MCSO - Florida Keys

10/15/2026

Traffic advisories for Marathon Halloween

The Sheriff’s Office will implement temporary traffic pattern changes and restricted neighborhood access behind the Florida Keys Marathon International Airport from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Halloween night.

Expect delays in these areas:

• Dolphin Drive: Reduced to one-lane inbound traffic only. All vehicular traffic entering the neighborhood must enter via Dolphin Drive.

• Gulfstream Boulevard: Designated as one-way traffic as vehicles route through the area.

• Harbor Drive: Designated as one-way outbound traffic only. All vehicles exiting the neighborhood must exit via Harbor Drive.

• Traffic Flow Summary: Dolphin Drive, Gulfstream Boulevard, and Harbor Drive will all operate strictly as one-way streets during event hours.

The Sheriff’s Office will enforce road closures to all non-resident traffic on the following streets:

• Tuna Drive
• Shark Drive
• Bonito Drive
• Porpoise Drive
• Marlin Drive

Checkpoints will be established and access will be restricted to local residents. Drivers should be prepared to present proof of residence or state their destination.

Reduce speed, watch carefully for children, and adhere to all posted signs as well as directions from law enforcement. Pedestrians should wear reflective clothing and carry flashlights.

10/15/2026

2026 Plantation Key Colony neighborhood Halloween traffic advisory

Motorists traveling in the Plantation Key Colony neighborhood between 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. on Halloween, Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026, will notice changes this year to reduce congestion and provide a safe environment for children.

• All vehicles entering Plantation Key Colony will utilize Royal Poinciana Boulevard. At Coconut Palm Boulevards, vehicles will be directed to turn right or left.

• North Coconut Palm Boulevard will become a one-way street.

• South Coconut Palm Boulevard will become a one-way street from the intersection of Royal Poinciana Boulevard to the intersection of Bougainvillea Street.

• Hibiscus Street will become a one-way street, allowing turns only on to Royal Poinciana Boulevard toward U.S. 1.

• Jasmine Street will become a one-way street, allowing turns only on to Royal Poinciana Boulevard toward U.S. 1.

• Bougainvillea Street will become a one-way street between South Coconut Palm Boulevard and Royal Poinciana Boulevard, allowing turns on to Royal Poinciana Boulevard toward U.S. 1.

• All vehicles leaving will utilize Royal Poinciana Boulevard.

NOTE: Golf carts are to remain on the vehicle side of all cones!

Plantation Key Colony will be residential parking only. Non-residents may park at Plantation Key School, Coral Shores High School, and the Old Road.

For more information contact: Capt. Lissette Quintero at 305-619-0779 or [email protected]

10/15/2026

Sheriff’s Office to perform high visibility enforcement to improve pedestrian and bicycle safety:

Monroe County ranks in the top 25 counties in the state for traffic crashes resulting in serious and fatal injuries to pedestrians and bicyclists.

In an effort to protect the safety of these most vulnerable road users, the Sheriff’s Office will conduct High Visibility Enforcement Details during the period of October 22, 2026, through May 7, 2027, at high pedestrian and bicycle crash locations in Key Largo, Islamorada, Marathon, and Stock Island. These areas are over-represented in traffic crashes resulting in serious and fatal injuries to pedestrians and bicyclists.

The details are funded through a contract with the University of North Florida in partnership with the Florida Department of Transportation’s focused initiative to improve pedestrian and bicycle safety.

The goal of this enforcement effort is to increase awareness of and compliance with traffic laws that protect the safety of pedestrians and bicyclists.

Enforcement efforts will focus primarily on education to drivers, pedestrians, and bicyclists. However, violations may result in warnings or citations depending on the circumstances.

Remember:

• Drivers, obey speed limits, never drive impaired, and always watch for pedestrians and bicyclists.
• Bicyclists, obey traffic laws, ride in the direction of traffic, and use lights when riding at night.
• Pedestrians, cross in crosswalks or at intersections, obey pedestrian signals, and make sure you are visible to drivers when walking at night.

10/14/2026

A 38-year-old Roswell, Georgia woman falsely claiming to work for a Florida law enforcement agency was booked into Monroe County jail on Oct. 13, 2026, for scamming a Key Haven, Florida couple out of $6,500.

Johnay Monique Barnett was charged with grand theft.

The victims told the Sheriff’s Office in December 2025 they were contacted by individuals claiming to work for the Seminole County jail stating their son was arrested and they needed to pay $6,500 for his ankle bracelet upon his release. The victims paid that money via the online banking platform Zelle. They received further contact stating an additional $9,000 was needed. The victims declined to do so, ceased contact, and contacted the Sheriff’s Office.

The Sheriff’s Office subsequent investigation led to the contact of multiple law enforcement agencies in Georgia to include the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office, the Atlanta Police Department, and the Alpharetta Police Department. It also required assistance from multiple banking institutions.

Overall, bank security camera footage, bank records, previous law enforcement body camera footage from other similar fraud investigations, and multiple other law enforcement investigatory tools were used to build a complicated case that ultimately led to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office obtaining an arrest warrant for Barnett.

She was arrested, transferred to Monroe County, and booked into jail here on Tuesday.

10/14/2026

The Sherrif and Robert The Doll.

10/14/2026

10/14/2026

An update on a case involving one of our own.

DRUNK DRIVER GETS FOUR YEARS FOR CRASH THAT FOREVER CHANGED DEPUTY'S LIFE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 13, 2026

MONROE COUNTY, FL – Alexandra Marlene Baraga, 29, was adjudicated guilty on seven charges and sentenced to four years in state prison, followed by six years of probation, as part of a negotiated plea agreement stemming from a drunk-driving crash that left Monroe County Sheriff’s Deputy Julian Garcia with catastrophic, permanent injuries. The sentence was imposed Tuesday afternoon by Circuit Judge James Morgan.

Baraga received four years in state prison, followed by one year of probation, on the felony charge of DUI Causing Serious Bodily Injury. She was also sentenced to five years of probation on the felony charge of Reckless Driving Causing Serious Bodily Injury, to run consecutively to the probation imposed on the first count. She received concurrent jail sentences on the remaining misdemeanor charges.

In addition, Baraga’s driver’s license was suspended for three years. She was ordered to complete 50 hours of community service, attend DUI school and submit to random drug and alcohol testing.

The courtroom was filled with Monroe County Sheriff’s Office deputies and personnel who came to support Deputy Garcia, whose life was permanently changed by the April 9, 2024, crash.

According to reports from the Florida Highway Patrol and the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, Deputy Garcia was conducting a traffic stop along U.S. 1 near mile marker 87 in Islamorada when Baraga struck the rear of his patrol vehicle, pushing it into the vehicle he had stopped and pinning Garcia between them.

Garcia suffered catastrophic, life-altering injuries. Fellow deputies rushed to his aid, applying tourniquets to control severe bleeding before he was airlifted by Trauma Star to Jackson South Medical Center in Miami.

The Florida Highway Patrol investigated the crash. Subsequent blood testing by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement revealed Baraga’s blood alcohol concentration was approximately .268, more than three times Florida’s legal limit of .08.

Chief Assistant State Attorney Joseph Mansfield emphasized the lasting consequences of Baraga’s actions and her silence during sentencing.

“This was entirely preventable. Baraga made the decision to drive drunk, and a deputy who was simply doing his job will live with the consequences for the rest of his life. What is particularly troubling is that she stood before the court today and said nothing to the deputy whose life she permanently changed. Not one word to the man who will carry the scars of her actions for the rest of his life. Her four years in prison will eventually end. Deputy Garcia’s injuries will not. No plea agreement and no prison sentence can undo the damage caused by her reckless and selfish decision.”

The case was prosecuted by Assistant State Attorneys Melissa Simmons and Trey Evans.

The State Attorney’s Office also recognizes the deputies, emergency medical personnel and Florida Highway Patrol troopers who responded to the crash, along with the many members of the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office who stood in support of Deputy Garcia throughout the case.

MONROE COUNTY STATE ATTORNEY’S OFFICE
The Office of the State Attorney for the Sixteenth Judicial Circuit, led by State Attorney Dennis W. Ward, is committed to upholding the law through ethical prosecution, collaboration with investigative partners, and the pursuit of justice for the citizens of Monroe County.

10/11/2026

Yankiel Garcia Rodriguez, 34, of Miami, Florida, was arrested at approximately 4 p.m. on Oct. 10, 2026, near Mile Marker 40 for possession of two undersized mangrove snapper, one undersized lane snapper, and one undersized black grouper. Lower Keys Marine Deputy Luis inspected Garcia Rodriguez’s catch as he was loading a cooler into his truck. He was taken to jail.

10/11/2026

A 45-year-old Naples, Florida woman was arrested on Oct. 11, 2026, for kicking a Sheriff’s Office Deputy and threatening to kill Deputies as well as their families. There were no serious injuries reported.

Crystal Annegret Quesenberry was charged with battery on law enforcement, threatening law enforcement, threatening law enforcement families, resisting arrest with and without violence, assault, and battery.

The Sheriff’s Office was called to a residence on Fox Street on Big Pine Key at approximately 2 a.m. regarding a disturbance. Two victims there stated the group had been drinking in Key West when Quesenberry became intoxicated and irate. They left her and returned to the residence. Quesenberry eventually arrived, slapped the other three members of the group, and threatened to kill them.

Quesenberry was aggressive with Deputies and became combative when they attempted to detain her. She kicked on Deputy in the groin and made multiple threats to Deputies and their families en route to jail.

10/10/2026

Geoffrey Leigh Blatt, 69, of Overland Park, Kansas, was arrested at approximately 3 p.m. on Oct. 9, 2026, for possession of two conch near Mile Marker 40. Lower Keys Marine Deputy Luis observed Blatt diving when he overhead Blatt telling another driver he was going to take queen conch home to make conch chowder. Giuardinu then observed Blatt exit the water with two live queen conch. He was taken to jail.