Two Florida men have been caught and are facing charges after a late-night break-in at a popular aquarium last May, which left a large tarpon dead. Police say the men weren’t there to steal cash, but to fish in the business’s private lagoon.
The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office says the incident happened early in the morning on May 25, 2025. Security cameras at Florida Keys Aquarium Encounters in Marathon recorded two men entering the property around 2:50 a.m.
The video reportedly shows the suspects casting lines into the private basin and hooking a massive tarpon, estimated to be about 55 inches long.
According to investigators, the men didn’t just catch the fish; they kept it out of the water for roughly five minutes to take pictures. Tarpon are a protected game fish in Florida, and regulations strictly forbid lifting larger ones out of the water because it can crush their internal organs.
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By the time the men tossed the fish back into the lagoon, it was too late. Staff members at the aquarium found the tarpon dead later that morning.
Detectives eventually identified the two anglers as 25-year-old Derrick Lee Vivian of Fort Myers and 20-year-old Christopher Jeffrey Smith of Marathon. Following a months-long investigation, warrants were issued for both men.
They have been charged with burglary and the illegal removal of a tarpon larger than 40 inches from the water. Vivian was taken into custody on November 8, while Smith was booked into jail on Wednesday.
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