Coast Guard seeks information after laser strike hits boatcrew

Coast Guard seeks information after laser strike hits boatcrew
SEATTLE — The Coast Guard is requesting information from the public in locating a suspect or suspects who pointed a green laser light into the eyes of a Coast Guard Station Tillamook Bay boatcrew member west of the Tillamook Bay entrance Wednesday evening. Around 10:45 p.m., the 47-foot Motor Lifeboat crew reported that a laser was shined into the eyes of one of the boatcrew members while the vessel...

Five Years for Alien Smuggling, Ramming Coast Guard Vessel

Five Years for Alien Smuggling, Ramming Coast Guard Vessel
by U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of California SAN DIEGO – Mexican national, Jesus Jeovanny Alcaraz-Valdez was sentenced in federal court Wednesday to 60 months in prison for bringing in nearly a dozen undocumented migrants for financial gain and ramming a Coast Guard vessel in an attempt to escape law enforcement. At the sentencing hearing, U.S. District Judge Jinsook Ohta described...

Miami Man Guilty of Aiming Laser Pointer at helicopters

Miami Man Guilty of Aiming Laser Pointer at helicopters
MIAMI – Following a trial in Miami federal court, a jury has found Patrick E. Longsworth, 68, guilty of aiming a laser pointer at two United States Coast Guard helicopters and one Miami-Dade Police Department helicopter. According to the evidence at trial, the defendant aimed a green laser pointer at three government helicopters in late November last year – two U.S. Coast Guard helicopters, and...

Coast Guard terminates illegal charter near Key Largo

Coast Guard terminates illegal charter near Key Largo
KEY WEST, Fla. — Coast Guard Sector Key West issued a Captain of the Port Order, Friday, requiring the operator of the pleasure craft to immediately cease commercial operations and comply with all applicable laws and regulations. Coast Guard law enforcement officers from Station Islamorada terminated the voyage of an illegal passenger vessel on Jewfish Creek late Wednesday evening, near Key Largo,...

Coast Guard led task force terminates multiple illegal charter operations

Coast Guard led task force terminates multiple illegal charter operations
Sector Mobile, AL MOBILE, Ala. — The Coast Guard led Gulf Coast Illegal Charter (GCIC) Task Force terminated multiple voyages across the Gulf Coast through March and April for operating in violation of the Vessel Passenger Safety Act and regulations governing passenger vessels. On March 11, 2023, the Coast Guard was notified by the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency and the Alabama Marine Resources Division...

Coast Guard interdicts lancha, seizes 1,000 pounds of shark

Coast Guard interdicts lancha, seizes 1,000 pounds of shark
Some of the sharks aboard a lancha in waters subject to U.S. law enforcement off the southern Texas coast, April 9, 2023. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Station South Padre Island) CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The Coast Guard interdicted a lancha crew and seized approximately 1,000 pounds of illegally caught shark in waters subject to U.S. law enforcement off southern Texas, Sunday. A Coast Guard Station...

Coast Guard interdicts 4 lancha crews, seizes 320 pounds of illegal fish

Coast Guard interdicts 4 lancha crews, seizes 320 pounds of illegal fish
Crew members from Coast Guard Cutter Daniel Tarr get underway on the cutter’s 26-foot over-the-horizon boat. (U.S. Coast Guard Photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Alejandro Rivera) CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The Coast Guard interdicted four lancha crews and seized 320 pounds of illegally caught fish in waters subject to U.S. law enforcement off Southern Texas, Monday. Coast Guard Sector Corpus Christi...

Coast Guard Cutter Steadfast interdiction sends seven to prison

Coast Guard Cutter Steadfast interdiction sends seven to prison
Tampa, FL – Senior U.S. District Judge Virginia M. Hernandez Covington has sentenced seven Mexican and Ecuadorian nationals to federal prison for their roles in a plan to smuggle more than $20 million of cocaine from South America to Central America in a vessel subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. The individuals were sentenced to the following prison terms:   Name Age, Residence Sentence...

Coast Guard halts illegal charter in Tampa Bay

Coast Guard halts illegal charter in Tampa Bay
A Coast Guard Station St. Petersburg boatcrew inspects a 27-foot vessel being operated as a bareboat charter with four passengers for hire at the St. Petersburg Municipal Marina, Florida Mar. 03, 2023, . (U.S. Coast Guard photo) ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Coast Guard terminated an illegal charter on Tampa Bay, Sunday. A Coast Guard Station St. Petersburg boatcrew boarded a 27-foot vessel being operated...