Six Cruise Guests Arrested at Port Canaveral on Warrants

Brevard County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested six cruise guests at Port Canaveral on July 17 on outstanding warrants and probation-related violations, Sheriff Wayne Ivey said. The arrests included Martell Murray of Georgia, who was wanted for violating release conditions tied to a murder charge, and passengers taken into custody while leaving cruise ships.

The cases came during terminal processing at one of the cruise industry’s busiest homeports.

Warrants surfaced during port processing

Murray and a cabinmate were the first two passengers taken into custody. Murray’s warrant involved an alleged violation of release conditions connected to a murder charge, while his companion was arrested on a probation-violation warrant.

Two other named passengers were arrested as they left a cruise ship. Veronica Hamlet of Tampa was taken into custody on a failure-to-appear warrant, and James Brewton of Allendale, South Carolina, was arrested on a violation-of-probation warrant. Hamlet was released the next day on a $1,000 bond, while Brewton was released on a $500 bond.

Two additional disembarking passengers were on felony probation and did not have approval to leave the country, according to the sheriff’s office. Their names were not released.

“Whether you're from Florida or Alaska, if you come to Brevard County and break the law...or in this case have a warrant...you better believe that we will lock you up,” Ivey said.

No cruise ships were tied publicly to the arrests

The sheriff’s office did not identify the ships linked to the arrested passengers. Carnival Cruise Line’s Carnival Glory, Disney Cruise Line’s Disney Wish and Royal Caribbean’s Utopia of the Seas were in port that day, but the cruise lines were not implicated in the arrests.

There was no indication of onboard misconduct or terminal altercations connected to the cases. No delays were reported for the ships, which later departed on their scheduled three-night weekend sailings.