A cruise can be an amazing family vacation, but one cruise passenger who had ignored his family responsibilities for years has learned the hard way that it can also be a way to sail right into police custody.
Dominic Weaver had allegedly been avoiding authorities for more than a decade, including for more than $100,000 in back child support.
According to WDRB, the 47-year-old Kentucky man was arrested after debarking a cruise ship in Miami, Florida the week before Christmas.
“He was found, fortunately, but this is the interesting part, by the Miami Police getting off a cruise ship last week in Miami,” said Mike O’Connell, Jefferson County Attorney.
O’Connell handles child support cases for Jefferson County, Kentucky, and noted that Weaver had four total cases with the child support division, two of which are awaiting indictment.
It is likely that investigations into identification used by cruise passengers facilitated Weaver’s arrest, permitting authorities to locate him and smoothly take him into custody.
The cruise line and specific ship Weaver had sailed on have not been disclosed. It should be noted that the cruise line is not involved in the arrest, and there are no reports that Weaver caused any disruptions onboard the cruise.
As the busiest cruise port in the world, a wide variety of cruise lines offer sailings from Miami year-round, including Carnival Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean, MSC Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line, Virgin Voyages, and more.
Weaver was flown back to Louisville by authorities and booked into jail, awaiting his arraignment on January 6, 2025.
“He fled the jurisdiction, and from the date of his sentence until today, and even today, he’s not paid one cent of child support,” O’Connell confirmed.
O’Connell estimated that Weaver’s total amount of back child support was between $114,000 and $120,000. The attorney is hoping to have Weaver’s previous sentence of five years’ probation revoked and replaced with several years in prison.
Charges are likely to include not only the massive amount of unpaid child support, but also fleeing the jurisdiction and violating the terms of his current probation.
Other Cruise Ship Arrests
While cruise ship passengers are occasionally arrested following brawls or for other serious infractions during sailings. For example, in August 2024, four travelers were arrested for credit card fraud after gambling onboard MSC Magnifica with fraudulent cards.
Read Also: Do Cruise Ships Have Jails? – Here’s the Truth
Some travelers are also arrested while debarking for charges at home, even if the cruise is not necessarily unrelated.
In April 2024, a Houston mother was arrested for child abandonment after leaving her two young children, ages 8 and 6, home alone as she set sail from Florida.
It should be noted that cruise guests are also subject to the laws of the countries they visit, and may be arrested on any charges for unlawful activities while visiting ports of call.
In April 2024, a man visiting Grand Turk was arrested for inadvertently carrying ammunition in a backpack during a Royal Caribbean cruise. He was released three weeks later.
It is always up to cruise guests to be aware of local laws at whatever port of call they may visit, and to ensure their behavior complies with local guidelines. This can even include dress codes such as not wearing camouflage clothing when visiting certain destinations.
