Two men who allegedly killed a tarpon after breaking into a local aquarium last year have been arrested following a Monroe County...
Published on February 4, 2026
Two men who allegedly killed a tarpon after breaking into a local aquarium last year have been arrested following a Monroe County Sheriff’s Office investigation, the law enforcement agency said in an announcement.
Derrick Lee Vivian, 25, of Fort Myers, and Christopher Jeffrey Smith, 20, of Marathon, both face counts of burglary and removing a tarpon greater than 40 inches in length from the water, according to MCSO.
The sheriff’s office began investigating the tarpon caper on May 25, 2025, after two suspects were seen on security video entering Florida Keys Aquarium Encounters in Marathon at approximately 2:50 a.m., fishing in the private lagoon, catching an approximately 55-inch tarpon and taking photos of it while keeping the fish out of the water for approximately five minutes before throwing it back in the basin, reports say. The tarpon was later found dead by aquarium employees, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Both suspects were identified in the subsequent investigation and warrants were obtained for their arrest, reports say.
Vivian was arrested on Nov. 8, 2025. Smith was booked into jail Wednesday, Jan. 28.
https://lnkd.in/gJFXRscN