ROTONDA WEST — A Port Charlotte man was recently arrested for allegedly dumping a 19-foot-long boat on the side of a road.
Investigators said the boat changed hands multiple times, leading them through multiple conversations before a suspect could be identified.
Chase Supon, 18, was ultimately charged with littering more than 500 pounds of commercial waste.
According to the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office, a 19-foot Action Craft Bay boat was found May 28 along Anchor Road in Rotonda West.
The vessel was described as being in “junk condition,” without a trailer or a motor.
The boat’s hull registration was intact, leading investigators to a Punta Gorda resident. He told them he had given the boat to a contractor shortly after Hurricane Ian, as payment for debris removal in fall of 2022.
The investigator then spoke with the contractor, only to be told the boat had been sold again to an acquaintance over SnapChat.
When deputies spoke with the acquaintance, he told investigators the vessel had been given to another party. That other party then claimed they had traded it for a golf cart.
One person in the chain of trades said they had given the vessel to Chase Supon “three months ago” from late May.
Investigators made contact with Supon on Tuesday. He initially denied owning the boat, but changed his story and said he had received it a few months ago.
In his arrest report, Supon allegedly claimed he moved the boat to another location due to “the county getting on his family for having multiple vessels on the property.”
Supon was arrested and released from Charlotte County Jail on $2,500 bond.
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