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.
Halloween was very safe in the Keys this year.
Linhardt said, “On Halloween, happy to report that we had little to no issues at all from Key Largo to Key West. Obviously, the big, big news every year is the Fantasy Fest out of Key West. And of course, there’s always going to be folks who imbibe a little too much and take the ride over to Sheriff Ramsay’s bed and breakfast here on Stock Island. But that being said, the numbers were pretty low. Knock on wood, it seems like in the last couple of years folks are behaving themselves a little better than maybe years ago. In my recent memory, anyway. So Fantasy Fest was well attended, and again, no major issues. Then all those areas, of course, on Big Pine I’m thinking of, and then some areas in the Upper Keys where the community really gets together, we tend to shut down vehicle traffic through those areas and really let the kids do their trick or treating and run around unabated and in a really safe environment. That all went off without a hitch. I’ve got to give a shout out to our commanders in the Lower Keys, Middle and
Upper Keys, for really making sure those events went off and the kids were all safe, no major incidents to report there. It’s one of those things that makes, I think, this community a little different, a little special. There’s a lot of communities here throughout the Keys take a different approach and really just kind of make it a community party, get together, and everybody has a good time, and everybody stays safe, and there’s no driving around. So that went really well. Happy to report that, aside from the few drunk and disorderlies we had in Key West, but that’s to be expected.”
A resident of Big Pine Key was arrested on drug charges and child neglect charges recently.
Linhardt said, “I’m happy to report here that it appears that the child was asleep, was in a car seat, and is fine, so that’s always the main concern here. But obviously things could have been different. We had somebody here who was under the influence and was driving. Initially the report came in as a reckless driver, and this came in from multiple callers and in multiple areas in the Keys. This is a southbound GMC vehicle, and we were getting phone calls initially in the mid to upper Keys and then all the way through to the Middle Keys. So we were looking for this vehicle, found it, and observed the kind of driving that people were calling in. The driver was actually driving off the pavement and into the grass on US 1, ostensively to avoid traffic or to pass, but that is somewhat crazy, particularly, again, I don’t want to be obtuse about this, with a child in the car as well. That makes it even more problematic. Then the vehicle is also driving into oncoming traffic in those non passing lanes and in passing lanes. I believe this was a about a three year old child, so we pulled this vehicle over, stopped around mile marker five, and immediately saw that there was a child in the vehicle. Made sure that child was safe, and then began the investigation and found multiple kinds of pills without a prescription that this gentleman may or may not have been taking at the time, as well as glass pipe that tested positive for methamphetamine. All that stuff was subsequently found in the stop and again, happy to report that we were able to get this guy off the street, get him where he needs to be, much less a child, make sure that child was safe before anybody was hurt. This was one of those cases where given the time, it sure sounds like somebody was going to be hurt eventually, but happy to report that our deputies out there made sure that didn’t happen.”
A case with methamphetamine trafficking happened just today.
Linhardt said, “I don’t have all the information yet, but this was a traffic stop up in the Upper Keys and Key Largo area, yeah. No traffic stop is ever really normal. You never know what’s going to happen, and such was the case here. We walked up to the vehicle, observed some drug paraphernalia, a glass pipe in clear view, and some issues, obviously, with the driver, with the traffic infractions. That pipe also turned out to be positive for meth with the field testing there. A search was conducted, and we found a trafficking amount of methamphetamine in the vehicle, as well as more than $2,700 in US currency in cash, which was suspected to be from drug sales or collection, as well as some other things in the vehicle that were collected for safekeeping that we’re investigating, as well, a vintage coin collection being the one that stood out to me, and then initial information that may or may not be stolen, but since the vehicle is being held, we’re going to make sure that we double check all that, make sure that all these items are where they need to be. So again, another trafficking case. We’re talking almost two and a half ounces of meth taken off the street just in one traffic stop. As Sheriff Ramsey likes to say, you would think some of these folks would drive a little bit more carefully when they have that amount of drugs with them, as well as other things in the vehicle. But this wasn’t the case, and they are now up in the Plantation Key jail where they need to be. There’s two defendants in that case, a driver and a passenger, so they’re both being held on litany of charges, with trafficking and methamphetamine being the primary.”
A woman was arrested after fleeing from a traffic stop recently.
Linhardt said, “She was in possession of, again, some pills without a prescription, resisting arrest. Then when we attempted to stop her taking off in a Hyundai sedan, it looks like reaching speeds of 100 miles an hour, her reaching those speeds. So we were able to give her some distance. We didn’t want to hurt anybody. She eventually just stopped on North Roosevelt in Key West. Again, this is another southbound vehicle on US 1 near mile marker 15. I think that’s going to be a case where it gets to court and the judge and folks will have to decipher what exactly her issue was. But those kind of speeds on US 1 in the Lower Keys are no joke. So glad that she was at least stopped and again, we’ll let the court system figure out what her issue was.”
Resource cases also came up recently.
Linhardt said, “These wildlife cases, our folks, particularly our marine deputies and their support staff are really taking these folks to task who are out there violating our wildlife statues and our state laws. We had a case Saturday, so just a few days ago, for possessing a goliath grouper that was already scaled, gutted, ready to throw on the grill. This is a Homestead person who lives in the area and doesn’t know that goliath groupers are a protected species. So that person was given a mandatory notice to appear in court, and then we just had another case pop up, and I want to give a shout out to that case, to Marine Deputy Luis. He’s up there in the Marathon area, and he’s just really been on patrol every day and really finding these folks who are violating. We had a case yesterday in Key Largo, with somebody harvesting undersized mangrove snappers. They were also given a mandatory notice to appear in court citation. So that’s one of those tickets where you got to show up in court. Generally, if you don’t take the ride to jail for violating wildlife or wildlife statutes, we will be giving you what we call an NTA, a notice to appear. So you’re going to have to show up and be in front of the judge and explain why it is you were doing and fishing the way you were. I think that’s important. We want to educate folks where we can. But as the sheriff says when these folks are in clear violation with fish that you really should know better, and if you don’t, there’s an issue there. When it comes to violating that egregiously, we’re going to make sure that you have to stand in front of the judge and explain yourself. I just want to remind everybody stay safe, take it easy. I know tomorrow, a lot of people have been early voting, but if you’re going out to vote tomorrow, give yourself a little extra time. Be patient. Don’t let your emotions get the better of you. We hate to respond when folks lose their patience, I know lines can be long. I know the Supervisor of Elections is expecting some good turnout. So everybody just take it easy. Give yourself plenty of time and be safe.”