Drunk Marathon Man Caught Swiping Sand: Cops

Sand thief trapped when truck gets stuck

Life's a beach for the South Florida man who police said tried to steal a truckload of sand at Coco Plum Beach in Marathon.

Brian Splain, 46, was arrested around 9 p.m. Sunday after Monroe County Sheriff's deputies found his Ford F-150 truck stuck on the shore and loaded down with sand, according to a police report.

Officers found a large hole nearby where the sand had evidently been dug out, the report said.

Splain told the officers he needed the sand for some sort of job he was doing, and that he went too close to the water and got stuck as he was making his getaway.

As officers spoke with Splain, they noticed he seemed slightly impaired. Police asked him to perform field sobriety tests, which he failed, police said.

Splain was charged with grand theft of sand, criminal mischief and DWI. He was being held without bond.

Contact Us