Investigators say the Russian man with a North Carolina address is at the heart of a “strange” grand theft case involving two boats stolen within hours in Florida.
Nikolai Vilka was arrested on May 5th in a dramatic boat chase. This ended when multiple patrol boats pushed 68-foot yachts into mangroves to strengthen them, Martin County Sheriff John Budensiek said at a press conference.
Vilka, whose last known address is in Charlotte, told investigators he would not speak English and urged the Ministry of Homeland Security to provide Russian interpreters, officials said.
The 29-year-old was accused of stealing a tow boat stuck in a sandbar when he began the crime around 2am on May 5, officials said.
Then, around 3:55pm on Monday, Birka reappeared along a blowing rock marina near Tequesta, where he took a three-storey yacht from the berth, the sheriff’s office said.
The Dockmaster initially suspected something was wrong, so he confirmed to the boat captain that he wasn’t planning on going out to the sea that day, officials said.
“The information was really so strange to us, so we started trying to connect it together,” Budensiek said. “Initially, I thought the vessel was being reclaimed, but sometimes it has it. I know it’s not. The vessel is actually being paid.”
The yacht was seen climbing the coastal waterways, heading north towards the Hope Sound area, he said.
Hope Sound Bridge was later “locked down” and tried to secure the yacht, but Vilka began using the yacht to push it against the bridge’s pile, Budensiek said. “We decided to open the bridge so the boat didn’t damage the bridge,” he said.
About a quarter mile north of the bridge, they found Bilka struggled to operate the yacht, and they came up with a plan to “beach” the ship against mangrove trees, he said.
Vilka refused to surrender when deputies boarded the boat, and tear gas was used to force him, officials said.
The suspect appears to be struggling to pilot the 68-foot boat in the intracoastal waterway, which allowed lawmakers to shove it into the mangrove, officials said. Martin County Sheriff’s Office Photos
The motive has not been revealed yet. However, one theory is that the yacht was being transported to the Bahamas. There, Budensiek said it could be used for smuggling into the US. The boat has enough fuel capacity to make such a trip, officials said.
“He answered questions to some extent (through the translator). He admitted to stealing the ship, but nothing was overly insightful for us. We want to know where you came from, why you stole the ship, where he was, and what you do with the ship,” Budensek said. “These questions were not answered.”
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It is also a mystery how he knew the “complicated process” needed to launch a boat of that size, officials said.
Federal officials confirmed that Vilka was a Russian citizen who flew from Turkey to Mexico in November 2022 with his wife and children, and that he crossed the US border in December, officials said.
Vilka’s driver’s license confirmed that the family had settled in Charlotte for unknown reasons. Charlotte is a 640-mile drive north of Martin County.
Investigators said the dramatic boat pursuit along Florida’s coastal underground waterways made an odd turn when deputies discovered being piloted by non-English-speaking Russian citizens. Video Screen Grab
On April 30, 2024, his wife and children returned to Russia for unknown reasons, officials said.
His whereabouts have since been vague, including why he was in Florida, officials said. He told the interpreter he was sleeping in the car a few days before his arrest.
Vilka is charged with grand larceny of a car (a $2.5 million ship), aggravated escape and evasion, and resisting arrest without violence. He is being held without a bond, officials said.
Additional charges are expected in connection with theft of Towboat theft on Jupiter, officials say.
He was unarmed when he was arrested, but only clothes had been replaced on the yacht, officials said. He had no cell phone and his car was left in the valley car park and towed to a private location by the property owner.
Martin County is a drive about 105 miles north of Miami along the state’s Atlantic coast.
