Florida Keys Fugitive Haven

Paul Merhige was captured in the Florida Keys after an Americas Most Wanted tip. He was found at a motel where he checked in right after the mass murders. Motel staff say he has stayed there since then with the murder vehicle covered by a car cover.

One of the most basic police fundamentals show that criminals use motels and especially motels that do not require ID. As a patrolman in a rural area, motel parking lot checks typically produce stolen cars and fugitives. A car parked in a motel with a car cover is a huge flag that should have been noticed by patrol. Merihige had swapped the tag for another vehicle he also owned. Both tags were flagged and would have notified LE that the owner was the mass murderer. If this were a big metropolitan city that would be one thing, but there are only a couple motels in this tiny town in the Keys. Thank god Merhige chose not to continue his murderous rampage. He could have wiped out the small town before the zone units took notice.

Marshall 1, I agree with you 100%, but there are also a lot of Federal LEO's in the Keys as well. I can say that it is a shame that a Road Dep did not discover him. The intel was that he did purchase a car cover and that info came out the very next day, it should have been a major clue. The problem with the Admin at the S.O is that they are too worried about the citizens of Monroe County, they do not want us doing real police work, if you pull someone over the first thing out of most of there mouths is that they know your LT, or your Capt. It took someone watching AMW to catch this animal, it is a shame, I hope that we learn from this, and that the Admin stops holding us back and allow us to do what we were hired to do, this is why we are the laughing stock of the LEO world in S.FLorida. The way we do tings has got to change, we were all lucky this time.... Be safe all....

How does a car under a cover for 40 days not get your attention. Monroe County S.O ..YOU BLEW IT !!

How does a car under a cover for 40 days not get your attention. Monroe County S.O ..YOU BLEW IT !!

A car under a cover IS a common sight here. Yes even at tiny backwater motels along the roadside. Perhaps you have heard of reasonable suspicion and probable cause.

However I do agree with your assertion that the deputies assigned to sector 5 blew this opportunity. An on the ball deputy would have at least made contact with the motel owners to ask about the car. In my sector I call that a community contact. :D :D

BOLO for a small subcompact, triple homicide offender known to have purchased a car cover recently...vehicle sat for 40+days with said car cover right off U.S 1...common sight no less, MSO blew this big time.

BOLO for a small subcompact, triple homicide offender known to have purchased a car cover recently...vehicle sat for 40+days with said car cover right off U.S 1...common sight no less, MSO blew this big time.

Federal LEO'S out number MCSO on any given day in the Key's.... The bottom line is that he is in custody!!!!!! Give it a rest...

FBI, a handfull; DEA, a handful; USMS, a couple; ICE, a couple handfulls; MCSO, a couple hundred. Doesn't seem outnumbered to me.

the mcso is a joke! have u seen the quality of deps that they hire, its just sorry. just a bunch of wanna-be cops. losers!

FBI, a handfull; DEA, a handful; USMS, a couple; ICE, a couple handfulls; MCSO, a couple hundred. Doesn't seem outnumbered to me.

Talking about on a day to day basis... Clearly out number road deputies...

the mcso is a joke! have u seen the quality of deps that they hire, its just sorry. just a bunch of wanna-be cops. losers!

Some of us are good cops trying to do a good job. Don't judge us all on a few bad apples. By the way what agency do you work for? I'm sure that you have a few worthless LEO's.

There should be a reason why the department hasn't noticed anything suspicious with that parked vehicle being there for days. COME ON!! I'm pretty sure there has been more than one officer patrolling that area. As a mater of fact, there should have been MULTIPLE SHIFTS with MULTIPLE OFFICERS patrolling that general location. Anyways, be safe.! :snicker:

Why is it that we are so quick to jump on each other as police officers? I worked for MCSO, and moved onto a larger agency. I can say that I enjoyed my time working for the MCSO, and the MCSO is no different than any law enforcement agendy in this state. Should someone have checked out with this guy? sure why not.....But I don't remember getting my crystal ball issued during orientation. Can any of us sit here and say that we haven't missed something? Think about every car we've stopped, and missed some guns or drugs. Someone said earlier that it is common to see cars under covers down there. This is true due to the snow birds leaving vehicles down there all over the place. My point is... Good Job to the federal agents and the MCSO for capturing this guy, without getting another innocent person hurt. Instead of finger pointing, let's remember that we should be taking care of each other, and not criticizing.

In the end it is obvious that a car with a cover over for well over 1 an half months and BOLO information that a known fugitive recently brought a car cover, and the fact that it is a rent by the day (maybe a week) type establishment and right off of U.S 1. Not tucked away or covertly placed...c'mon cut the crap Monroe County dropped the ball on this big time. It is nothing short of bad police work and lack of attention to details. No more no less.

Love you know-it-all Monday morning quarterbacks. Guess we should have told Abe Lincoln to skip the theater that night. Maybe mentioned to President Kennedy to put the top up that day in Dallas. I know, that AIDS thing? It's MCSO's fault for not educating the public on the dangers of unprotected sex. Yep, go ahead and place the blame where it is due. What were we thinking?

Maybe if you spent 30 minutes checking your area while we in Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach spent 30 DAYS checking our counties we all could of put this to rest a long time ago. FYI Lincoln was told to avoid Washington D.C areas after dark due to separatists and confederate loyalists, and Kennedy balked at a glass top even though advisors wanted it, and your momma warned you about putting your pecker in an exit instead of an entrance so yes.. theoretically not following information and acting upon it (like a police BOLO) will lead to unintended actions. Schmenkie!

BOLO for a small subcompact, triple homicide offender known to have purchased a car cover recently...vehicle sat for 40+days with said car cover right off U.S 1...common sight no less, MSO blew this big time.

Oh go suck on a crayon. Cars are covered up here all the time because of the blowing saltwater and the rust damage it causes, fool.

Yeah, when I need a prisoner transported, i'll call one of you pukes ok? Otherwise don't pretend to be street cops.