Checkpoints have stopped 1,850 vehicles from entering Keys
At least 1,850 vehicles have been turned away from entering the Florida Keys since Monroe County put up roadblocks at the top of the island chain last week, police said Thursday.
Staffed around the clock, the southbound checkpoints — one at mile marker 112.5 on the 18 Mile Stretch of U.S. 1 and the other on County Road 905 — are meant to keep out tourists and visitors to help stop the spread of COVID-19 into Monroe County. Residents and workers with the proper paperwork are allowed into the Keys.
Most of the turnarounds have been people who were unaware of the checkpoints, said Adam Lindhardt, spokesman for the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office
“Shopping,” Linhardt said, when asked why those people were coming to the Keys. “People coming down to fish or go to a restaurant.”
Another top reason people are being turned around: They don’t have the correct documents to prove they have the right to enter, Lindhardt said. One man had a piece of cardboard with a handwritten note purportedly written by an employer, he said.
That didn’t work.
Don’t think you can talk your way through the checkpoint without the proper identification.
“We’ve got our marching orders,” he said. “This is per the county. We’re just the boots on the ground.”
A Manitowoc, Wisconsin, woman was jailed after refusing to obey the checkpoint, police said.
Zoe Leven, 46, tried to drive her Toyota Prius into the Keys and was stopped twice by deputies. She was arrested at U.S. 1 and
Morris Avenue in Key Largo at 2:10 p.m. March 31.
Deputies said Leven told them she was going to drive straight through and they could not stop her.
“She also stated that she wanted to drive over a bridge because it was on her bucket list,” according to the arrest report.
When ordered out of her Prius, Leven complied. She was arrested on three misdemeanor charges: resisting arrest, violating a disasterpreparedness order, and failing to obey an officer.
She was still jailed Thursday morning at the Stock Island Detention Center on $1,000 bond.
On Thursday evening, Monroe had 38 confirmed cases, according to the state Department of Health.
County officials have said there is no expiration date for the checkpoints as of now.
According to the sheriff’s office, 788 cars were turned around in the first 48 hours. The cars contained an estimated 2,000 people.
Only residents, property owners, and those actively involved in work in the Florida Keys are allowed in, and they all must show proof they belong.
Proof of residency can be a resident re-entry sticker or a hard copy of local identification, utility bill, deed, lease or tax bill.
Those actively engaged in work, such as construction, in the Florida Keys will need to show a hard copy of a letter from their employer, employee identification, a pay stub, or current construction contract in the Keys.
First responders, healthcare workers and military actively engaged in work in the Keys will need an ID as well.
Gwen Filosa: KeyWestGwen