Washington Man Steals Fishing Boat with the Crew on Board

If acting is 10% skill and 90% confidence, this Washington State man deserves an Academy Award. In a brazen theft worthy of a hat tip from Jack Sparrow himself, the deceitful Depp stole an 80-foot fishing boat with the crew on board by pretending to be the boat’s captain.

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Policereported yesterdaythat one of their officers was patrolling the coastal city of Westport when he heard a radio call for a vehicle theft in progress. He soon learned that the “vehicle” in question was an $8 million commercial fishing vessel dubbed the “Jamie Marie,” and the theft took place right under the noses of the ship’s crew.

“A subject had boarded the vessel, woke the crew and advised them they needed to get underway. The newer crew did not know the captain, but didn’t argue, thinking he was an alternate operator, or someone sent by the real captain,” the agency said.

The man, who has not been identified, knew enough to start and operate the large vessel. But that’s where his acting career began to sink. As the boat sailed further out into Grays Harbor and was about to cross into the open ocean, the would-be captain began laying out his priorities for the day, and something seemed a little fishy about what he had in store for the vessel.

“The subject driving the boat was talking about meeting the ‘Chinese Mothership’ and was not making sense. He certainly was not describing fishing activity,” the agency said.

While the heist itself is pretty unbelievable, it’s also hard to believe this guy didn’t even wet a line to try to catch some halibut or Dungeness crab while out on the commandeered commercial fishing vessel. With a noticeable lack of fishing happening, the gig was up for the counterfeit captain.

The crew finally made a call from the bridge to the actual captain and quickly realized they were dealing with an imposter.

“The subject driving the boat had no reason to be on the boat, let alone be operating it and had in fact, stolen the vessel with the crew onboard,” police said.

Fortunately for said crew, the swindling skipper agreed to return the ship without a fight. He brought the vessel back to port and was taken into custody by Fish and Wildlife Police and the Westport Police Department.

Further investigation revealed that this wasn’t the man’s only attempt to steal a ship. Earlier that morning, he had boarded another large vessel and attempted the same stunt. He managed to start the main engines and was rallying the crew for a voyage when the crew identified him as a charlatan.

They ran him off the boat but failed to report him to police until they heard about his more successful venture.

He was booked into jail and was found to be in possession of $4,000 cash and a large quantity of individually weighed and packaged marijuana. He’s being charged with theft, possession of stolen property, vehicle prowl (unlawfully entering or remaining in a vehicle with the intent to commit a crime), and VUCSA manufacture/delivery of marijuana.

Feature image via Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Police Facebook, Kyle Stubbs.

Shop