Key West bartender helps crack case of torched landmark

Authorities on island spent $5,379 to sand down and repaint the 20-tonne landmark

A Key West bartender has helped crack the case of who torched the Florida island’s famed Southernmost Point buoy on New Year’s Eve.

The buoy, which marks the furthest south point in the United States, was found to have been vandalised after a pine tree was set on fire beside it.

Cameron Briody, a bartender at Irish Kevin’s, recognised one of the alleged suspects after seeing security video footage of the incident.

Mr Briody said that he remembered one of the men because he had ordered three drinks at the bar without leaving a tip.

He then asked the bar’s general manager, Daylin Starks, to find the credit card transaction and compare the time stamp with the bar’s own security camera footage.

They then shared the information with police, who were able to identify the men using other security cameras.

“We could follow them the whole time, in and out of the bar,” Ms Starks told The Miami Herald.

“We could see them getting rejected from all the girls they were trying to hit on.”

David Perkins, Jr, 22, of Leesburg, Florida, and Skylar Jacobson, 21, of Henrietta, Texas, now both face a felony charge of criminal mischief and more than $1,000 in damages.

Mr Perkins was arrested and booked by Monroe County Sheriff’s Office before being released.

Mr Briody was rewarded for his sleuthing with a case of rum from a local distillery, according to reports.

“There’s a lesson for you: Always tip your bartender or he will remember you, for the good reasons or the bad reasons,” Mr Briody said in a Facebook video.

The city has spent $5,379 to sand down and repaint the 20-tonne landmark, police say.

“This is a great example of the partnership the Key West Police Department shares with the community,” said Key West Police Chief Sean Brandenburg.

“Between the people who provided the video, the officers and detectives who worked quickly to identify the suspects and the tip by Mr Briody, this highlights community policing at its best.”