Florida Man Steals Boat With Passengers Still On Board
FORT MYERS, Fla. - A boat trip turned into terrifying ride on dry land in Fort Myers Shores Monday night.
An alleged barefoot thief drove off from the Davis Boat Ramp in a stolen truck and boat with the victims still onboard.
One of the victims, Anthony Franklin, said he and his business partner had just pulled onto dry land when their wild confrontation began.
"A gentleman in a little, smaller skiff was coming behind us screaming, hollering, yelling. I said, 'Get away from our boat. We don’t want you hurting yourself. We don’t want you damaging our property,'" Franklin said.
About 10 minutes later while Franklin and his business partner were working on the boat, deputies said Pelfrey got into their truck and began driving away.
“When he got in the truck, he actually put it in reverse, and he destroyed his own vehicle," Franklin said.
Track marks the suspect made at Davis Boat Ramp when he took off with the F-250 with the trailer and boat still attached
Franklin was stuck on the boat, but he said his business partner jumped off and tried chasing after him. Moments later, Franklin was able to also make his escape and jump off while the truck was in motion.
“I thought I was going to die," he said.
As Pelfrey made his getaway on Davis Boulevard, his victims used the Ford app on their phone to disable the truck.
Pelfrey took off running, but deputies eventually found him. They arrested him after his victims positively identified him as the suspect.
Franklin said their boat trailer was damaged, and they are currently working to get estimates as to how much repairs will cost.
Pelfrey faces several felony charges including grand theft of a vehicle. He bonded out of jail Wednesday around noon.
