One killed in Keys harbor shooting, another stabbed and wounded on isolated island
A Marathon man was jailed on a charge of murder Saturday night after police said he confessed to fatally shooting a man at Boot Key Harbor.
Joseph Patrick Dugat’s body was found in a dinghy at the mooring marina in the Middle Keys city, police said. He was 45.
Christopher W. Davis, 59, who lives on a boat anchored there and is listed as a carpenter, was arrested on a charge of murder and booked into the Stock Island Detention Center.
Davis remained locked up Sunday without bond, according to jail records.
Dugat also lived on anchor at Boot Key Harbor.
At about 10:30 p.m. Saturday, Monroe County sheriff’s deputies responded to reports of shots fired at the marina.
They spotted a man — later identified as Davis — in a dinghy. They asked him at gunpoint if he had any weapons.
Davis stated he had thrown them in the water.
Deputies said they asked Davis if he was the shooter.
Davis admitted he was and that he had killed a man, according to sheriff’s office spokesman Adam Linhardt.
Davis said he shot Dugat several times with a 12-gauge shotgun and then with a .22-caliber rifle as the victim approached his sailboat in a dinghy, according to the sheriff’s office.
Dugat was shot in the face, head and arm, deputies said.
“Davis stated he had been having ongoing issues with a group of other liveaboards, including the victim, recently,” Linhardt said. “Davis stated he feared the group was vandalizing his boat and he was fearful they were going to set it on fire.”
Also, Davis said more than one member of the group told him he was going to be a “dead man,” over the past few days.
Davis said when he saw Dugat in his dinghy approaching him, he asked Dugat if he was armed. When Dugat raised his arm, Davis said he thought he saw a pistol in his hand so he shot him, deputies reported.
When he saw Dugat slump over, Davis said he shot him two or three more times, police said.
When he came within 20 feet of Dugat’s dinghy, Davis told deputies he saw him move again and fired two to three additional shots.
It was the second serious violent act reported by police in the Keys over the weekend.
On Friday night off Key West, a man was stabbed, police said.
Man stabbed on island off Key West
A 51-year-old man was stabbed in the stomach Friday night on Wisteria Island, an undeveloped spot off Key West where homeless people often camp or live on boats anchored nearby.
The man was airlifted to a Miami hospital.
The Monroe Sheriff’s Office learned of the stabbing at about 11:30 p.m. No arrests had been made as of Sunday and police had not identified any suspects.
“What spurred the incident and who is responsible remains under investigation,” Linhardt said.
The U.S. Coast Guard and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission assisted in the response.
This story was originally published July 26, 2020 at 11:59 AM.
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