Hialeah man charged with stealing personal watercraft

A 20 year old Hialeah man was arrested Sunday in the early morning hours after he was caught on a traffic stop, towing a stolen personal watercraft.

Deputy Gil Gonzalez was on patrol at the 105 mile marker just before 1 a.m. when he saw a truck northbound on the highway, towing a personal watercraft on a trailer. The trailer had no working taillights. He pulled the truck over and identified the driver as 20 year old Lazaro Cruz of Hialeah. During the traffic stop, he asked Cruz if the personal watercraft belonged to him. Cruz said it belonged to a friend named “Albert” and he was towing for him.

A check on the personal watercraft’s registration gave the owner’s name as Carlos Pla of Miami. Deputy Gonzalez called Pla and asked him if he allowed anyone to use his watercraft. Pla said no. He said it should be parked at his second home in Key Largo, behind a closed gate with a golf cart parked in front of it to prevent it from being stolen.

Deputy Cody Kerns drove by the Pla home. He found the gate propped open and the golf cart parked across the street.

Pla responded to the scene of the traffic stop and identified the watercraft and the trailer as his. Cruz was arrested. He was charged with grand theft of the watercraft and grand theft of the trailer. He was booked into jail.

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