SARASOTA COUNTY, FL. – The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office arrested a man Thursday for an attempted boat theft after the Aviation and K-9 Units helped track him down in the Intercoastal Waterway.
Just after 1:00 a.m. on May 5, deputies responded to a report of an unknown man attempting to steal a boat docked in the 700 block of West Wentworth Street in Englewood. Before deputies arrived on the scene, the suspect jumped from the vessel and was seen by a witness swimming into the Intercoastal Waterway.
The agency’s Aviation and K-9 Units also responded and conducted a search using infrared equipment. The suspect, later identified as Matthew DiPaolo, 35, was spotted attempting to conceal himself underwater.
The Aviation Unit guided K-9 and Patrol deputies to his location, and they took him into custody.
DiPaolo, of 13308 Englewood Road in Port Charlotte, is charged with Attempted Grand Theft of a Motor Vehicle and Resisting Arrest with Violence.
He remains in custody today on $15,000 bond.
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