Bahamian sea captain known as "Tricks" came to an end in the churning surf off Jupiter Island when he forced 10 passengers to jump from his speedboat
Federal prosecutors say that the final drug and immigrant smuggling run of a Bahamian sea captain known as "Tricks" came to an end in the churning surf off Jupiter Island when he forced 10 passengers to jump from his idling speedboat. Moments later, the twin-engine boat ran aground on the rocky shore in the dark early morning of Dec. 28, 2006. Not far from the boat, police later found the body of a 64-year-old Jamaican man with an orange life vest twisted around his neck and a black duffel bag containing 83 pounds of marijuana.The murder and drug smuggling trial of Rickey Thompson, 42, opened Wednesday with federal prosecutors painting a picture of a cocaine-snorting captain, who forced his passengers, sometimes at gunpoint, off his boat in rough seas far from shore. The immigrants, mostly from Jamaica and Haiti, each paid him $3,000 for the three-hour trip from Freeport. That December night, Nigel Warren, known as "Pops," begged to stay aboard because he couldn...