Thanks to Soundings for this:
Tylyn Morlang, 26, of Riverside, Texas, may be in a wee bit of trouble.
Tylyn, whose address is listed as “sailboat under Jewfish Creek Bridge” on the jail’s arrest log, faces a felony count of grand theft and misdemeanor charges of resisting arrest and giving a false name to a law enforcement officer.
The tiki bar/boat was stolen from the Hurricane Hole Marina (Stock Island, Key West, Florida) on January 12, 2021.
According to the Miami Herald, Morlang was found slumped over the wheel of a floating tiki hut off Key West, Florida.
The tiki hut, powered by a 30-hp outboard, belongs to Cruisin’ Tikis, which rents out bring-your-own-booze floating bars.
Since it is a bar, it may not be so shocking that Morland appeared intoxicated when the U.S. Coast Guard found him aboard The Squeaky Tiki near Fort Zachary Taylor State Park. The problem is that Morlang apparently didn’t rent the floating bar. The owners had reported it stolen the previous night.
When he was taken into custody, Morlang said he had heart problems, so he was taken to the local hospital. There, he managed to compound his problems by trying to fight law enforcement officers, who used a stun gun to subdue him.
According to the Miami Herald, when Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission(FWC) officers tried to put Morlang in a patrol car he pulled away, telling them, “I’m not going to jail!”
But off to jail he went. Morlang was arrested on a felony charge of grand theft with damage over $1,000 and misdemeanor charges of resisting arrest and giving false identification to a law enforcement officer.
The damage charge was related to the burn marks on the tiki hut’s bar and a partially melted VHF radio.
Apparently, Morlang got cold overnight and used a 10-ounce can of lighter fluid to make mini fires inside cup holders, water jugs and a coconut.
One of Cruisin’ Tikis owners, Johnna Sleith, told the Miami Herald that the fires “melted a lot of stuff.”
Meanwhile, The Squeaky Tiki was returned to port by a U.S. Coast Guard crew from Station Key West, which may be the first time the USCG operated a floating bar.
