Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission investigators have charged a Key West man in the death of a tourist who died after falling into Key West Harbor last May.
The FWC arrested Robert Joseph Perreault last week on a misdemeanor charge of violating a state boating Statute 327, which states a person can be charged if he or she violates navigation rules and the violation results in a boating accident causing serious bodily injury or death. He also was charged with violating the terms of his probation, according to authorities.
Hammond
Perreault is being charged in the death of 28-year-old Jewel Hammond, whose body was found off Mule Key near Key West on May 13. Hammond was reported missing after she reportedly fell off a 11-foot Carolina Skiff on May 11, according to the FWC.
Hammond, of Denver, Colorado was seen leaving the Schooner Wharf Bar in Key West about 2 a.m. on May 11. Hammond was reported missing around 11 a.m. later that day by a person who said the two were on a small boat and it capsized, according to the FWC.
Weather played a factor in the incident, as it was windy and rough as Perreault and Hammond headed out of Key West Bight that night, FWC officials said.
The U.S. Coast Guard searched for Hammond for roughly two days before her body was located off Mule Key. Hammond was in Key West visiting her father when she died, according to authorities.
Perreault is the second operator of a boat to be charged in the death of a passenger while transiting through Key West Harbor in bad weather. In 2021, authorities charged a well-known and long-time Sunset Celebration performer in the death of a woman who died in a boating accident in January 2020.
Authorities charged Johnny “Jeep” Caillouet, 71, of Key West with boating under the influence manslaughter, according to the FWC. The accident occurred on the night of Jan. 21, 2020, inside the Key West Bight.
Caillouet was operating an 11-foot Carolina Skiff exiting Key West Bight heading toward Wisteria Island. The victim, Saronne Lee Prater, was seated on a red-and-white cooler on the boat, according to FWC. Prior to the night of the incident, the National Weather Service had issued a small craft advisory for the area because of the forecasted wind speed, the FWC stated.
A wave crashed over the bow, which capsized the vessel. Caillouet and Prater were ejected from the vessel. Prater sustained fatal injuries and was pronounced dead at Lower Keys Medical Center, according to the FWC. The National Weather Service recorded gusts approaching 40 mph on the night of the accident.
While at Lower Keys Medical Center, Caillouet showed signs of alcohol impairment and a voluntary blood draw was requested to which he refused, according to the FWC. FWC investigators obtained a search warrant for Calliouet’s blood.
