Sunset Lake / Miami Beach Police Ethics Investigation Complete

[Kettlewell]

Canucksailor, who started this thread, has discovered that Karlton has had Miami Beach municipal enforcement at his property eight times for noise violations - each one apparently connected with Karlton's penchant for blasting rap music at boaters legally anchored outside his home. Six were invalidated because the sound had been turned down before officals arrived, but two were found valid and charges laid. Karlton does not appear to have paid the associated fine as of this date according to Miami Beach records.
Cruisers who anchor at Sunset Lake and are harassed by this man are advised to contact the City Police or the City. An enforcement officer will be sent out to investigate. Be certain to provide a valid celphone number for your complaint, so that if Karlton does turn the music down, he can still be charged based on your complaint.
The fines go up, from $250 for a first offense in any twelve month period, to $5000 for a fifth and subsequent violation.
Perhaps when Karlton finds himself paying out over $10k per year in fines for his rudeness, he'll learn to like cruisers - or if not, perhaps, to respect the law. Either way, we win.

[rgscpat]

Sailagain -- Yes. I believe my post was relevant to the "rights" discussions in posts 35-42, 48, 51, 55, 60, 68-70, 72-73. The rights of owners vs. the sailing public are very much at issue in this thread and not just in this one little cove.

[Heron]

Update 3/7/2012

We arrived in Sunset on 3/3 to find shelter from a large predicted front. This is not our first time here. Upon our arrival, we discovered that the plastic lazer boats now numbered 20 where about a month ago, we had 14 anchored to prevent cruisers from using the water in front of Karlton's home. The next day, a sailor came in to get out of the harsh winds and because there was no other space, he anchored among the lazers. That evening, Mr, Karlton was launching his jet ski and using his "lacky" to begin moving the lazers around to surround the sailboat in hopes of intimidation. The police arrived later that evening and we told the police that it was the owner who moved the plastic boats closer to the legally anchored sailboat. The police affirmed that we have total rights to anchor in Sunset Lake, even among the plastic boats. We are breaking NO laws and have every right to be here. They also shared their own frustration with dealing with this obsessive property owner.

Two days later, the winds had not abated and we were still anchored in Sunset as was the sailboat. We returned from a walk on Lincoln ave and when we reached our dinghy tied to the small public park by Sunset, there was another policeman standing there. We engaged with him about his purpose there and he shared that Mr. Karlton had called the police again and made allegations that the SAILOR moved his boats around and stole one of them! The officer also stated that is was reported that said sailor was dumping raw sewage into the water and that perhaps the sailor was hiding from the police!!! The officer who came to the scene knows full well that these allegations were bogus but because of the political clout of Mr. Karlson, he had to respond to the scene. My wife had taken photos of the jet ski moving the lazers to interfere with the sailor's vessel and showed those pictures to the officer. You can tell he was very frustrated with all the effort expended on these pointless trips to Sunset Lake but he could not refuse his orders. He completed our conversation saying that the sailors and cruisers he has met during his investigations have been very respectful and decent people who are being unjustly harassed! He also confirmed that there is NO ISSUE with boaters anchoring ANYWHERE in Sunset Lake.

Today, our resilient sailor is still anchored peacefully among Mr. Karlton's plastic boats and since the winds are abating tomorrow, we will be leaving this anchorage. I continue to applaud those cruisers who lawfully anchor in Sunset Lake and encourage others to do so.

HERON

[captainKJ]

If he called in a false report about someone moving his boats than he should be charged with making a false report. Guess thats what money can do. Sooner or later he is going to have a problem with the police if he keeps this up. They most likely are just documenting everything and keeping a large file