Adam Linhardt, Public Information Officer for the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, joined Good Morning Keys on KeysTalk 96.9/102.5FM this morning to talk about what’s been going on in the county.
The power boat races generate a lot of activity and unfortunately, this year, there was a death.
Linhardt said, “We did have that boat crash off of Key West, involving the poker run, and then there was another boat crash on the Miami Dade side of Card Sound Road area involving a fatal. So unfortunately, the event brings in a lot of extra boat traffic. A reminder that people need to be cautious out there, particularly on the water, when we have those events on the weekend, and be mindful of particularly folks who live down here that not everybody else on the water out there is familiar with maybe our channels, our shallow water areas and, and just to be defensive of other boaters that may not know the area, like we do down here and. Unfortunately, this weekend was a good reminder on both fronts.”
Two Marathon men were arrested for street racing on US 1 recently.
Linhardt said, “Fortunately, we don’t see a lot of this. It’s been a while since we have. This is much more common, as you might expect on Miami Dade side up north, but every once in a while, we’ll see it. It was very clear to our deputies on the scene what was going on. These two vehicles were impeding traffic. Their exhausts were modified and loud. I think people who are familiar with cars probably know what I’m talking about. But again, we were surprised when we did stop these two vehicles that one of them had a very young child in the back and not in a car seat in the vehicle. None of us are quite sure what jumps in the minds of these folks when they’re engaged in this kind of behavior, but the only fortunate outcome here was that there was no crash, driving at that speed and essentially downtown Marathon, for lack of a better word, and then with a child in the vehicle who’s not properly restrained, the story could have been much different. It’s always kind of shocking that somebody would engage in that behavior, but nobody was hurt. I’m just glad that nobody was hurt, the child wasn’t hurt, and we were able to get these people off the road. Those vehicles were towed. So if you engage in this kind of behavior, you’re going to lose your vehicle at least for a couple days, until you can come up that money to get it out. He’s adamant on that, that this kind of behavior is not going to be tolerated.”
A recent clerical error found people receiving real estate bills for property in Charlotte County.
Linhardt said, “People were receiving these letters in the mail, or fake bills, or false bills, as they were. We were getting fairly inundated with phone calls from folks who were convinced it was a scam. It was a very confusing situation. So I just want to thank our tax collector’s office and our county commissioner, PIO Kristen Livengood for jumping on that and spreading word and notifying folks that that was not the case, that it wasn’t a scam. It was a clerical error and these things just sometimes happen, somebody somewhere forgot to carry the one or what have you, or moved the decimal in the wrong place, whatever it was. Those bills we can just toss in the trash.”
People in the sheriff’s office were also commended recently for exemplary service.
Linhardt said, “That’s a big part of the sheriff’s messaging and his philosophy in terms of keeping the troops informed about people who are doing a good job and people that we’re proud of and unfortunately, the sheriff’s out of town, but the colonel was there to offer his support. The colonel loves those events as well. He really takes a lot of pride in the sheriff’s charge in terms of those kinds of commitments and those responsibilities. So it was a really fun day, I’m really happy for everybody who was commended. I was really proud to be there Friday. It was a great day. It was a lot of fun.”
Resource laws are also important in the Keys.
Linhardt said, “We were out there on the bridges, where people are fishing and we just want to educate folks and let them know that we’re here to assist the FWC in their mission. As Sheriff Ramsay says, we want to educate folks, but if you’re clearly violating in a way that would suggest that you’re aware of the law and the cases are so egregious, more than happy to give you a notice to appear in court citation. I think you’re going to see more and more people going to jail as well for these violations. It’s very important to Sheriff Ramsay and the office that the coming generations have that resource available to them, just as we do. I think everybody seems to at least agree with that and in terms of reminding folks, again, primarily folks who are coming down from Miami Dade County, you may not be aware of all of our regulations and laws and statutes down here involving fishing, but regardless, they are going to learn and we’re going to educate them, and Sheriff Ramsay is happy to do it.”