A master of a cargo vessel was charged with operating the boat while under the influence of alcohol.
Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Rear Admiral Scott Buschman, United States Coast Guard, District 7, made the announcement.
Anatoli Slepov, 50, a citizen of Lithuania, was charged in a criminal complaint filed in Ft. Lauderdale, with operating the vessel as it approached Port Everglades, in U.S. waters, while under the influence of alcohol, that is, while having a blood alcohol concentration of.04 or greater, in violation of Title 46, United States Code, Section 2302(c).
According to court records, Slepov was a master of the Wasaborg cargo vessel and as such had operational control of the ship when it was boarded by United States Coast Guard personnel for purposes of a port state control examination. During the examination, Coast Guard personnel observed Slepov behaving in an agitated manner, with glazed eyes, slurred speech, and a strong odor of alcohol coming from his person. Coast Guard personnel administered two blood alcohol tests to the defendant via breathalyzer. The first reading registered a content of.104, while the second reading registered a content of.108.
Following his initial appearance today before United States Magistrate Judge Patrick Hunt in Ft. Lauderdale, Slepov was ordered held in pre-trial detention pending a bond hearing that has been scheduled for August 4, 2015 at 11:00 a.m.
Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the United States Coast Guard and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI). The case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeremy McCall.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
