ENGLEWOOD, Fla. (WWSB) – An Englewood man was arrested after deputies said his derelict vessel leaked diesel fuel into a Charlotte County waterway.
Dylan Stuart Cates was arrested May 11 on a charge of abandoned and derelict vessels, according to the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office.
A deputy said he was patrolling Chadwick Cove near 1825 Gulf Blvd. on May 1 when he saw a vessel listing to its port side. A probable cause affidavit said the vessel’s Florida registration came back to Cates.
As the deputy got closer, he reported seeing diesel fuel leaking into the water. The affidavit said the fuel was red, had a diesel odor and left an oily residue.
The deputy wrote that the fuel moved northeast with the current toward the Intracoastal Waterway and spread through Lemon Bay.
Authorities said they tried to contact Cates by phone but did not immediately reach him. The deputy then contacted the State Warning Point, Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the U.S. Coast Guard, according to court records.
The U.S. Coast Guard later contacted Cates, and he agreed to meet with investigators May 2. When deputies and Coast Guard members arrived at the vessel, Cates was not there, according to the document.
The deputy said the vessel was still in a derelict state, hard aground and listing heavily to its port side. A strong odor of diesel fuel was still coming from the vessel, according to the affidavit.
Deputies said about 50 feet of sorbent boom was placed near the vessel to help collect the fuel.
On May 8, the deputy returned to Chadwick Cove and found the vessel still sunk, with its bow underwater and the vessel taking on water, according to the affidavit.
The deputy wrote that the vessel posed a concern for marine life, habitat, public safety and property because it could drift beneath the water’s surface with the tide.
Cates was located May 11 at his Englewood residence and taken to the Charlotte County Jail without incident, according to authorities.
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