One man turned a relaxing Royal Caribbean cruise into a trip to the slammer, allegedly over a five-figure debt he racked up while visiting the boat’s casino.
Jey Gonzalez-Diaz reportedly hurled himself over the railing of the Rhapsody of the Seas boat he had been on, as it disembarked at the Puerto Rican Port of San Juan. His poorly thought-out escape plan came after the cruise line said he amassed a whopping $16,710 in debt “almost exclusively” at the casino.
After being drug to shore by a jet skier, he was apprehended by Customs and Border Patrol near the Puerto Rico Capitol Building about 30 minutes after his grand escape.
But from there, the story gets even more confusing.
According to authorities, Gonzalez-Diaz was reportedly carrying “a backpack filled with $14,600 in cash, a handbag, two cell phones and five different identification documents,” The Daily Mail reports. “The various forms of ID he possessed included a Tennessee identification card, a US passport, a Social Security card, a Puerto Rico birth certificate and a Royal Caribbean boarding pass.”
Even more concerning is the fact that many of the identification cards bore different names than that of the suspect. For example, the Tennessee ID and birth certificate had the name ‘Jeremy Omar Gonzalez-Diaz’ on them, while the cruise boarding pass was under ‘Jeremy Diaz,’ who had also booked the cruise and racked up the gambling debt. However, the Social Security Card and passport were issued to a ‘Jey Xander Omar Gonzalez Diaz.’
According to the affidavit, Gonzalez-Diaz was defiant while being questioned by the authorities. When asked what his true identity was, he reportedly responded: “If you guys were good at your job, you would know that.” State records would go on to establish ‘Jey Gonzalez-Diaz’ as his official, legal name.
For what it’s worth, a man by the name of Jeremy Omar Gonzalez-Diaz is currently held in the Metropolitan Detention Center in Guaynabo, and the defendant claims that this man is his brother.
When asked why he would take the risk of plunging into the water, the suspect claimed he “did not want to report the currency in his possession because he thought he was going to be taxed duties for bringing in the currency.”
He is currently out on bail, according to local reports, and is facing federal charges. If convicted, he could face a fine of up to $250,000 or five years’ incarceration.
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Sierra Marlee is a millennial whose hunger for the truth in a world of fake news has led her to write. Marlee also contributes to BizPac Review.
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