A suspect has been arrested for a boat-related crime for a third time this year on May 20.
Tristan Royer was arrested after being identified by an officer while on a jon boat in the water in Charlotte County around 2:20 a.m.
The officer commanded Royer to exit the boat, as he was wanted in connection with multiple burglaries. Royer then drove away on the boat.
Members of road patrol, STAR, K-9, Marine Patrol and Aviation then began searching for Royer. They located him with his girlfriend, Taylor Farrell, on a houseboat. The two were then detained and interviewed.
During her confession, Farrell told officers that Royer confessed to her that the jon boat was stolen. A deputy made contact with the owner of the boat, who confirmed Farrell's statement.
Gulf Coast News spoke to the owner of the boat on Thursday, who told us that he had no idea how it was stolen.
"When the cops call you at that time in the morning, you're kind of thinking something's really bad but it didn't turn out as bad as I thought it would," Mark Ruberg told Gulf Coast News. "They took a can of soup out of my my old place where I keep the food and stuff and, I don't know, that guy had cigarettes, which seemed to bug me out the most he took my favorite coffee mug and had cigarette butts in it."
Royer was eventually charged with burglary of an unoccupied conveyance unarmed and grand theft property more than $750 but less than $5,000.
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