Two of the three people arrested in connection with the theft of a luxury sailboat from Sausalito, Calif., were freed Wednesday after prosecutors concluded they hadn’t known the $2.8 million vessel was stolen and thought they were going on a late-night party cruise.
Authorities say the remaining suspect stole the 82-foot Darling from the Sausalito Yacht Harbor early Monday. The boat made it to Linda Mar Beach in Pacifica, where it ran aground shortly before dawn.
Also aboard were two Santa Cruz County residents. However, neither knew that the boat was stolen and that Gardner didn’t own the vessel, said Assistant District Attorney Al Serrato, the prosecutor in the case.
“It was an experience that I don’t ever want to experience again,” one of the former suspects said moments after being released from jail in Redwood City. “I just wanted to go on a vacation.”
Click here for the full report by the San Francisco Chronicle.
