Illinois woman accused of throwing boat renter's phone into water after argument
Kristen Wooden,
ANTIOCH, Ill. - An Illinois woman is accused of throwing a boat renter's phone into the water after an argument over the weekend.
Kristen Wooden, 36, of unincorporated Antioch, was arrested for criminal damage to property and was cited for the violation of not providing required equipment on a rental boat.
At about 6 p.m. Saturday, the Lake County Sheriff's Marine Unit was dispatched to ‘The Boatyard' located in the 42100 block of North 4th Avenue after Wooden called and said that one of her rental boats struck the Route 12 railroad bridge earlier in the day and wished to make a report.
While marine unit deputies were responding to the scene, Wooden called 911 saying that the renters of the boat were damaging her property. However, she allegedly refused to tell emergency telecommunicators what the renters were doing to damage her property.
At about 6:20 p.m., deputies arrived and observed Wooden at the edge of her pier in a verbal altercation with the occupants of the boat, which had not yet docked.
Wooden said she was concerned the operator was not able to dock the boat, so marine unit deputies offered to give Wooden a ride to board her rental boat, so she could dock it herself. Wooden agreed to do so, the sheriff's office said.
After docking the rental boat, Wooden took the cell phone from the hands of one of the boat's occupants, who was recording the situation, and threw it into the water.
Deputies spoke to the occupants of the rental boat and said there were no signs or indications of impairment with the operator of the boat.
The occupants said that when they returned to the dock, Wooden refused to let them dock until the sheriff's office arrived.
The boat's renters also stated that they were never given proper instructions on handling or maneuvering the boat, however, Wooden says they were given a briefing.
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Marine unit deputies determined that Wooden did not provide a copy of the rental agreement to the renters, which is required. Additionally, they determined that the rented boat did not have U.S. Coast Guard required equipment, specifically an emergency engine cut-off switch link, the sheriff's office said.
Wooden was subsequently arrested, processed and released on a $1,500.00 recognizance bond. She is due back in court on Aug. 23.
Marine unit deputies took a boat crash report for the incident earlier in the day, where the boat struck the bridge.
‘The Boatyard’ later claimed that there were numerous liquor bottles, beer bottles, garbage and human waste left on the rented boats.
Those items were not observed by marine unit deputies, the sheriff's office said.
It was also claimed that the boat would need to be taken out of service due to its structural integrity being compromised. However, the sheriff's office said the same boat was rented the following day.