Thieves stole $5,000 in throttle control parts from a boat in Naples sometime in the past couple of weeks, according to a report from the Naples Police Department. The theft happened to a boat on a lift next to the canal along the 1400 block of Jewel Box Avenue - a neighborhood that has seen it's share of similar crimes over the years.
"I'm surprised they would take out that amount of equipment," said neighbor Bill Nice. "$5,000 is lot of money."
Nice said thieves stole an expensive GPS unit from his own boat about 2 years ago.
"About the same time, there were 3 or 4 units very similar that were gone in the neighborhood," Nice said. "When I asked (police) if they'd find anything, they said, 'probably by now, they're in Miami.'"
In June, two suspects from the Miami area were arrested at the Naples Yacht Club after a security guard saw them on surveillance cameras, prowling the docks with burglary tools.
Nice said some of his neighbors now have cameras and lights at their own boat slips.
"Also, some have put alarms on their boat where you would step on a pad or something, and it would signal an alarm to try and prevent this," he said.
A Naples Police spokesman said that having a separate fuse for a private boat lift in the home, and keeping it in the "off" position when not in use, could help prevent boat thefts and vandalism.
