A masked man in gloves walked onto a dock behind a Southeast 4th Street townhome complex in Pompano Beach over the weekend, and by the time he left, two 12-inch Garmin screens worth thousands of dollars were gone. It was the second time in weeks that someone had stripped expensive electronics off a boat in the same stretch of the city, and the Broward Sheriff's Office is now investigating both thefts.
The earlier theft hit Jon Martin's boat, which was docked outside his home on Southeast 2nd Street. According to CBS News, thieves cut every wire and stripped his navigation equipment and sound system, taking speakers, amplifiers, and Garmin screens that Martin says caused $45,000 worth of damage. Surveillance cameras at his home caught a man walking toward the boat before the incident, and the audio on that footage recorded a sound resembling a cordless drill unbolting equipment piece by piece.
A Masked Figure and a Branded Calling Card
Martin told the station that whoever took his gear knew exactly what they were looking for and where to find it, and said the thief was getting the equipment for half its price. Adding an odd twist to the case, a Dark Tide logo is embedded directly into the screen that was taken from his boat, a detail that stuck with him as he tallies the damage.
The most recent theft, targeting the boat behind the Southeast 4th Street townhomes, followed a similar pattern. Surveillance footage showed a masked individual wearing gloves walking along the dock before making off with the two 12-inch Garmin screens, according to the same report.
WSVN's own reporting on the Pompano Beach cases lines up with that timeline, describing how two men had the electronics of their respective boats stolen only weeks apart. In one of those cases, a thief struck at 8:30 a.m. on Oct. 17, taking three Garmin screens, speakers and an amp from a boat on Southeast 2nd Street while cutting all the wiring along the way. The outlet also detailed a 32-foot Tidewater docked off Southeast 4th Street that lost two twelve-inch Garmin screens, matching the pattern described by CBS News.
Months Without a Boat, and the Cost of Rewiring
Martin says rewiring his boat alone will cost an additional $5,000 on top of the equipment losses, and the damage is severe enough that he and his family won't be able to use the boat for months. He's not waiting around for the thief to strike again, though — he plans to reinstall his equipment with security bolts and add an alarm system to the boat.
Anyone with information on either Pompano Beach case can call Broward County Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS. Tipsters can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward of up to $5,000, per the station's report.
Part of a Wider Pattern Along the Coast
Law enforcement officials say they've seen an uptick in boat electronics thefts along the Florida coast, and the Pompano Beach cases are far from isolated. A separate statewide investigation identified potential burglary target areas across 17 counties, including Broward and Palm Beach, according to FOX 13 Tampa Bay. The Monroe County Sheriff's Office described that operation as a well-organized and sophisticated marine GPS theft ring working throughout the Keys and South Florida, a case that ended with 10 of 11 suspects arrested and the group facing a combined 122 charges.
Other recent cases show the scope of the problem. Deputies said a man named Robert Esposito stole roughly $60,000 worth of Garmin GPS units from boats between Stuart and Hobe Sound over the course of July, according to WPTV. Pompano Beach itself has seen this before, too — in September 2023, thieves stole two GPS units valued at $10,000 each from a boat at a marina near the 800 block of South Federal Highway, a case that NBC 6 South Florida reported ended with three suspects in custody after a cross-county search and bailout.
For now, authorities are urging boat owners to take precautions: record serial numbers separately from the equipment itself, install security cameras on docks and marinas, and report any suspicious activity to Crime Stoppers. For Martin, those lessons are coming after the fact, as he works to rebuild what was torn out of his boat in a matter of minutes.
