Two men accused of unlawfully operating a Jet Ski rental business were arrested Monday after stranding two customers on Pace Picnic Island and demanding $1,000, according to authorities.
According to arrest files from the Miami Police Department, Christopher De La Rosa Torres, 23, and Luis Jorge Mora, 32, rented two Jet Skis to two customers on Monday for $290 per hour.
According to police, the duo picked up their customers from the Venetian Causeway by the rocks and transported them to Pace Picnic Island on jet skis.
According to the arrest reports, Torres and Mora then handed over their blue and yellow jet skis to their customers; however, the yellow jet ski overturned after 30 minutes.
The victims told authorities that Torres and Mora then brought them back to the island and demanded $1,000 for claimed Jet Ski damage.
Police stated the victims told the accused they didn’t have $1,000, so the suspects refused to take them back to the mainland, leaving them trapped on the island.
The arrest papers indicate that the victims contacted the police, who then picked them up.
The police found both suspects at the Watson boat ramp, where Torres exercised his right to remain silent about the charges. Police stated he and Mora claimed to have business tax receipts but were unable to produce them.
They were both detained on allegations of extortion, false imprisonment, running a business without a municipal business tax receipt, and violating usage restrictions on public property/abutting water.
As of Tuesday afternoon, both were still being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on $5,151 bonds.
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