Man arrested months after boat fatally struck spearfisherman in the Florida Keys: FWC

Fish and wildlife officers arrested a boater on a vessel homicide charge in the death of a Hialeah spearfisherman who was killed in July after being hit by a boat while snorkeling off the Florida Keys.

Investigators say that 72-year-old Palmer Reid Long drove his 32-foot Contender center console through an area with a visible diver down flag at nearly 50 mph — which is very fast on the water — and ran over 56-year-old Israel “Kiko” Boza.

READ MORE: Police identify man killed while spearfishing in the Florida Keys

Boza was snorkeling and spearfishing with his friends off his 23-foot Key Largo open fishing boat in about 20 feet of water roughly 6 miles west of Sombrero Key Light off the Middle Keys in the early afternoon of July 5 when he was hit, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the state police agency that investigates fatalities on the water.

The prop blades of the Contender cut Boza deeply on his abdomen and legs, and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Investigator Glen Way wrote in his report that he likely died within minutes of impact. Boza was also struck on the head, and Way stated that he was likely knocked unconscious.

Long, who the FWC lives in Placida, was arrested Monday in Charlotte County on a Monroe County warrant, but has since been released on a bond of $150,000. Vessel homicide is a second-degree felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

His attorney, Hal Schuhmacher, told the Herald that the criminal charge against his client is “neither warranted or supportable.”

Schuhmacher contended that there’s no “scientific or objective evidence” to conclude Long’s boat hit Boza, the dive flag on Boza’s vessel was not properly displayed, Boza had no dive flag in the water with him and Long’s boat cannot go as fast as Way states it was traveling in his report. Schuhmacher also said the FWC and Monroe County State Attorney’s Office didn’t tell him Long’s arrest warrant was imminent.

“Mr. Long is a 72 year old man who has never been arrested. When he was questioned by law enforcement, Mr. Long was unaware that any person had been struck by someone’s vessel and he answered their initial questions.” Schuhmacher said in an email Tuesday.

“During the last two and a half months, I not only informed Officer Way and the Office of the State Attorney that Mr. Long would be happy to provide any other further information they needed but, without getting any response, I have also repeatedly been asking what the status of the investigation was,” Schuhmacher said. “For some inexplicable reason, Officer Way and the Chief Assistant State Attorney did not even bother to notify of the warrant so that Mr. Long could turn himself in.”

GoPro captured the panic

In the water snorkeling with Boza were two adult friends and their juvenile sons — on 11 years old and the other 13 years old, according to the report. One of the men, Roly Barrueta, was wearing a GoPro camera mounted on his head, which filmed Long speeding through the swim area, according to the report.

Reviewing footage from the GoPro, Way stated that Long’s Contender “was dangerously close to [Barrueta] and his son.” The footage also showed Barrueta waving his hands trying to signal Long to slow down, and it also showed Long gesture back with his hand, which Way said indicated he saw the swimmers in the water — yet, continued operating his vessel at a high rate of speed.

“The GoPro video clearly showed Mr. Long acknowledging both by sight and by hand/arm gesture that there were snorkelers in the area,” Way wrote. “GoPro footage captures him directly looking at the snorkeler.”

It’s at this time, around 1:11 p.m., that investigators think the boat hit Boza, according to the report. However, his friends did not know he was struck nor injured, the report states.

Discovery of the body

A family of four on a rented boat had just pulled anchor and saw the Contender traveling through the area where Boza and the others were snorkeling, according to the report. The family told Way that after the Contender left the area, they noticed a “fleshy substance” in the water surrounded by blood. Once they realized they were looking at an injured person, they called 911 at 1:15 p.m., according to the report.

Barrueta’s GoPro footage captured the people on the rental boat yelling that someone was injured in the water, according to the report. Two minutes later, the GoPro recorded Barrueta arriving to Boza, who was floating face down and his mask having been knocked off, Way wrote.

The pallor of Boza’s face indicated he had already suffered heavy blood loss, Way noted. Barrueta and the others swam back to Boza’s boat carrying their friend at 1:29 p.m., and also called 911. FWC officers arrived to the vessel at 1:55 p.m., according to the report.

After striking Boza, Way said Long drove his boat to his home in Key Colony Beach, a small incorporated town east of the Middle Keys city of Marathon, according to the report.

According to a GoFundMe set up by Boza’s friends and family to help pay for his funeral expenses, Boza was known as Kico and died “while pursuing his passion for spearfishing.”

Reckless boating?

Way concluded in his report that Long operated his boat recklessly by speeding through an area where he acknowledged swimmers were present and not maintaining a proper lookout for people in the water. He was traveling. He had a passenger on his boat that day, according to the report.

“Mr. Long failed to use ordinary, reasonable, and due care towards Mr. Boza and eventually caused his death,” Way wrote.

Coral Gables attorney Daniel Grammes, who is representing Boza’s family issued a statement saying he’s pleased with Long’s arrest, and that the case highlights the issue of irresponsible boating in South Florida. The family has not yet filed a lawsuit against Long, Grammes said.

“We are happy to hear that Mr. Long has been criminally charged for killing Israel Boza. We look forward to obtaining justice for Mr. Boza and the loving family he was untimely taken from,” Grammes said. “This case is important because it exemplifies the dangers on the water in South Florida. As an avid South Florida spearfisherman, I routinely observe boaters failing to follow the navigational rules, which can result in fatal incidents.”