A Marathon taxi driver was arrested Tuesday, charged with repeatedly having sex with a 12 year old girl.

The victim told Major Crimes Detective Geni Hernandez she had sex with 41 year old Angel Lopez multiple times between March 19 and March 26 at his apartment on Shark Street in Marathon. She said she met him after sneaking out of her mother’s residence on March 19. She said she called a cab to pick her up from Walgreen’s and he was the driver.

After his shift at work, she said he took her back to his apartment and had sexual relations with her. She said this activity continued on subsequent nights. She said she told him she was 12 years old. At one point, he told her he could get into trouble for having sex with her because of her age.

On March 23, she said she ran away from home and went to his residence. She said she told him that she’d run away and he let her stay at his apartment. Detectives became involved in the case after the girl’s mother reported her missing. When detectives spoke with friends of the victim, they said they’d spoken with her; she told her friends she was having sex with an older man named “Angel” who lives on Shark Street.

When Detective Hernandez interviewed Lopez, he admitted to having sexual relations with the girl. He was arrested, charged with nine counts of lewd and lascivious behavior and one count of sheltering a minor without notifying a parent. He was booked into jail.

A Grassy Key teen has been charged with a December burglary in Marathon after a palm print found at the scene was identified as his.

The victims returned to their home on 107th Street after being gone for the weekend. They told Deputy Nicholas Abroe they found the door unlocked. Inside, they found a safe and a jewelry box with jewelry inside missing.

Evidence indicated the person who burglarized their home entered through a kitchen window. Deputy Abroe found a palm print and fingerprints on the kitchen window. The prints were sent to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for processing.

FDLE identified the prints as belonging to 17 year old Kevin Bollig. Last Friday, Bollig was served with a warrant charging him with burglary and grand theft.

A Marathon woman who lives in an apartment on 51st Street told deputies a man attacked her in her home early last Sunday morning.

The 55 year old victim said she woke up around 3 a.m. to find a man standing over her holding a pillow. She said she screamed; he threw the pillow to the floor then grabbed her arms and slammed her head into the wall beside her bed.

She said she continued screaming and he fled from the apartment. A neighbor told deputies he heard the screams, looked outside and saw a man outside, moving quickly toward the street. He said he yelled something at him, then went to the aid of the victim.

When Deputy Jeffrey Deluca arrived on the scene, he found the victim bleeding from the back of the head. He called for an ambulance to check her injuries.

Detectives Bobby Burkett and John Underwood responded to further investigate the incident.

Anyone with information about this case should call the Sheriff’s Office at 305-289-2430. Callers who wish to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers of the Florida keys. If a tip leads to an arrest, the caller would be eligible for a cash reward. Crime Stoppers tips can be called in to 1-800-346-TIPS or can be submitted on line at www.tipsubmit.com.

Sheriff’s detectives and the Special Weapons and Tactics Team disrupted a Stock Island drug operation last Friday when they served two search warrants simultaneously, arresting six people on multiple drug related charges.

Colonel Rick Ramsay received information that drug activity was taking place and he asked Special Operations detectives to look into it. As they began their investigations, they realized the drug activity was not only taking place, but the drug sales were frequent. The information they were able to gather over a month’s time led them to obtain two search warrants – one for 6415 2nd Street, Apartment B, and one for D-44 11th Avenue.

Ramsay, who was there when the searches were conducted, said this was a large drug sales operation.

“These people were very organized and were selling lots of drugs,” he said. “With this operation, we are making a significant dent in the sales of illegal drugs on Stock Island.”

He added that receiving information from citizens, and the partnership the Sheriff’s Office has with the law abiding people living and working in the Keys is important, especially in cases like this.

“We really need citizens to step up – to bring us information about illegal activity. By working together on cases like this one, citizens and law enforcement all come out winners,” he said.

At the 2nd Street location, the search revealed a crack cocaine lab as well as powdered cocaine, crack cocaine and 352 grams of marijuana packaged for individual sale. They also found $1,761.00 in cash believed to be the proceeds from drug sales. A Glock Model 26 handgun was also found. The resident of the apartment – Robert Brown – is a convicted felon and is not allowed to be in possession of weapons. Brown, along with Horace Calhoun, Clarence Moore, Jr. and Shamichael Johnson were all at the apartment and were all taken into custody.

While they were searching the apartment, detectives found what appeared to be a pipe bomb. Detective Sgt. Bobby Randolph, who heads up the Sheriff’s Office Bomb Squad, responded. The apartment complex was evacuated while he removed the device, which was subsequently destroyed.

At the 11th Street residence, detectives found marijuana, Oxycontin, crack cocaine, drug paraphernalia and a 9mm Ruger handgun. $1,032 in cash proceeds from drug sales was also seized. Two people – Tawana Blackman and Leroy Lawson were both arrested at that location.

Federal and state agencies that assisted with this investigation were Federal Bureau of Investigations, The Drug Enforcement Administration, Florida Department of Law Enforcement and Immigration Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigators.

Deputies and detectives responded to the Chevron gas station on Stock Island to investigate an armed robbery early Sunday.

The clerk in the station’s convenience store told Deputy Joseph Cortner she was mopping when a man wearing a ski mask confronted her, demanding money. She said she thought it was a joke at first, but after he showed her a handgun, she handed over cash from the register. He fled the store and she called for help.

She described the suspect as a white male, 20 – 30 years of age, about 5’6” to 5’8” tall with a medium build. He was wearing a black knit ski mask and black knit gloves, black long sleeve pull-over shirt and long blue jean shorts.

A Stock Island man, 36 year old Lemuel Roberts, was arrested Wednesday in connection with the alleged armed robbery of the Chevron gas station convenience store.

The arrest took place after a woman gave information to a Monroe County Sheriff’s detective about Roberts’ involvement in the crime, as well as several other armed robberies in the city of Key West. Roberts is currently in jail on multiple felony charges.

An apparent fight between two brothers resulted in one of them being airlifted to Miami for head injuries Tuesday.

Deputies and detectives responded to Fishermen’s Hospital at 10:30 a.m. where hospital personnel reported a 31 year old Marathon man, Matthew Bussard, had sustained possible life-threatening head injuries and was being airlifted to a Miami hospital for treatment. Investigation revealed he’d been brought in to the hospital by his father and brother, who were visiting from Texas.

The father told Deputy Bradford Colen they were staying at Sombrero Resort; he said his two sons had gotten into a fight sometime around 4 a.m.; his son, Matthew had been injured during the fight and they’d driven him to the hospital for treatment.

Detectives responded and will be investigating the incident.

A 30 year old Rockland Key woman was arrested last Friday, charged with beating a 9 year old girl.

The suspect, Shirnell Shuman, was caring for the girl at the time of the incident. She told Detective Manny Cuervo the girl was misbehaving so she disciplined her. She allegedly beat the girl with a sandal on her thighs and arms, leaving shoe print impressions on both of her upper thighs. She also hit the girl in the face numerous times; the girl suffered a bloody nose and contusions around her eye.

When the girl’s mother returned from work, she found her daughter injured. She called the Sheriff’s Office to report the crime. Detective Cuervo investigated the case, speaking with several witnesses, the victim and the suspect. Shuman was arrested, charged with cruelty toward a child.

She was booked into jail.

A Marathon woman was arrested early last Sunday after a nighttime employee of the Sunset Grill on Knight’s Key caught her stealing beverages from the Tiki Bar.

The employee told Sgt. Joel Slough he was cleaning just before 3 a.m. when he saw 35 year old Hayley Allison stealing Corona Beer and Red Bull energy drinks. He said as she was fleeing with the stolen items, she dropped them; that is when he caught her and called the Sheriff’s Office.

He told Sgt. Slough a car was waiting for Allison just outside a side gate of the property. He said the car fled when he caught Allison. As the sergeant was investigating the case, the vehicle returned. Driver, 19 year old Gerry Pinson, admitted to driving Allison to the bar. He said he didn’t know what she was going to do, but knew “something bad was going to happen”. Pinson had no driver’s license and was issued a notice to appear in court for driving with no license.

Allison told a number of different stories about why she was at the bar. After Sgt. Slough pointed out active surveillance cameras to her, she finally admitted being there to take the beverages. Allison was arrested. She was charged with burglary, theft and resisting arrest and she was booked into jail.

A 63 year old man later identified as James Warren Taylor from Clewiston, Florida was found dead lat Sunday in the driver’s seat of his running vehicle, which was on fire.

Deputy Chuck Kellenberger was on patrol in the area at 4:15 a.m. when he was waved down by a Conch Key resident taking an early morning walk. The man told Deputy Kellenberger there was a white car parked in a vacant lot with the engine racing; he said he thought there was someone inside the car.

Deputy Kellenberger found a white Ford Escort; the headlights were off, emergency flashers were on and the engine was racing. The car was on fire, with flames coming from the rear tail pipe and the engine. He could see a man behind the steering wheel.

When he checked more closely, he found the man had blood on his chest from what appeared to be a gunshot wound in the same area; a revolver and a long gun were sitting beside him. He was dead.

The dead man’s foot was on the accelerator, so Deputy Kellenberger turned the car off. He called for assistance from Monroe County Fire / Rescue and called for detectives to respond to the scene. The case is under investigation as a possible suicide. An autopsy will be done to determine the cause of the man’s death.

An alert neighbor who called the Sheriff’s Office last Sunday afternoon foiled a burglary attempt and helped put two suspects in jail.

Deputy Chris Duncan responded to a house on Luna Lane, Big Coppitt Key at 4:30. A neighbor called dispatchers to report someone was removing items from the house. The neighbor said the man who lives there is deceased and she didn’t think anyone else was supposed to be there.

Deputy Duncan found 53 year old Caryn Radziejewski and 55 year old Glen Lewis, both of Big Coppitt Key, standing beside a jeep with the doors open. A front window on the house was broken and the door was open. Several items from the house had been removed and loaded into the jeep.

Deputy Duncan asked the two what they were doing there. Radziejewski told him her friend “Dave” had died and she had permission from ”Dave’s” son who lives in  California to take the items. She could not provide the son’s name or contact information.

A woman who lives at the residence was contacted by phone. She told Deputy Duncan no one has permission to be there or to take anything.

Both suspects were arrested; they were charged with burglary, theft and resisting arrest. Radziejewski was also charged with possessing marijuana after some of the illegal substance was found in her pocket.