A Russian national granted asylum in the US under the Biden administration has attempted to evade police on a stolen yacht. Nikolai Vilkov, 29, led police on an extensive boat chase after he commandeered a $2 million (£1.5 million) 68-foot yacht in Hobe Sound, Florida on Monday.
Earlier that day, Vilkov had stolen a towboat from a company just north of West Palm Beach in a separate incident, according to Jupiter police. Witnesses told authorities they had seen Vilkov getting on and off a vessel from 1pm to 3:55pm, before the dockmaster at Blowing Rocks Marina called emergency services just before 4pm to report the stolen yacht. He told police the suspect was heading north, and the boat’s owner confirmed it was not supposed to be out at sea. Officers from the Martin County Sheriff’s Office, Florida Fish & Wildlife and the Jupiter Island Police Department sourced their own vessels and began to follow the yacht Vilkov was on.
In a press conference on Tuesday, Martin County Sheriff John Budensiek said: “They locked onto the boat, realized that they were at extreme tactical disadvantage. We’re talking about a three-story, 68-foot yacht, and our vessels with one or two marine officers were not suited to safely take those individuals into custody.”
After pursuing the yacht for six miles, police ordered a drawbridge up ahead be closed so Vilkov could not pass and would be penned in. But the Russian came close to hitting the bridge and forced it to be reopened, resuming the chase.
Officers were only able to capture Vilkov when he got stuck in shallow water and was unable to manoeuvre the large vessel he was operating.
Budensiek said authorities “beached” the stolen vessel by using “multiple boats, smaller boats, powering heavily against the side” of the yacht and “pushing it into the mangroves where it was disabled”.
After marooning the boat, SWAT teams deployed tear gas and Vilkov walked out onto the front deck, when he was arrested.
Budensiek added: “Gas was deployed, and he eventually did come out and work his way to the front deck where SWAT operators took him into custody.”
It remains unclear how Vilkov came to be in the US after he left the country in April 2024 on a flight back to Russia. He originally entered the US somewhere along the Texas border with Mexico on December 13, 2022 and claimed asylum, though for what reason he applied for this status is unknown.
He had previously tavelled from Turkey to Mexico in November 2022 and appeared at the US border with his wife and child.
Vilkov has a driver’s license listing an address in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Though he claimed to have poor English in his police interview after the boat chase, witnesses said they were able to communicate with him easily earlier in the day, and Budensiek confirmed he had conversed with Jupiter police without issue.
After requesting assistance from the FBI and the US Department of Homeland Security, the later authority provided a translator so Vilkov could speak in Russian.
Budensiek said: “During the interview, our suspect was caught in a multitude of lies. He, in our opinion, tried to feign that he was insane for a bit, and then he could answer questions that were more complex.”
During his police interview, Vilkov admitted stealing the yacht but did not give a motive. It also remains unclear why he took the towboat earlier on.
Budensiek offered “a theory only” that Vilkov was part of a smuggling operation.
He added: “What we see here in South Florida is smuggling ventures. We know right now that the Texas border is locked down tight, the Mexican border is locked down tight, and we are expecting an influx of immigrant landings here in Florida.
“A theory, not necessarily a true theory, but a theory is this vessel was being stolen and moved to the Bahamas for a smuggling venture, but we have not been able to verify that.”
Vilkov is being held without bond in jail on charges of grand theft of a motor vehicle, aggravated fleeing and eluding, and resisting arrest without violence.
He has no prior convictions in the US, but authorities said they do not yet know whether he has a criminal history in other countries.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has filed an immigration detainer concerning Vilkov, meaning he will be deported back to Russia as soon as due process is completed in the US, whether that results in acquittal or a prison sentence.