Man arrested after traffic stop in Marathon

A Miami man was arrested Friday after a traffic stop revealed a large amount of gasoline in illegal containers inside a boat being towed behind his vehicle.

Sgt. Joel Slough stopped 42 year old Julio Cesar Almedia-Valdez as he was southbound at Coco Plum Drive and Highway U.S. One at 8 p.m. Friday. The Miami man was driving a U-Haul truck, towing a trailer with a large Bayline cabin cruiser on it. The trailer had no tail lights or working brake lights.

Sgt. Slough was backed up on the traffic stop by an agent from U.S. Border Patrol.

Almedia-Valdez gave the officers permission to search the vessel. Inside, they found numerous containers of gasoline, 107 gallons in all. Two large drums of gasoline were not DOT approved containers.

Additionally, the boat trailer was in very poor condition, with tires that appeared to be dry rotted, making them unsafe to operate on the highway.

Almedia-Valdez admitted the fuel was his. He was arrested and charged with unlawful conveyance of fuel. He also received citations for having faulty trailer lights. A more thorough search after his arrest revealed four more five gallon containers of gasoline concealed underneath a bad in the main cabin of the vessel.

Almedia-Valdez was booked into jail.

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