To say the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office has had a busy week of unusual cases would be an understatement. Keys residents were surprised this week to find usual reports of resource violations and smaller disputes replaced with two significant murder charges, as well as the kidnapping of a beloved Key deer and a slew of other unusual arrests, all within the last seven days.
“It’s been a very challenging week for citizens, but also a very big challenge for law enforcement,” Monroe County Sheriff Rick Ramsay told Keys Weekly. “We took every case to a full-court press and had persons under arrest in all cases in a very short amount of time.”
While Ramsay said he understood the back-to-back reports were “obviously shocking” for Keys residents, he stressed that the more significant violent incidents were an anomaly and involved victims and alleged perpetrators known to one another.
“We continue to send a message that we never have just random people committing these acts,” said Ramsay, noting that the sheriff’s office typically sees a murder “once every couple of years.”
“If it happens, it’s almost always going to be predominantly domestic-related,” he continued. “We are lucky that we’re not like bigger areas that have random acts of violence.
“I’m thankful for the partnerships in these cases that are really in-depth like this. I want to thank everybody involved, and at the end of the day it goes to show the testament and the vigilance that the sheriff’s office provides that we’re able to investigate, solve and hold people accountable.”
Here is a compilation of some of the significant Sheriff’s Office cases throughout the Keys over the past week. All information is summarized directly from MCSO incident reports.
Lower Keys & Key West
On July 22, 25-year-old Stock Island resident Christopher Estime was arrested at the Canadian border for immigration violations. Once he is likely extradited to Monroe County, Estime will face a charge of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon after he allegedly stabbed his former roommate. At about 2 a.m. on June 25, the 35-year-old male victim stated he kicked Estime out of his residence during an argument. Estime left and came back with a knife and stabbed the victim in the neck and arms. The victim was airlifted via Trauma Star to Jackson South Medical Center and eventually recovered.
A day later, 44-year old Stock Island resident Delmon Washington was charged with the murder of 46-year-old Latisha Tiare Alce and tampering with evidence. Key West police stopped a Hyundai that was being driven with a blown tire shortly before midnight on July 23. Washington, the driver, had a significant amount of blood on his clothes and body, but no visible injuries, and was behaving erratically. Key West police arrested Washington at that time for DUI, resisting arrest and other charges.
Key West Police found Alce’s purse in the car, but were not able to contact her. Alce’s family, suspicious that she was not with Washington, went to the couple’s residence on Suncrest Road on Stock Island. The family found Alce covered in blood and unresponsive at the residence, and she was eventually pronounced dead at the scene.
Detectives located security camera footage from a nearby business that showed Washington and Alce arriving at the residence earlier on July 23. It also showed Washington throwing away an object and some clothing before leaving the scene in the Hyundai. There were no other vehicles or people seen entering or leaving the residence.
Already in jail, Washington was additionally charged with murder by MCSO. He has a lengthy criminal history in Monroe County dating back to 1999 that includes aggravated battery, battering on law enforcement, kidnapping, armed burglary, larceny and numerous other charges.
Middle Keys
On July 21, 42-year-old Melody Sunshine Carter of Marathon was arrested and charged with attempted arson and battery for lighting bed sheets on fire while her boyfriend was sleeping. The 24-year-old victim suffered a burn to his foot.
Deputies were called to an Ocean Breeze Avenue residence in Marathon at roughly 10 p.m. regarding a domestic issue and found the victim and McCarter, who appeared to be intoxicated, outside. The victim stated he went to bed after an argument with McCarter and awoke to find the sheets on fire and McCarter stating she was calling law enforcement. After admitting to setting the sheets on fire, McCarter was taken to jail.
The next day, on July 22, 39-year-old Sean Booth Chidester was charged with murder for fatally shooting his girlfriend after falsely claiming she committed suicide.
The case began on July 14 when the sheriff’s office was called to a residence on Sylvia Avenue in Marathon regarding an alleged suicide. The body of 38-year-old Daniela Blackburn was inside the residence. She had been shot in the head with a handgun. Chidester claimed Blackburn shot herself while he was in another room. The 9mm handgun was found in the residence.
Observations made by detectives at the autopsy found the wound was not consistent with a self-inflicted gunshot wound, while Blackburn had no prior history of mental illness or suicidal tendencies. Chidester is currently in jail on a $1 million bail on the murder charge.
Social media was set abuzz on July 24 when 38-year-old Yoankis Hernandez Pena and 45-year-old Andres Leon Valdes, both from Miami, were arrested for kidnapping a Key deer.
Around 2 a.m., deputies stopped a vehicle near Mile Marker 56 that was failing to stay in its lane. An injured Key deer was inside the vehicle on top of a cooler, lawn chairs and other objects. The two men said they struck the Key deer on U.S. 1 north of the Seven Mile Bridge and initially thought it was dead. That area is not consistent with the known Key deer habitat on Big Pine Key, No Name Key and patches of other areas in the Lower Keys.
The men said they initially thought the deer was dead but realized it was still alive, so they decided to take it to a veterinarian in Miami for treatment. Both men said they never called 911, FWC or the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. FWC law enforcement arrested and charged both men with cruelty to animals and taking, possessing or selling a federally designated endangered or threatened species. They were taken to jail.
The deer was taken alive to U.S. Fish and Wildlife officials on Big Pine Key where it is being treated by a veterinarian. The deer will be released back into the wild if it survives.
MCSO deputies find an injured Key deer illegally stashed in the back of a vehicle. MCSO/Contributed
Upper Keys
On July 21, the Sheriff’s Office Special Investigations Division along with the Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco conducted an operation checking Upper Keys businesses that sell alcohol. Four of eight Key Largo businesses sold alcohol to a minor during the investigation. The remaining businesses checked were in compliance with the law. The clerks who sold the alcohol were issued a Notice to Appear citation before a Monroe County judge.
The following businesses sold the alcohol: Circle K gas station, 106501 Overseas Hwy.; Marathon Gas Station, 106200 Overseas Hwy.; Valero Gas Station, 99675 Overseas Hwy.; and Denny’s Liquors, 99600 Overseas Hwy.
The maximum individual penalties for these violations are up to 60 days in jail, a $500 fine and up to $350 in other miscellaneous costs.
Penalties for licensees range from a $1,000 fine and seven-day suspension for a first offense up to a license revocation for a third offense.
