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.
There were two major arrests for cocaine charges last week.
Linhardt said they were “trafficking cases. Obviously, trafficking is a much more serious charge than possession or felony possession even, so these are big cases. Both of them involved detectives working, investigating, using the techniques that they have to make these arrests and also involve oftentimes, our traffic unit, who stopped the person after evidence has been collected and so forth, which was the case in one of these cases, but in both, about an ounce of cocaine or more was sold by the defendants. One of them was from Islamorada and these are separate cases. The other one was in Miami. So separate cases, but very similar in terms of the drugs and the amounts that were sold, and that are in our community. In one of the cases, one of the gentlemen in Islamorada, the suspect in that case also had when we went back to make the arrest after making a case and collecting evidence and so forth, he had another almost four grams of individually wrapped cocaine bags on his possession at the time of his arrest. So both of these people appear to be cocaine traffickers, not just minor drug dealers, as it were. So, very good cases made by our Special Activities Division detectives, special operations guys and gals, I know this sheriff is happy with both of those cases and getting these drugs off our streets.”
There was also a burglary in the Upper Keys recently.
Linhardt said, “I tell people a lot of times, particularly visitors down here where they sometimes will ask about crime and kind of what do you see? As everybody knows, crime is very, very low. But we do see property crimes like everywhere else, and such was the case up in the Key Largo area. Last week we had a man, a defendant, arrested, a Key Largo resident for two residential burglaries, one of them involving a bicycle, and another one of being a Garmin GPS unit, which, again, folks down here know are very popular targets. Any boat owner knows those are popular targets for thieves and criminals. So very happy to make that case. Sometimes people call me and say I don’t get why you’re letting people know that someone just stole a bicycle or a GPS unit or some power tools. Why are you’re putting that out on social media or letting folks know? My response is always very, very quick. We want to educate folks. The sheriff wants to let people know, hey, we take these cases seriously. We’re out to resolve these cases and take a full assault on crime wherever it may occur in the county. We want to let people know, hey, if you’re a victim of crime, let us know and we want to let the bad guys know, no matter what you’re up to or you think you may not get caught, we’re going to find you. We’re going to prosecute you, alongside our partner Dennis Ward, with the State Attorney’s Office. So my answer to that question is always very, very easy, and we want to let people know about everybody, the cases that we make, why we make them, and let the bad guys know as well as the victims know, hey, we’re interested in your case. We take it seriously.”
Resource violations are also taken seriously. One individual from Miami was given mandatory notice to appear in court with a citation for two undersized mutton snappers and another person from Orlando was found with two undersized lobster near mile marker 54.
Linhardt said, “We had two more I’m getting ready this morning to put them out on our social media and website, involving two more additional cases, some stone crab and some more fin fish. So those are going up as well. Visitors and sometimes local folks too, will ask me, in a lot of these wildlife cases, we’ll give the defendant what’s known as an NTA or a notice to appear citation and there’s some confusion, I think a little bit because it is a little confusing, but that is with the legalese all involved, it’s essentially an arrest that’s made. Now we’re not taking you to jail, but you do, just like the piece of paper suggests, you do have to appear in court. So these are not cases where you’re given a ticket, quote, unquote, pay a fine, maybe online, and you’re on your way. These mandatory Notice to Appear citations are like getting arrested and you have to appear before a Judge, explain the case, plead guilty or not, etc., so there is a difference there. Sometimes people ask me about that. Now, there’s also the cases where sometimes folks are actually physically taken to jail, and we make a physical arrest. In those cases, it depends on the case. If this is somebody with an extensive history of wildlife violations, and they’re caught with an exorbitant amount of fish or wildlife, and there’s a clear recidivism issue here, that determination is made on scene. So sometimes, yes, we do take people to jail for these wildlife cases, and it just depends on case by case, and the defendant and their criminal history, but even if you’re out there and you’re poaching some, some snapper, mangrove snapper, whatever it might be, we’re going to be out there. We’re going to be giving out these NTA’s, letting folks know that we take these cases seriously.”
A recently traffic stop found a Key Largo man who’s a known gang member and convicted felon in possession of marijuana and firearms.
Linhardt said, “Something that’s seemingly innocuous, like failure to maintain a lane, he gets pulled over around mile marker 106 and there is a strong order of marijuana. The deputy asked, is there any drugs in the car? He showed the deputy a burnt marijuana cigarette, burnt joint and said it could be this. Deputy said well, I need you to get out of the car. So we searched the vehicle and then obviously running the defendant’s name comes back as a known gang member and convicted felon with previous firearms convictions in our area. I believe this particular defendant is active in the Homestead area as well as Key Largo in the Upper Keys. So again, we find a mini AK 47 and a loaded Glock as well. That mini AK 47 is much like the AK 47 rifle, but smaller, more of a machine pistol in size, but same cartridge, same large rifle cartridge round. Again, we found it with a 60 round magazine, so a larger than normal magazine, and, of course, this handgun. So this was somebody with a history who was not supposed to have firearms, obviously and that makes these traffic stops, any law enforcement officer will tell you, you just you never know what’s going to happen when you’re pulling somebody over. Thankfully, this defendant was not violent in this incident, but it could have been a situation that ended differently. But thankfully, the deputy involved and everybody involved in this case handled it quickly, efficiently, and the way it’s supposed to be handled, and we were able to mitigate those threats. But it can be kind of scary out there, and this is one of those cases.”
The Citizens Police Academy is coming up.
Linhardt said, “This is a free course. It’s one night a week for a few weeks, starts in April. It’s for anybody and everybody. It’s free. If you’re interested in law enforcement, if you’re interested in what the sheriff’s office does, how we operate out there, what real CSI is all about, searching buildings, how SWAT operates, our bomb squad, how these traffic felony stops work, and how quickly those kinds of traffic stops can turn into a deadly serious situation. We have all kinds of hands on things to get folks involved. The sheriff really wants folks to come out and get your blood pumping, and get maybe a little bit of sweat on your brow, and really do some hands on work, and really get a sense of what it’s like to be a law enforcement officer in the county. I’ve been involved in a couple of these, and the citizens and the folks who take part of it always seem to love it, and we build those relationships with folks that they’re lifelong friends to the deputies involved. It goes both ways. It’s a great program. If anybody’s interested, all you have to do is contact one of our substations in the Upper, Middle and Lower Keys. That information is on our website. It’s these kind of programs, like the citizens Police Academy, that really helps us bring crime down. The sheriff was just announcing we had a 13% drop in crime, and it’s a lot of that has to do with the folks who are out there helping us. We can’t do it alone, and the CPA is a great way to get out there and do more and learn and I encourage everybody who’s interested to take part.”