PDA

View Full Version : News > Crime Authorities: Man steals boat from Stock Island, lands in Cuba, will be returned to face



Bobcat
11-11-2015, 08:14 AM
80716





This is the suspect in the boat at Murray Marine.

In a reverse of which direction boat traffic usually travels in the Florida Straits, a man stole a vessel from the Keys and headed to, and landed in, Cuba, authorities say.

Unlike Cuban migrants who make it to the Keys, Shawn Michael Luskey, 38, will be repatriated to face a felony charge of vessel theft, says the Monroe County Sheriff's Office. The agency didn't know where he is from.

Deputy Becky Herrin says Luskey was caught by Cuban border agents at Havana Harbor at 5 p.m. Oct. 31. He reportedly was in white 13-foot Boston Whaler that was stolen earlier from Murray Marine on Stock Island. Photos of the vessel from Cuban authorities show the Florida registration numbers on the stolen vessel, Herrin said.

She said the boat owner reported the vessel missing the day before Luskey arrived in Cuba (the boat has a 40 horsepower engine); the owner had left the keys in the ignition.

Surveillance video shows a man wearing a full wet suit at the marina at 10:42 p.m. Oct. 30. He's seen pulling on ice-cooler doors but they were locked. He then walks off camera and a little bit later, the Boston Whaler is seen leaving its slip, heading northeast.

Herrin said that on Nov. 2, a U.S. Coast Guard investigator contacted Sheriff's Office Detective Sheila Seago, who had been assigned the case. She was told the Coast Guard had received a message from the Cuban Border Guard about the American's arrival.

When Luskey returns to the Keys, he'll be jailed on a $45,000 bond.

In September, Stephen Leonard, 40, of New York was charged with boat theft for taking a 31-foot Yellowfin vessel from the Hurricane Hole Marina, also on Stock Island, and possibly heading to Cuba. But he didn't make it beyond waters close to South Roosevelt Boulevard in Key West, where marine law enforcement officers -- working from planes as well as boats -- caught him.

When authorities interviewed Leonard, he reportedly talked about going to Cuba.

Ratickle
11-12-2015, 03:56 PM
Pretty gutsy in a 13 foot Boston Whaler with a 40HP.......

Ratickle
12-09-2015, 12:40 AM
MIAMI — An Indiana man wanted on firearms charges was brought back from Cuba to South Florida by federal marshals on Tuesday, marking the first fugitive to be turned over to the U.S. government since it established diplomatic relations with the island nation this year.

Shawn Wegmann, an alleged enforcer for a Midwestern motorcycle gang, was detained by Cuban authorities Oct. 31 after he ripped off his GPS ankle monitor, stole a 13-foot boat in Key West and crossed the Florida Straits, authorities said Tuesday.

In early November, the U.S. Marshals Service was notified that the 38-year-old Wegmann had been detained while attempting to enter Cuba, authorities said.

On Tuesday, a team of federal marshals flew to Havana to pick up Wegmann from Cuban authorities at Jose Marti International Airport. The marshals returned with him to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.

“Wegmann is the first fugitive who has been returned to the United States by the Cuban government after fleeing to Cuba since diplomatic relations began” in July, said U.S. Marshal Amos Rojas Jr., who led the trip to Havana.

On Wednesday, Wegmann will have his first appearance in Miami federal court, where he will have an extradition hearing to face criminal charges in Iowa. Previously free on a bond, Wegmann is charged with three counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm and three counts of possessing a stolen firearm.

Despite Cuba’s cooperation in turning over Wegmann to U.S. authorities, dozens of Cuban immigrants charged with or convicted of defrauding the federal Medicare program are suspected of living on the island. The FBI and Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General have compiled a list of defendants whose cases date back years.