It’s never a dull day for the Monore County Sheriff’s Office.
Monroe County Sheriff Rick Ramsay joined Good Morning Keys on Keys Talk 96.9/102.5FM this morning to talk about what’s going on in the county.
A recent incident involved a 39-year-old woman who allegedly fled from deputies after a traffic stop was attempted near the 17-mile marker.
Sheriff Ramsay said an MCSO traffic enforcement officer in an unmarked vehicle clocked the car speeding and attempted to stop it, but the driver did not yield.
“Speeds got up to about 87 miles an hour while we had lights and sirens going on,” Sheriff Ramsay said.
A marked patrol vehicle then took over the pursuit to make it clear to the driver that she was being pursued by law enforcement.
Deputies ultimately deployed a Stinger spike system near the 7.5-mile marker.
“As the car blew past the location, we threw out the spikes and we successfully spiked out three out of four tires,” Sheriff Ramsay said.
He explained that the devices are designed to gradually deflate tires rather than cause an immediate blowout.
“The spikes are a controlled deflation device, which makes the tires slowly, about 30 to 45 seconds, go flat,” Sheriff Ramsay said. “We don’t want to blow the tires out and crash the car.”
After traveling approximately another half-mile on flat tires, the driver stopped and was arrested on a felony fleeing and eluding charge.
In another case, deputies worked with the Key West Police Department to recover a Chevrolet truck that had been reported stolen.
Sheriff Ramsay said the vehicle was initially stolen in Key West and was later located abandoned on Stock Island.
“The good cooperation that the sheriff’s office has with the police department, working together one big team to combat crime, hold people accountable, and get resolution to criminal investigations,” Sheriff Ramsay said.
The suspect was identified and, according to Ramsay, admitted during an interview to stealing the vehicle. The person was arrested on a grand theft auto charge, and the vehicle was returned to its owner.
Sheriff Ramsay also discussed a case involving a 23-year-old man accused of recording sexual encounters with a woman without her consent and later using the videos and repeated communications to harass her.
The sheriff said the woman told the man not to record her during one of the encounters, but the recording allegedly continued.
“She was able to back up, support everything she said,” Sheriff Ramsay said. “As you said on the video, she’s even clearly being heard telling him not to record her, that she’s not consenting to that.”
Sheriff Ramsay said investigators also found evidence of hundreds of text messages and alleged repeated visits to the woman’s workplace and residence.
“She eventually contacted the sheriff’s office to report her concerns about the voyeurism, about the videos, what may happen to them, about the stalking, the harassment,” he said.
A warrant was obtained, and the man was arrested on multiple charges related to stalking, video voyeurism and sexual cyber harassment.
Sheriff Ramsay said the case illustrates the potential consequences of making emotional decisions.
“This is just stupid, emotional decisions which have lasting, lifelong, lasting outcomes,” he said.
Deputies also arrested a man from Edgewater, Florida, after finding him slumped over in a vehicle in Key Largo with what appeared to be a white powdery substance in plain view.
Sheriff Ramsay said the driver acknowledged that the substance was fentanyl.
Deputies recovered approximately 4.7 grams of fentanyl, which is enough to constitute a trafficking-level amount.
“We have to be really careful because just incidental contact, just touching it, can be absorbed in through your skin to kill a police officer or a citizen or a paramedic,” Sheriff Ramsay said.
He said the man appeared to have been using the drug before becoming unconscious in the vehicle.
“Thank God he wasn’t driving a car on the road when he passed out,” Sheriff Ramsay said. “He would have come across and hit someone, killed somebody.”
The Sheriff’s Office continues to focus on removing impaired drivers from the roads and keeping illegal drugs out of the community.
Deputies also responded to a report from a good Samaritan who found what appeared to be a package of cocaine near the 24-mile marker.
Sheriff Ramsay said deputies determined the package contained approximately 2.2 pounds of pure, uncut cocaine.
The package was marked “333,” which does not necessarily identify a cartel.
“The markings on the outside, as we said in the past, do not identify the cartel; they identify the buyer of who it’s going to,” Sheriff Ramsay said.
The cocaine was turned over to federal authorities for further intelligence gathering, including efforts to determine where it originated and what the markings may indicate.
The sheriff also discussed an arrest stemming from a road-rage incident involving a 62-year-old man and a 17-year-old driver.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, the juvenile accidentally cut off the older driver before the incident escalated. Ramsay said the 62-year-old followed the teenager into a Tavernier parking lot, got out of his vehicle and armed himself with a rock while making threats.
The teenager eventually ran into a store and called 911.
“The juvenile was honest when he talked to the officer, saying, ‘Yeah, I did it. I didn’t see him. I made a lane change and I cut him off,’” Sheriff Ramsay said.
He said the situation could have been avoided.
“This is just—it was so preventable,” SheriffRamsay said. “No contact was made between the cars. They didn’t crash, which is good.”
The man was arrested on aggravated assault and other charges related to the road-rage incident.
“That’s not the way we should act in society, especially in Monroe, which is such a safe, nice community,” Sheriff Ramsay said.
The Sheriff’s Office also continued its environmental enforcement efforts, with three people cited for wildlife violations.
Marine officers have been working to enforce fishing regulations, including restrictions involving undersized snapper.
“These people are just picking up these great snappers, these mangrove snappers, which are about the size of your hand,” Sheriff Ramsay said. “They’re so small, there’s no meat to get out of them.”
Protecting the area’s marine resources requires continued enforcement.
“We have to continue to be vigilant, protect our resources, hold people accountable, and let people be conscious and aware that we’re checking, we’re looking,” Sheriff Ramsay said.
The Sheriff’s Office also participated in two community cleanups last Friday, one near NAS Key West and another at the Channel Two Bridge.
The Sheriff’s Office partnered with Coca-Cola for the cleanup near the 6.5-mile marker in the Lower Keys, where a full dump trailer of trash was collected.
At the same time, another Sheriff’s Office team worked at the Channel Two Bridge near the 73.5-mile marker and also filled a dump trailer.
“These bridges especially have a lot of trash because so many people stop to fish there, or take pictures, or look or see it,” Sheriff Ramsay said.
The cleanup effort is part of the Sheriff’s Office’s broader community-policing mission.
“It’s a proven fact that cleaner neighborhoods are safer neighborhoods, and we all want clean, safe neighborhoods,” Sheriff Ramsay said. “We don’t want graffiti. We don’t want trash. We don’t see shopping carts. We want to keep our communities looking nice, and that’s a commitment from the sheriff’s office.”
Looking ahead, the Sheriff’s Office is preparing for the graduation of recruits from its basic law enforcement academy and crossover academy for corrections officers moving into patrol.
He said approximately 10 officers are expected to graduate, while another group of nearly 15 officers is expected to be in the field-training program next month.
Sheriff Ramsay said the goal is to have the agency fully staffed once those officers complete their training.
“It’s exciting day for law enforcement, for the city and county to have these new officers and the next generation ready to hit the streets and protect and serve and keep doing our mission each and every day,” Sheriff Ramsay said.