Two men charged as lobster tails seized

One defendant in a lobster-poaching case Saturday reportedly threw his cell phone into the ocean at Bahia Honda, jumped into the ocean and challenged state officers “to come in the water and get him.”

A second man booked in the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission case ran from officers and hid for three hours before trying to return to his truck. He found that FWC Officer Adam Garrison was willing to outwait him.

Miami residents Carlos M. Duran-Cantillo, 37, and Karel Cantillo-Martinez, 38, face multiple conservation counts after FWC officers charged them with possession of eight lobster tails, all taken in a closed season. Five of the tails were undersized. Both also were charged with resisting arrest without violence and littering.

FWC Officer Danielle Munkelt and Garrison were in street clothes watching a snorkeler, later identified as Duran, come out of the water carrying a spear gun at Bahia Honda Channel around 8 p.m. Saturday. He also carried a small queen conch, a protected species, and started “to hack at it with a knife,” agency spokesman Officer Bobby Dube related.

Garrison and Munkelt identified themselves as officers and ordered them not to discard anything. Duran then tossed the conch back into the water, according to the FWC.

Officers asked Cantillo to hand them a plastic bag spotted in the men’s cooler. As officers walked around a guard rail, Cantillo “threw the bag into the water,” they said. Munkelt went into the water to retrieve the conch and the bag that held eight separated tails. The conch was photographed and released alive.

Duran asked to get his cell phone. “Once he neared the end of the railing, he threw his phone in the water, sprinted and jumped into the water,” Dube described. Duran taunted the officers to come after him. Officers soon convinced him they were not leaving and talked him into surrendering.

A search involving other officers using night-vision gear failed to local the absent Cantillo. Four men who had been with the two suspects left the area after being warned not to help Cantillo escape.

Hours later, with the scene apparently vacated, Cantillo emerged from mangroves around midnight to return to his truck. Garrison, who had been in hiding, “jumped out of the bushes and apprehended the subject,” Dube said.

Duran was charged with possession of a queen conch and the eight lobster; failure to have a fishing license, measuring device or dive flag; and interfering with an FWC officer. Cantillo faces the same lobster and interference counts. He additionally was charged with violating probation from a prior felony case.

Both men were released from county jail at Marathon late Sunday after posting bonds of more than $15,000 each.

This story was originally published July 13, 2016 at 10:30 AM with the headline "Two men charged as lobster tails seized."