Trooper William Cain
Troop D - Orlando

Congratulations to Trooper William Cain for being selected as the Florida Highway Patrol Trooper of the Month for July 2008, for his prudent actions that led to the investigation of four potential terrorists.

On July 2, 2008, at approximately 4:15 PM, Trooper William G. Cain observed a minivan pull into a business at US 92 east of Interstate 95 in Volusia County. The van carried four males of Middle Eastern appearance. One of the males was wearing what appeared to be a shooters jacket over his Middle Eastern style dress. Trooper Cain became concerned and ran a vehicle registration check on the van and conducted other reference checks which revealed the registered owner to be on the terrorist watch list.

Trooper Cain notified the Orlando Regional Communications Center (ORCC) to make contact with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement Joint Terrorism Task Force (FDLE JTTF). The van then proceeded east on US 92 past the Daytona International Speedway. As the van passed the speedway one of the passengers was observed taking photographs of the speedway facility. (More than 100,000 people each day will be attending the NASCAR Races July 4th and 5th at the Daytona International Speedway). Trooper Cain followed the van as it made its way to the U.S. Post Office located on Beach Street in Daytona Beach. Trooper Cain maintained surveillance of the vehicle while waiting for FDLE JTTF and the FBI to respond to the scene. FDLE units made contact with Trooper Cain. Everyone continued to watch the van’s occupants carefully.

At around 5:10 PM the van left the Post Office on Beach Street and proceeded north on US 1 to the area of Mason Avenue where Trooper Cain and FDLE conducted a traffic stop on the suspicious vehicle. The FBI arrived on scene and all subjects in the van were separated and interviewed. The subjects denied possessing a camera; however a camera was located during a search of the van. The subjects were turned over to the FBI for further processing. All subjects were determined to be former residents of the island of Trinidad. No further information is available at this time.

Trooper Cain’s excellent training, experience, investigative techniques, and self-motivation led him, FDLE JTTF and FBI to the investigation of four potential terrorists who may have been targeting the Daytona International Speedway.