MARATHON, Fla. — Deputies announced two arrests on Wednesday after they accused a pair of fishermen of burglarizing a Florida Keys aquarium and killing a tarpon last May.
The announcement came soon after the arrest of one of the suspects on Wednesday: Christopher Jeffrey Smith, 20, of Marathon.
Deputies had already arrested the other suspect, Derrick Lee Vivian, 25, of Fort Myers, in November.
According to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, the two were seen entering Florida Keys Aquarium Encounters, located at 11710 Overseas Highway in Marathon, just before 3 a.m. on May 25.
Deputies said the two fished in the aquarium’s private lagoon and caught a 55-inch tarpon.
MCSO spokesperson Adam Linhardt said the two kept the fish out of the water for about five minutes as they took photos with it before throwing it back in the basin.
He said employees found the fish dead the next day.
Authorities said they later identified Smith and Vivian and obtained arrest warrants.
The men are each facing charges of burglary and removing a tarpon greater than 40 inches from the water, Linhardt said.
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