Monkey Business In The Keys
Deputy allegedly searched police databases, placed a vehicle on a license-plate reader hotlist and conducted an undocumented traffic stop after meeting woman while working security on Bad Monkey set.
It reads like something off the pages of a Carl Hiaasen novel.
A Monroe County Sheriff’s Office deputy was arrested Tuesday after investigators say he improperly accessed law enforcement databases and used agency technology to track a woman he met while working an off-duty security detail for the television production Bad Monkey.
According to an arrest affidavit obtained and reviewed by Above the Fold, Deputy Lamar Eliseo Roman, 28, is accused of repeatedly searching state and national law enforcement databases for personal information about a woman he encountered Feb. 3 while providing security for a filming location on Long Beach Road in Big Pine Key.
Roman has since been terminated by the MCSO. In a brief statement to the media following Roman’s arrest, Monroe County Sheriff Rick Ramsay said he was “committed to keeping this community informed of significant events that occur in this agency — good and bad.”
It is the second time in recent years a Florida Keys law enforcement officer has monkeyed around with police databases.
In November, 42-year-old former MCSO Deputy Jennifer Ketcham was convicted and sentenced to three years for using official systems to pass sensitive information along to her 19-year-old drug dealing boyfriend.
Investigators said Roman first approached the woman as she exited a bus carrying extras for the production. The woman later told investigators the deputy made comments about “bringing models to set” and approached her multiple times throughout the day despite her attempts to keep the interaction brief.
Roman eventually obtained her Instagram handle during one of the encounters, according to the report.
Records reviewed by investigators show that shortly after the encounter Roman accessed the Driver and Vehicle Information Database (DAVID) and other law enforcement systems to search the woman’s personal information multiple times between Feb. 3 and Feb. 19.
The affidavit states Roman searched driver license records, vehicle information and other identifying data without a lawful investigative purpose. Investigators also said he placed the woman’s tag on a Guardian License Plate Reader hotlist, allowing him to receive alerts if the vehicle was captured by cameras in the system.
According to the report, Roman later used that alert to locate the woman while she was driving south on U.S. 1.
Investigators said they reviewed four in-car videos tied to Roman’s patrol vehicle, including three recordings showing him trying to catch up to the woman’s SUV before the stop.
The first video began at 3:56:49 p.m. on Feb. 19 and showed Roman driving southbound on U.S. 1. The system activated when he accelerated to 70 mph to pass a large dump truck in a no-passing zone. The clip ended about 35 seconds later after he completed the pass and pulled behind another truck.
A second video, beginning at 3:57:14 p.m., showed Roman again accelerating to 70 mph to pass another dump truck in a no-passing zone before pulling in behind a dark-colored SUV.
A third recording began at 3:57:51 p.m. and showed Roman passing that SUV as well. Investigators wrote that the maneuver nearly caused a head-on collision, forcing a northbound white truck to veer off the roadway to avoid impact.
The fourth video, beginning at 4:00:58 p.m., showed Roman activating his emergency lights and stopping a dark SUV near the 10-mile marker in Big Coppitt Key in front of Babalu’s Restaurant.
Investigators said Roman approached the vehicle on the passenger side, spoke briefly with the driver, did not appear to collect any documents or identification, returned to his patrol unit and then terminated the recording. The video ended with the SUV pulling back onto U.S. 1 and continuing southbound.
The affidavit notes that some video timestamps overlap because the in-car camera system retains 30 seconds of footage before activation.
Investigators also said Roman had no body-worn camera recording of the traffic stop and no in-car microphone, meaning there was no audio of the encounter.
The affidavit states Roman did not call the stop out over the radio, did not request the driver’s license or vehicle paperwork, and did not document the encounter in the agency’s Computer Aided Dispatch system.
When the deputy approached the vehicle, the driver immediately recognized him from the film production detail.
During the brief encounter, Roman allegedly asked why the woman had not followed him back on Instagram and joked about pulling her boyfriend from the vehicle if he had been present.
The woman told investigators she repeatedly said she needed to leave before Roman eventually allowed her to continue southbound.
During a March 4 interview with detectives, Roman admitted he accessed law enforcement databases without a legal reason and acknowledged placing the vehicle tag in the LPR system.
“I didn’t need to,” Roman said when asked why he searched the database, according to the affidavit. “I knew right when I did that.”
Roman also acknowledged pursuing the vehicle and conducting the traffic stop.
“Yeah, I know it’s stupid,” he told investigators when asked if he had attempted to catch up with the vehicle simply to say hello.
Detectives said Roman also admitted he knew using law enforcement databases for personal purposes was illegal.
Investigators later informed the woman that Roman had accessed law enforcement systems to obtain personal information about her and track her vehicle. She told investigators she was unaware of those actions and initially asked for time to consider whether she wanted to pursue charges.
According to the report, she later declined to pursue criminal charges.
Despite that decision, investigators sought an arrest warrant based on the alleged misuse of law enforcement databases and related violations uncovered during the investigation.
Roman was served with the warrant on March 10 at approximately 4:30 p.m. at the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office headquarters on College Road in Key West.
The investigation was conducted by detectives with the sheriff’s office Criminal Investigations Unit.
Bond was set at $50,000 and Roman will be arraigned before Judge Mark Jones on Mar. 26 at 8:45 a.m.
The second season of Carl Hiaasen’s Bad Monkey is set to premiere in December on Apple TV.