Monroe County Sheriff’s officials say Ledian Yusnier-Gonzalez and Dioselis Fuentes-Nodarse stole a boat from a Marathon home. The owner called authorities early Wednesday after realizing it was missing.
A border patrol crew patrolling with a sheriff’s detective because of a rise in boat thefts spotted the vessel in the Atlantic and tried to stop it. The suspects rammed the border patrol boat, causing a crack in the stolen vessel.
The vessel carried several gasoline-filled drums. The suspects told authorities they’d planned to smuggle five Cubans into the country.
Both suspects are charged with grand theft, and Acosta-Gonzalez is charged with assault on a law enforcement officer.