45 Months in Prison for Taking a $1.5 Million Cat on a Caribbean Joyride – Loose Cannon
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When all else fails, try journalism. 45 Months in Prison for Taking a $1.5 Million Cat on a Caribbean JoyrideCon-Artist Had Played a Lawyer and Engineer Before Becoming Captain
The smooth-talking grifter whose motley gang stole two catamarans and took the second, more expensive model on a Caribbean joyride has been sentenced to 45 months in Florida state prison on grand theft charges—more than a month behind bars for every day at sea on someone else’s boat. After two years in Broward County Jail engaging in a trial-delay strategy, David Blake Pendergrast, 47, finally entered a plea of no contest last week. The judge also ordered Pendergrast to serve 15 years of probation after prison and to pay $877,500 in restitution. He was credited with 743 days spent in the comparitive comfort of a county jail with less dangerous offenders, people awaiting trial and maybe even a few who will be found not guilty. Loose Cannon, which played a role in his apprehension, labeled Pendergrast and his partners in crime “The Blakes” after Pendergrast introduced himself using his middle name to a marina operator in the Bahamas—before they took off without paying the bill. Besides the boss, the Blakes consisted of a former Texas bar owner named Karim Osman, Osman’s girlfriend Elexa Chism, Osman’s baby from a previous relationship (kidnapped from his mother), and two dogs. First, on the night of September 14, 2023, the Blakes stole a Lagoon 450 named Dream Chaser from a residential dock in Fort Lauderdale, which they soon abandoned on someone else’s private dock at Pompano Beach after damaging the running gear. Then, on the night of September 20, the gang went over to Pier 66 marina and swiped a 58-foot Fountaine Pajot Ipanema. The boat’s name was Tifosi, and she belonged to Tyson Bytzek of Ontario, vice-president of Litens Automotive Group, a global designer and manufacturer of automotive components. He also races cars on a Canadian circuit. The Blakes replaced the Tifosi name with “Drip,” which is how they identified the boat to the 17th Street bridgetender as they headed out to sea at 3:30 a.m. en route to the Bahamas. Authorities realized that Pendergrast was the culprit after he posted a TikTok video of himself giving a tour of Tifosi, saying, “Finally here. I’m on my boat.” He posted again with a video of himself languorously rising from Bytzek’s master bed, declaring, “Let’s see what the world brings today, shall we?” Pendergrast was an ex-con, having served five jail sentences for either forgery or grand theft. For a while, he had successfully impersonated a lawyer and later an engineer for a highway construction company. He came off as an intelligent guy and could be charming when he wanted to be.
Insurance investigators trying to track down the boat failed to grasp that this particular model of catamaran had a very distinct appearance from the air, so they never bothered to put an airplane into the search, thinking that all cats look like from aloft. The Blakes even popped up once on AIS, apparently when another AIS vessel passed by and relayed their position at the North Anchorage, Isla Mujeres in Mexico. By the time Tifosi arrived at Ambergris Cay in Belize, the boat bore the name “Aries.” A beach cop at Ambergris messaged Loose Cannon on October 27, saying she had responded to a shoplifting report in the town of San Pedro. The trio had been caught on camera at a liquor store, concealing booze bottles in the baby stroller. When they trio could not produce passports or entry papers, she used Google and found several Loose Cannon stories about the theft of Tifosi, and put two and two together. The trio was arrested and eventually flown back to the U.S. and into police custody. The baby was returned to his or her mother. Yes, a beach cop in a Belize tourist town was responsible for the recovery of a $1.5 million catamaran but she was ineligible for the $20,000 reward because she worked in law enforcement. A delivery crew eventually came and took Tifosi home. Pendergrast is required to pay restitution, beginning with any pay he gets for prison work. The rest is due by the end of his 15-year probation. The victims are to be paid $14,500 and $50,000, while the Tifosi insurer is due the balance, $813,000.
LOOSE CANNON covers hard news, technical issues and nautical history. Every so often he tries to be funny. Subscribe for free to support the work. If you’ve been reading for a while—and you like it—consider upgrading to paid.
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