Compelling Story: Woman’s Desperate Attempt to Escape Yacht Prompts Dramatic Police Raid

In a perplexing turn of events, Nantucket Harbor authorities received a distress call about a woman on a yacht. Little did they know, their response would lead to the discovery of drug trafficking and weapons charges against the yacht’s owner, a retired physician named Scott Anthony Burke. The call, which came in shortly before 8am on Tuesday, reported a female party on board the yacht who appeared to be under the influence of narcotics and may have overdosed, according to reports from the Nantucket Current. When authorities arrived, they found Burke and led them to the distressed woman, who was found in his bedroom. Shockingly, there was a handgun and a bag of cocaine in plain view, as well as multiple rounds of ammunition scattered on the floor, according to the Boston Globe and the New York Post.

The woman, who was “under the influence of an unknown substance” and expressed feeling unsafe, was promptly removed from the yacht and taken to a hospital for medical attention. Little did authorities know that this was just the tip of the iceberg. Hours later, around 3:30pm, a raid was conducted on the 70-foot motor yacht named Jess Conn. Shockingly, the raid resulted in the discovery of guns, drugs, and even prostitutes, as reported by the Current. As for Burke, who has a wife and two children, he now faces a plethora of charges including drug trafficking, possession to distribute, possession of a firearm without a license, possession of ammunition without a license, and possession of a large-capacity feeding device, according to WCVB.

The first shocking discoveries during the raid included a .380 Smith & Wesson Shield and a loaded 9mm Smith & Wesson, along with ammunition, as disclosed by the Maritime Executive and the Current. Burke’s license to carry a firearm in Florida had expired a year ago, adding to the list of charges against him. As the authorities continued their search, they also stumbled upon 43.4 grams of cocaine and 14.1 grams of ketamine. Interestingly, Burke has addresses in Key Largo, Florida, and Denver, where he used to operate a rehabilitation clinic. He currently serves as the CEO of Injury Finance, a medical insurance company he founded in Colorado two decades ago, according to the Post. The yacht itself is registered in the Cayman Islands and has been docked in Nantucket for the past two weeks after sailing from Newport, Rhode Island on August 23. (Read more Massachusetts stories.)