Sheriff’s deputy, FWC officers recover stolen boat

A boat, stolen from a storage area at Coconut Cay Resort in Marathon, was recovered during a cooperative effort by the Sheriff’s Office and Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers.

The boat – a 25 foot 1997 Sea Cat catamaran named Kon Tiki – was stolen between the evening of October 7th and the morning of October 8th. It has been stored on a trailer at the storage area prior to the arrival of Hurricane Matthew. The boat had two 150 HP Suzuki engines on it. On the morning of October 8th, Deputy Joshua Baer responded to the boat ramp on Harbor Drive in Marathon after receiving reports a boat trailer had been left in the water at the boat ramp. He found the trailer in the water. The trailer was the one the stolen vessel had been stored on.

Witnesses in the area of the boat ramp said they saw a small pickup truck towing the vessel and putting it in the water. They said they noticed it because the truck was too small to tow such a big boat.

On October 21st, Deputy Wilfredo Guerra, FWC Officer Olly Adams and FWC pilot Daniel Willman conducted a search from the water and the air for any signs of the boat. Pilot Willman spotted the boat from the air offshore of the 57 mile marker, hidden deep in a mangrove area. Deputy Guerra and Officer Adams used Sheriff’s Office wave runners to reach the area where the boat was hidden. They towed the vessel out of the mangroves.

Sheriff’s Detective Rosa DiGiovanni has been assigned to investigation the theft.

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 Crime Stoppers tip leads to an arrest, the caller would be eligible for a cash reward. The Crime Stoppers 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.

Two charged with false IDs, fraudulent credit cards

A Hialeah couple is in jail for having fake driver’s licenses and fraudulent credit cards.

Deputy Matthew Cory was on patrol in Marathon at 9:40 a.m. today when he saw a gray colored Mercedes SUV driving erratically. As he watched the vehicle, it turned off of the highway and he followed, finding it parked on the west side of a business in the vicinity of 76th Street. One of the doors was open and he saw a man in the driver’s seat. Deputy Cory approached the man, identifying him as 38 year old Michel Gonzales Suarez. With Suarez was 20 year old Beatriz Morales Saladriga. Deputy David Fernandez responded to the scene to assist.

Suarez told deputies they traveled to the Keys to get out of town together. He said Saladriga was his girlfriend and he did not want his wife to find out about their relationship.

Deputies obtained permission to search Suarez, Saladriga and the vehicle. In the vehicle and in the couple’s possession, the deputies found numerous credit cards that did not belong to them; they also located two driver’s licenses with Suarez’ picture on it, but with someone else’s name on them. A number of the credit cards had the same name as the false identification.

Inside the vehicle, deputies also found 12 plastic grocery bags with various types of cigarettes inside; receipts for the cigarettes were found in the vehicle. Detectives will be continuing to investigate the case to see if the cigarettes were purchased with the false credit cards, using the fake IDs.

Suarez and Saladriga were both charged with fraud – possession of a forged or stolen driver’s license and with trafficking in counterfeited credit cards. More charges may be pending.

Woman arrested for making false report

A Marathon woman was arrested Monday in the early morning hours, charged with making a false report about being attacked while at her boyfriend’s residence.

Deputy Deborah Johnson responded to Fisherman’s Hospital at 1 a.m. on Monday where she met with 30 year old Kristin Rutan Skivers. Skivers told Deputy Johnson she was at her boyfriend’s residence behind the trap yard on 20th Street that night. She said they went to bed at 7:45 p.m. Sunday. She said she woke up at 11 p.m. to find a man “dressed like an Arab”. She said he was holding a gun to her head. She said he forced her to take a blue and white pill he called a “kill pill”. She said her boyfriend then fought with the male and chased him out of the residence. She said her boyfriend told her to drink milk and try to make herself throw up. After she threw up, she said she went to a neighbor’s house and asked the neighbor to take her to the hospital.

She described her attacker as dressed in a long, dark blue garment. She said he had dark hair, a full beard and was wearing a turban on his head. Deputies asked her repeatedly if she was sure this happened; they asked her if she was taking any medication that might cause her to have a vivid dream. She continued to insist the story was true and insisted on signing and swearing to a statement that her story was true.

Sgt. Nick Whiteman and Deputy Annette Simo went to the boyfriend’s residence and spoke to him. He said the two of them were sleeping when Skivers woke up and asked him to take her to the hospital. He said “no” and he went back to sleep. He said she does take prescription medication and goes to the hospital frequently. He said Skivers left the residence at that point. He said at no time did anyone enter the residence or attack Skivers or him.

Skivers was placed under arrest, charged with making a false report to law enforcement.