The captain of the yacht for which a young man from Hialeah died is sentenced to 3 years in prison

Mauricio Álvarez tried to leave the country before he was detained. Authorities said he did not have a valid operating license and was using cocaine.

| 03/12/2018 - 6:44pm (GMT-5)

Cargando — Mauricio Alvarez Photo © Police Image

Mauricio Alvarez © Imagen de la Policía — Mauricio Alvarez Photo © Police Image

This article is from 5 years ago

Mauricio Alvarez, 49, was sentenced this Wednesday to 3 years in prison for misconduct or negligence as an officer of aship that caused the death of a person.

The man was at the helm of the Miami Vice, a 91-foot yacht that was rented by several friends for a ride on April 1. During the tour, a 25-year-old young man identified as Raúl Menéndez was hit by the propellers while swimming, which caused his death.

The incident occurred in the vicinity ofMonument Island, near Miami Beach.

Álvarez was arrested in April at Fort Lauderdale International Airport when I was trying to take a flight out of the country. According to police, he did not have a valid US Coast Guard license at the time of the accident, in fact he had received a letter the month before for operating without it.

According to the investigation, the defendant had also consumed a large amount of cocaine during the time he served as captain of the Miami Vice, and was even filmed doing drugs by the owner of the company.