MARATHON, Fla. – A man fresh off probation yelled racial slurs at another boater as he passed by in his dinghy off Marathon, then flung a hatchet through the victim’s cabin window, according to an arrest report obtained by Local 10 News on Thursday.
Monroe County Sheriff’s Office deputies took Bertil James Haney, 32, whose occupation is listed in online jail records as “rapper,” into custody on three criminal charges early Wednesday morning.
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According to the MCSO arrest report, the incident happened late Tuesday night in Boot Key Harbor.
The report doesn’t state what Haney is accused of yelling at the fellow boater or what he was allegedly upset about, but states that the hatchet “narrowly” missed the 39-year-old man’s head — and his dog — after Haney threw it through the cabin window as the victim was inside eating, shattering glass as it went into the cabin.
Deputies said the victim picked up the hatchet in self-defense, looked outside and saw Haney leaving the area.
The report states another boater heard Haney yelling the racial slurs and he and another witness saw the suspect leaving the scene.
Deputies said they later tracked down Haney, who said he was out on his dinghy “to buy cigarettes.”
Haney claimed he noticed a boat approaching him with people on board yelling and claimed he was struck by a hammer, the report states.
MCSO Deputy Christian Vega noted that while Haney had a bruise on his left arm, “it was not easily identifiable,” nor did it have any distinct marks indicating it came from a hammer.
He said he couldn’t identify who threw the hammer at him, Vega wrote, but claimed he wasn’t near the victim’s vessel.
Deputies took Haney into custody on charges of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, throwing a missile into a vehicle, building or aircraft and criminal mischief.
He was being held in MCSO’s Key West jail facility on a $25,000 bond as of Thursday afternoon.
MCSO records show that Haney has been arrested thrice before in the county.
In his most recent arrest before Wednesday, on Oct. 20, 2023, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers took Haney into custody on a charge of burglary with assault or battery.
Court records show he later pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor criminal mischief charge in that case and was sentenced to probation, which he completed less than a month ago on May 14.