4th arrest made in FMB go-fast boat theft

Reporter: Carolyn Brewster
Published: Updated:

FORT MYERS, Fla.- A fourth man has been arrested in connection with the theft of a go-fast boat on Christmas Eve that led authorities on a 20-hour chase from Fort Myers Beach to the coast of Cuba, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office said.

Alexis Vazquez, 35, is facing charges of grand larceny and is being held on $1 million bond.

A newly released Lee County Sheriff’s Office report says Vazquez, along with the men previously arrested, David Llanes Vasquez, 33; Raul Delavega-Sauri, 25; and Vidal Benhur Ramirez-Farfan, 25, were trying to get to Cancun, Mexico where they were to be paid $3,000 in exchange for stealing the 36-foot speed boat.

Instead, the men ended up surrendering to the U.S. Coast Guard off the coast of Cuba.

Authorities say on Dec. 23, deputies pulled the men over for a broken tail light while they were driving along McGregor Boulevard in Fort Myers. The men were allowed to leave after the traffic stop, but authorities investigating recent boat thefts in the area followed the men to the Punta Rassa boat ramp, the sheriff’s office said.

The LCSO report also says a GPS recovered indicated the men were involved in another recent boat theft in Pinellas County, showing authorities the theft on Fort Myers Beach was not isolated.

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