He violated a COVID-19 quarantine order, and now a Key West man will serve jail time
A Key West man was sentenced to 120 days in jail Tuesday for refusing to obey a state quarantine order issued after he tested positive for the novel coronavirus in July.
Jose Antonio Freire Interian, 24, appeared at the Monroe County Courthouse via Zoom from the county jail.
He pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor charges — violating quarantine during a public health emergency and violating the state’s emergency management act by not wearing a mask as required by the city at the time.
In a deal struck with prosecutors, Freire Interian was sentenced to 60 days in jail, which is the maximum, for each misdemeanor crime.
“It’s important to send a message this conduct will not be tolerated,” said Monroe County State Attorney Dennis Ward. “He chose to ignore the quarantine order and decided to go out in public, especially going to Publix unmasked and walking around the grocery store.”
Freire Interian was already in jail Tuesday on another case, a felony assault charge for threatening a man with a golf club at the Circle K store on Big Coppitt Key on March 4.
Freire Interian on Tuesday pleaded guilty to the assault charge and received 120 days in jail plus two years of probation.
“I regret my mistakes,” Freire Interian told the court. “I appreciate the opportunity you guys are giving me to do things right. I just want to do good.”
He will receive credit for 65 days he has served related to the assault case. And he will serve the time for the assault at the same time as the sentence for the quarantine order-breaking charges.
Monroe County Judge Mark Wilson accepted the plea agreement Tuesday and has a related case pending on his docket.
Yohana Gonzalez, 26, who lived with Freire Interian at the time, was also arrested on the same charges related to the quarantine. Her case is headed to trial with the next hearing set for Nov. 6.
They were both arrested and jailed July 29.
The property manager of their New Town apartment complex reported the couple to Key West police and handed over security camera video footage of the two coming and going from their home.
Freire Interian had walked his dog, gone to the grocery store and washed his car. Both had been seen leaving and returning home without wearing masks, according to a police report.
Freire Interian posted on his Facebook page July 14 that he had tested positive for the virus, urging anyone who had been in contact with him in the past week to get tested.
But he failed to follow orders to remain at home and wear a mask around others, according to an isolation order issued to both on July 21 by the Florida Department of Health in Monroe County. The order directed them to stay at home for 14 days. Gonzalez was accused of the same thing.
Their quarantine was set to end July 31, police said.
This story was originally published October 6, 2020 at 5:08 PM.
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