May 16
Detectives issue warnings to marine related businesses

Detectives would like to warn businesses involved in selling or storing boats to check their security cameras, alarm systems or other security related equipment.

“I have information that thefts of marine equipment – including boats, motors and lower units – are increasing in the south Florida area,” said Detective Sgt. Mark Coleman. “Other counties are seeing an uptick in these crimes which means it is only a matter of time before thieves try to strike here in Monroe County,” he said.

While Monroe County has not yet seen an increase in these types of crimes, typically marine thefts of all kinds increase as the summer boating season approaches. Several years ago there was a large number of boat, boat motor and lower unit thefts in the Upper Florida Keys and we also recently saw a spate of rod and reel thefts in the county.

In the past, thieves preying on marine related businesses have posed as customers in order to get a close look at perimeter fencing, cameras and merchandise. They have then returned later, after the businesses close. Often times they enter the business by cutting through chain link fencing and removing the items they are targeting.

Having good perimeter lighting, cutting back brush and trees surrounding the edges of the lot and posting operational security cameras can deter crime, or can help neighbors or passing law enforcement patrols to keep a closer eye on the property. Having dogs on the property will often act as a deterrent as well.

“If you would like us to visit your property and help you check your security, give us a call,” said Sheriff Rick Ramsay. “We can take a look at your property and your business and make some suggestions for making the property more secure. We would rather stop a crime from taking place than respond to it after the fact,” he said.

If you notice anyone in your business who is acting suspiciously or appears to be casing the property with the intent to return later and commit crime, get a detailed description of them and their vehicle. Call us. We can send a deputy by to check them out. If we have their information on record, it gives us a place to start if a crime does occur.

May 16
Layton woman appears to have accidentally drowned

A Layton woman appears to have accidentally drowned in a canal last Thursday afternoon.

A neighbor told Deputy James Hager she heard yelling at about 4:30 p.m. and looked outside, seeing a woman in the canal hanging on to a jet ski which was docked there. She was yelling for help and her husband was trying to throw her a rope. She said she looked away for a few minutes, but the yelling continued. When she looked back the woman was drifting away from the jet ski.

At that point, she said she jumped in the canal and pulled 71 year old Layton resident Dalia Maria Perez from the water. She said she began performing CPR until paramedics arrived and took over. Perez was transported to Fishermen’s Hospital where she was pronounced dead.

An autopsy will be done to determine the cause of her death but detectives say it appears she accidentally drowned after falling in to the canal.

May 16
Marathon man arrested on marine charges

A Sheriff’s Office marine deputy arrested a Marathon man in possession of lobster out of season, undersized stone crab claws and a mutilated turtle.

Deputy Wilfredo Guerra received a tip Thursday at 8:45 p.m. The caller said a man on a small skiff had just placed a cooler in some mangroves at the south end of the Ohio-Missouri Bridge. Deputy Guerra went to that location and found the cooler. Inside were a large number of lobster tails, stone crab claws and a turtle that had been butchered for its meat.

Deputy Guerra hid nearby to wait for someone to pick the cooler up. A short time later, a Toyota Camry pulled in to the bridge parking area and backed up toward the trail where the cooler was concealed.

A man later identified as 37 year old Serguei Perez-Perdomo of Marathon got out and put the cooler into the trunk of the car. Deputy Guerra then followed the Camry as it traveled north on highway U.S. One. He radioed ahead to Deputy Orlando Alvarez, asking him to stop the Camry once it entered Marathon.

The vehicle was stopped and Deputy Guerra confronted Perez-Perdomo about the cooler he’d placed in his trunk. Perez-Perdomo admitted it was his, along with the contents. Inside the cooler was the butchered turtle meat, along with 212 lobster tails, all of them out of season. 145 of them were undersized. There were 12 stone crab claws, two of which were undersized.

Perez-Perdomo was placed under arrest. He was booked into jail on multiple marine violations.

May 09
Detectives investigate attempted boat theft

Investigations into the attempted theft of a boat and trailer Tuesday night in Islamorada are continuing.

Deputies responded to the 84.3 mile marker at 11:30 p.m. after a man called the Sheriff’s Office to report two men in a black SUV were attempting to steal a boat and trailer that belonged to his boss.

When Deputy Michael Onsgard arrived on the scene, he saw the reporting person standing beside the bait shop at Abel’s Marina. He pointed toward the south side of the building. Deputy Onsgard then saw a black SUV backed up to a boat trailer with a flats boat on it. Two men were standing beside the trailer attempting to hook it up.

He ordered them to stop what they were doing. At that point, one of the men jumped into the SUV and took off in it, towing the trailer and boat, which were only hooked up with safety chains. The other man fled on foot.

The SUV crashed a short distance away and the man inside jumped out and fled into a wooded area. A perimeter of the area was set up and the area was searched, but neither man was found. The SUV – a black colored Jeep – was impounded and processed for evidence.

Detectives are continuing to investigate in an attempt to identify the two men who were attempting to steal the boat.

May 09
Stock Island man charged with incest

A Stock Island man was arrested Monday, charged with incest.

31 year old Brandon Williams was arrested, charged with having sexual relations with someone he is related to, a third degree felony crime. He was also charged with being over 24 years of age and having sexual relations with someone aged 16 or 17, a second degree felony crime.

According to detectives with the Sheriff’s Major Crimes Unit, Williams repeatedly had sexual relations with the victim, and had a child with her as a result.

Under Florida law, the identity of a victim of these crimes, or any information which might identify the victim is not public information.

May 09
Man arrested for burglary, criminal mischief

A Big Pine Key man was arrested after he entered his ex-girlfriend’s vehicle and house and damaged several items.

The victim called the Sheriff’s Office at 8:30 p.m. Friday after she returned to her Koehn Avenue home on Big Pine Key to find the damage. She told Deputy Ian Cooper she broke up with 29 year old Drew Sterling earlier that day. She said he moved all of his stuff out, but still had a key to the residence.

She said she left with a friend at 5:15 p.m. When she returned, her Ipad had been taken from her car and smashed under her house. Inside her house, she found her television screen smashed and her makeup dumped out on the floor and thrown around.

While processing the scene, Deputy Cooper found a distinctive shoe print on the smashed TV screen.

Deputy Cooper went to the Avenue D residence where Sterling was staying. As he was speaking with Sterling, he asked to see his shoes. The sandals Sterling was wearing had nautical flags on the sole – the same imprint found on the TV screen. They were also the same size as the print.

Sterling was arrested. He was charged with burglary of a vehicle, burglary of a dwelling, grand theft and two counts of criminal mischief. He was booked into jail.

May 02
Woman charged with burglary, dealing property

A Marathon woman was arrested Monday for allegedly stealing jewelry from her roommate and then pawning it at a local pawn shop.

The victim called the Sheriff’s Office on April 23 to report her roommate, 27 year old Allison Peryam, took jewelry from her bedroom. Investigations revealed Peryam then took the jewelry to a Marathon pawn shop and pawned it for cash. The victim rents a room in the same house as Peryam.

A warrant was issued for her arrest. On Monday she was booked into jail on charges of burglary, grand theft, dealing in stolen property and fraud.

She is he daughter of former Monroe County Sheriff Bob Peryam.

May 02
Marathon man charged in road rage incident

A Marathon man was arrested after he showed another driver a gun during the course of a road rage incident.

The victim called the Sheriff’s Office just before 9 p.m. Monday to report the incident. He said a man in a blue Ford minivan had pointed a black colored handgun at him in the parking lot of the Mobile gas station on Big Coppitt Key. He was able to give dispatchers the vehicle’s license tag number.

The van was stopped on Stock Island by Deputies Andrew Hudson and Donald Stulken. 26 year old Andrew Bermudez of Marathon was driving. When the deputies questioned Bermudez, he admitted to having a handgun in the van. He said he was driving on highway U.S. One when a Mercedes was behind him, following closely. He said he put on his brakes to let the car’s driver know he was following too closely. He said the Mercedes then passed him and did the same thing in front of him. He said later in the incident, he took his gun out of his glove compartment and tapped it against his driver’s side window to let the other driver know he had a gun.

The victim said he was southbound at the 16 mile marker when a blue van in front of him pulled off the road, then pulled back in behind him. He said the van was following closely behind him so he pulled off the roadway into the parking lot of a Big Coppitt gas station. He said the van pulled in as well, so he got out and approached it. That is when he said the driver of the van pointed a handgun at him.

Bermudez was arrested. He was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and he was booked into jail.

May 02
Search Warrant yields drug arrests

A search warrant was served Tuesday at a Stock Island residence.

Detectives from the Special Investigations Unit, along with Lower Keys Criminal Investigation detectives and agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration served the warrant at 6529 Maloney Avenue, Lot 6, on Stock Island just before 2 p.m. Inside the trailer, detectives found 30 year old Delila Bryant, 57 year old William Kirkpatrick, 37 year old Eric Mylesand 43 year old Elizabeth Ebinger.

The search of the residence turned up 5.3 grams of methamphetamine, 19 Dronabinol pills, 2 grams of cocaine, 3 grams of powdered amphetamine, over 50 miscellaneous prescription pills, a small amount of marijuana and drug paraphernalia. Additionally, inside the residence was equipment and precursor chemicals required for a portable methamphetamine lab. A search of a vehicle on the property turned up two methadone pills, more marijuana and drug paraphernalia.

Kirkpatrick was charged with the production of methamphetamines, possession of methamphetamine with intent to sell\manufacture\deliver,  possession of a controlled substance without a prescription, possession of drug paraphernalia and providing a false name to a law enforcement officer. Kirkpatrick originally told detectives his first name was “Jack” and gave a different date of birth to them when they asked for his identification information. Myles was charged with the possession of cocaine, and possession of drug paraphernalia. Bryant was charged with marijuana possession. Ebinger was charged with possession of a controlled substance without a prescription, marijuana possession, and possession of drug paraphernalia.

They were all booked into the Key West jail.

May 02
Corrections officer arrested in Miami-Dade County

A Monroe County Sheriff’s Office corrections deputy was arrested Saturday morning by Miami-Dade police.

19 year old Juan Morales Jr. was booked into the Miami-Dade County jail with two other men on charges of grand theft and criminal mischief. According to a report by Miami-Dade police, they were caught with a tire and rim they had allegedly stolen off of a vehicle on S.W. 149th Avenue.

Morales Jr. has been employed by the Sheriff’s Office since September of 2013.

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