Three homeless Marathon men were arrested Tuesday after they allegedly broke into a Marathon home, where they drank beer and took showers.
Ramon Elio Diaz, 60, Reinel Garcia Castellanos, 37, and Benigno Cruz Torres, 57, were all charged with burglary and grand theft.
Around 8:12 p.m., Monroe County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a burglary in progress on Sombrero Beach Road in Marathon. The reporting person provided a description of three suspects, and one deputy located two people matching the descriptions on their way to the scene, two identified as Castellanos and Diaz.
The reporting person, the caretaker of the home, arrived and positively identified the two as two of the three men who broke into the home, according to the report. She said she noticed lights on at the residence and went to investigate. When she got there, she saw the three men running through the backyard and riding away on bicycles. Further inspection of the house revealed that the shower had been used, as evident by wet towels and water on the bathroom floor. She added that she had just cleaned the house, and as it was a vacation rental, no one should have been there at that time.
The third man, Torres, was caught trying to pass by the scene during the investigation. Torres reportedly admitted that the three men had broken into the home, and also said he had been caught sneaking into the same home several days earlier. In that incident, he was also caught by the caretaker.
The caretaker said that a scheduled rental had to be cancelled due to the incident, costing the owners $500. She estimated an additional $400 for the cleanup and repair of the lock that was broken during the burglary.
All three men were arrested and transported to the Monroe County Detention Center, where they were being held without bond.
Information in the Crime Report is obtained from reports provided by area law enforcement agencies.
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