Moment armed cops swoop on drug-fuelled sex offender who broke onto Mark Zuckerberg’s £250m luxury superyacht
THIS is the moment a drug-fuelled sex offender is nabbed by armed cops after allegedly breaking onto Mark Zuckerberg’s £250million yacht.
Video obtained by The Sun shows a speedboat-full of police pulling up to the side of a flotilla of the billionaire Facebook chief’s vessels in San Diego.
Officers swooped on suspect Christopher Gerritt, 40 after he was spotted throwing objects into the water.
Gerritt is a known sex offender and was believed to have been on meth at the time of the break-in, US TV reports.
Three of Meta CEO Zuckerberg’s boats – including the £250million mega-yacht dubbed Launchpad – were moored near the California city’s Broadway Pier last Saturday afternoon.
Brit tourist Jonathan Carr, 35, revealed to The Sun: “The police intercepted him, tied up the man’s boat and arrested him.
“Police were fully armed and had guns pointed at him throughout.”
Jonathan, from Brighton, saw armed cops on a boat with their weapons drawn as the suspect approached the yacht in San Diego Marina.
Cops later said that Gerritt had been arrested at the scene for being under the influence of a controlled substance and for violations related to his status as a registered sex offender.
Jon, who works in recruitment and was in San Diego on a business trip, shot video of the dramatic scene on his phone.
He added: “I was taking pictures of his new boat when armed police were called out to stop a man on a small boat trying to gain access unlawfully.
“He pulled up alongside the yacht, but he was seen by bystanders, and police were called out.”
Another witness said locals had spotted Zuckerberg’s collection of luxury ships, which had been in the harbour since September 26.
Pointing at the Launchpad superyacht and a smaller support vessel – called Wingman – Lawrence Cerna said: “It’s nice to see wealth from the outside! I will never attain anything like that.”
The tech tycoon’s main yacht is 387ft long and can accommodate 49 crew plus 24 guests in lavish cabins.
The yacht – one of the most expensive ever built and made by Dutch firm Feadship – includes a tennis court, helicopter deck, private cinema, a gym, and a deck jacuzzi.
It was originally commissioned by Russian oligarch Vladimir Potanin in 2018, before being sold to a mystery American – later revealed to be Zuckerberg – earlier this year.
It was unclear if Zuckerberg, 40 – one of the world’s richest men with a fortune of more than £150billion – was in San Diego at the time.
Gerritt was arrested for being under the influence of a controlled substance and for violations related to his status as a registered sex offender
San Diego Harbor Police spokeswomen
A spokeswoman for San Diego Harbor Police said: “On October 19, 2024 at approximately 2:30 p.m. the Port of San Diego Harbor Police received reports of an individual trespassing on a vessel and throwing items into San Diego Bay.
“Harbor Police officers arrived at the scene and made verbal contact with the suspect, identified as Christopher Gerritt.
“Gerritt was arrested for being under the influence of a controlled substance and for violations related to his status as a registered sex offender.
“Fortunately, there were no injuries reported to either the officers or the suspect during the incident.
“This investigation is ongoing. Further details will be released once the investigation is completed.”
Gerritt was still in custody as of today with his bail set at US$20,000 (£15,400).
Zuckerberg hasn’t commented on the situation.