorcycle, he approached and confronted them identifying himself as a law enforcement officer.

Deputy Guerra responded to that area and identified the motorcycle as one that had fled from him. The driver was 18 year old Taimy Diaz Cruz of Homestead. A check on the motorcycle revealed it had been reported stolen from Broward County.

Cruz was charged with grand theft auto, fleeing and eluding police and operating a motorcycle without a motorcycle endorsement on her driver’s license. She was booked into jail. The female passenger was not charged with any crimes.

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Note: Information contained in crime report is furnished by area law enforcement. Please remember, all suspects are innocent until proven guilty.

Man arrested for false bomb threat

A homeless Key West man was arrested Monday, October 17th  charged with making a false bomb threat at the CVS store on Stock Island.

The incident took place on September 22nd. 55 year old Daniel Hernandez entered the CVS store and took a two liter bottle of soda from isle 21. He walked to the checkout line and purchased the soda from a store employee. He then told the employee he’d placed a bomb on isle 21. He left the store and employees of the store called the Sheriff’s Office to report the incident. Deputies checked the store for explosives and none were found.

Video footage showed the suspect at the cash register and copies of still photos were disseminated to deputies working in the community so they could attempt to identify him. Employees of the store reported the suspect returned to the store on October 5th and on the 9th; they took more pictures of him during those encounters. On October 15th, he was located and positively identified as the man who made the threats.

A warrant was obtained for his arrest. He was picked up on Stock Island by Deputy Joshua Gordon and he was booked into jail for falsely reporting a bomb.

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Note: Information contained in crime report is furnished by area law enforcement. Please remember, all suspects are innocent until proven guilty.

Man faces false imprisonment, sexual battery charges

A Marathon man has been charged with holding a woman against her will and attempting sexual acts with her against her will.

The incident took place in a fire pump room of the Walgreen’s pharmacy in Marathon on September 27th. The 17 year old victim told Major Crimes Detective Robert Dosh she was working with the suspect, 47 year old Liukel Fernandez.

She said he asked her to help him get some shelves from the fire pump room. She said once they were inside, he closed and locked the door. She said he would not let her leave the room. She said he unzipped his pants and forcibly placed her hand on his penis. He then ordered her to put his penis in her mouth. She told Detective Dosh she was afraid he was going to rape her so she pushed him and managed to escape from the room.

According to Detective Dosh’ investigation, the suspect had been suspended from his job previously for making sexual statements to other employees and to the victim. According to Detective Dosh, the suspect made previous comments to employees which indicated he knew where there were cameras in the store, and that he knew there were no cameras in the pump room, where he attacked the victim.

Fernandez was arrested and charged with attempted sexual battery, battery and false imprisonment. He was booked into jail. His bond was set at $250,000.

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Note: Information contained in crime report is furnished by area law enforcement. Please remember, all suspects are innocent until proven guilty.

Wanted Suicidal Man Refusing to Come Out of Marathon House Taken Safely into Custody

An armed man wanted in Tennessee for violation of a court order was barricaded inside a Marathon home.

Sheriff’s deputies first arrived at the home at 898 50th Street, gulf side in Marathon at 6:45 p.m. on Tuesday evening October 18th to serve an out-of-state warrant for violation of a court order on on Christopher Cox, 25 of Dickson, Tennessee.  Cox barricaded himself inside the house and refused to come out. He had a handgun and at several times during the course of the incident he held the gun to his head, threatening to shoot himself.

Hostage negotiators responded to the scene and were in contact with Cox on and off through the night. Initially, some people living close to the house were evacuated to a safer location, but they were later allowed to return to their homes.

At approximately 10:45 a.m., Wednesday October 19th, Cox was taken into custody. Officers were able to approach the house and detain him after he put down his gun and approached the front door; at that point, he was far enough away from his weapon to make the move a safe one for all involved.

Cox was in the Keys with his girlfriend and her 6 year old son. The child’s father reportedly has full custody of the child. The father was contacted and was on his way to the Florida Keys on Wednesday to pick up his son, who was cared for by the Department of Children and Families until he arrived.

“I am happy to report we were able to take the suspect into custody without injury to him, any member of the public or to our officers,” said Sheriff Rick Ramsay.

The Sheriff’s Office received assistance during this incident from the Florida Highway Patrol, Customs and Border Protection, Key Colony Beach Police and the Key West Police Department.

The woman with Cox, the mother of the 6 year old boy who was with the two of them, is identified as 23 year old Jaclyn Wall; she has an outstanding warrant from Tennessee for interference with custody and was booked on Wednesday.

Cox may face additional charges.

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Note: Information contained in crime report is furnished by area law enforcement. Please remember, all suspects are innocent until proven guilty.