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Sandbar Stopped Yacht Thieves, Police Say

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By Latisha R. Gray, Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Published: September 5, 2007

Updated: 09/05/2007 09:52 am

SARASOTA - Two men arrested on charges they stole a 65-foot yacht did not get far from the scene of the crime, police say.

Officers say they found the men on the yacht, stuck on a sandbar less than 200 yards away from the backyard dock they took it from.

Richard Barlow, 36, and Patrick Craig, 26, both of Brandon, told police Monday that they found the $750,000 yacht drifting in Sarasota Bay just north of Bird Key.

But Sarasota police marine Capt. Eddie Howell said he recognized the luxury catamaran that had been moored for months behind a home on Bird Key.

Neighbors said the boat had been unused and docked behind a home that is in foreclosure, owned by attorney John Yanchek. Police say they are not sure who owns the yacht.

According to neighbors, two men climbed aboard about 11 a.m. Saturday. After loud rumbling noises and a lot of black smoke, the engines were running.

The men ran aground on the sandbar shortly after that, the neighbors said, and there the yacht sat for two days.

When police boarded the boat about 9 a.m. Monday, they found Barlow and Craig.

Craig told police he had gone to the boat Sunday and that Barlow had recruited him to make repairs to it.

In an interview from jail, Barlow said he had no idea how the boat got onto the sandbar. He said he was fishing, saw the stranded boat and wanted to make sure the owner was OK.

"No one was in it," Barlow said. "It looked like no one had been it for years. I tried to start the motor, and it took hours."

Barlow said it was clear the boat had been there a long time.

"If you look inside this boat, there is jelly in the refrigerator that has mold on it," Barlow said.

Police arrested both men and charged them with grand theft.

Before the yacht could be towed, two other men climbed aboard and tried to claim ownership. Edwin Watson, 74, and Brian Intrary, 35, told officers they had seized the boat "under maritime law."

Both were arrested on trespassing charges when they refused to leave the yacht, which was impounded.

Police have not found the owner of the boat, which does not have a name or registration number painted on it.

A woman who answered Yanchek's telephone Tuesday said the boat did not belong to the attorney. She declined to comment further.

Yanchek was the attorney for real estate investor Neil Mohamed Husani, who left the country in 2006 after the FBI began investigating the presentation of false documents in real estate deals in which he was involved.

Yanchek faces disbarment, partly because of his participation in those deals.

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