Last February, a Chinese man was sentenced to a year in federal prison after he got caught taking photographs of military buildings on the Navy base in Key West. Now, another Chinese man faces the same charge.
Just before 7 a.m. Dec. 26, Lyuyou Liao was seen walking along the fence line of Naval Air Station Key West's Truman Annex and "entering the restricted area by walking around the perimeter fence and entering the facility from the rocks along the water line," according to the complaint in federal court.
The witnesses told Liao, 27, he wasn't allowed to go into the restricted area, but he did anyway and took several photographs, according to the affidavit. The witnesses saw Liao "take photographs of other government buildings within the vicinity of sensitive military facilities," the complaint states.
Military police approached Liao, who told them he was trying to take photos of the sunrise, according to the complaint, which says he agreed to show them photographs stored on his camera. The photos were of the buildings and other property on Truman Annex.
An NCIS agent arrived and Liao gave them the passcode to his cellphone and showed the agent photos on the phone.
"The agent observed photographs of Truman Annex on the camera," according to the complaint.
Liao is charged with entering military, Naval or Coast Guard property.
He is scheduled for a bond hearing Jan. 6 and arraignment Jan. 13 at U.S. District Court in Key West.
In February, Zhao Qianli was sentenced to a year in federal prison on the same charge. He was also caught walking onto Truman Annex by going around the fence on the water line and photographing buildings on the base. He told police at the time of his arrest that he was lost and did not realize he was going onto a military base.
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