- January 20, 2025
-
-
Loading
Loading
by: Mia Striegel
A resident of Ormond Beach loaned his boat to Volusia County deputies on June 5 to help them catch a man accused of trying to steal a jet ski.
The deputies were called to assist the Ormond Beach Police Department at Cassen Park Boat ramp with the alleged theft on the Intracoastal Waterway at marker 21.
Edited body camera video posted by the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office on Facebook shows deputies asking the Ormond man to borrow his boat, cruising out into the Intracoastal, and then finding a man sitting on a jet ski.
At first aiming a gun at the man, the deputy began talking with him and then lowered the gun. Deputies tossed a rope to the man, later identified as Ronald Williams, who said he couldn’t swim and didn’t have any weapons with him.
Williams, who is homeless, told deputies he was not able to get the engine started, according to the incident report.
“So you are going to take a jet ski and you don’t know how to swim?” a deputy said in the video.
Williams was taken into custody without incident, and the jet ski was returned to its owner.
Deputies then thanked the boat owner for lending them the boat. While the Sheriff’s Office has boats, there wasn’t one available at the time, according to a VCSO spokesperson. VCSO helicopter Air One also assisted.
