Man caught street racing in Marathon with 5-year-old in car, cops say; 2 jailed

Michael Taute and Yunielkis De Leon (MCSO)

MARATHON, Fla. – Deputies in the Florida Keys arrested two men for street racing along U.S. 1 in Marathon Friday evening, authorities said. One of them, they said, had a child in the car.

According to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, deputies saw Nissan and Chevrolet sedans racing near 89th Street at around 7 p.m., going roughly 80 mph, and stopped both cars.

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MCSO spokesperson Adam Linhardt said one of the participants, Michael Alvin Joseph Taute, had a 5-year-old with him in the car — and not in a car seat.

He said that led deputies to arrest Taute, 38, on a felony child neglect charge in addition to a misdemeanor street racing charge. Deputies turned the child over to a family member.

The 19-year-old he was racing with, Yunielkis Junior De Leon, was arrested on a misdemeanor street racing charge, Linhardt said.

Online records show both men remained in MCSO’s Key West jail facility as of Saturday morning, with no bonds listed.


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Chris Gothner joined the Local 10 News team in 2022 as a Digital Journalist.

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