Running on plane in a speed-restricted zone, a boater in Anna Maria Sound was arrested March 15 for possessing cocaine and a controlled substance without prescription.
Jose Antonio Marrero, 33, was boating in a rental watercraft when stopped for traveling too fast in a manatee zone by the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office Marine Unit.
Slow-moving manatees are protected under state and federal law. Boat collisions have been blamed for a high percentage of manatee deaths.
During questioning, Marrero told deputies there was cocaine in a cigarette box on the rental boat. Deputies also allegedly found a generic Xanax pill.
Marrero was ticketed and fined $55 for the speeding violation.
He was transported to the Manatee County jail, posted $1,000 bond and was released.
Marrero’s arraignment is set at 9 a.m. Friday, April 17, in Manatee County Judicial Center, 1051 Manatee Ave. W., Bradenton.