After a Russian national was identified as the suspect in a case involving a stolen yacht, officials are still trying to figure out who exactly the man is.Nikolai Vilkov, 29, a Russian national, was arrested Monday after leading investigators with Martin County Sheriff's Office and several other agencies on a chase in a two-million-dollar stolen yacht.Martin County Sheriff John Budensiek held a press conference Tuesday where he offered an update on the case, which he's since called bizarre. Budensiek confirmed Vilkov is also accused of stealing a tow boat just hours before the yacht was stolen.Timeline of EventsVilkov is seen parking his Tesla in a no-parking zone at Lucky Shuck restaurant in Jupiter at 1:07 a.m. Monday. Vilkov is then seen wandering around by the boats parked near the bar around 2 a.m.A tow boat from TowBoatUS Palm Beach is seen heading north at 2:10 a.m. The tow boat gets stuck on a sandbar near the Jupiter Inlet, and Vilkov takes off. Vilkov is found walking along US 1. Jupiter police make contact with Vilkov and begin investigating, but could not connect him to the stolen tow boat at that time. Police have no reported sightings or information on Vilkov from 3 a.m. to 1 p.m. At around 1 p.m., Vilkov is spotted talking with people at Tiki 52 Bar & Grill near Blowing Rocks Marina. Witness report seeing Vilkov getting on and off the yacht from 1 p.m. to 3:55 p.m. Dockmaster at Blowing Rocks Marina calls 911 at 3:55 p.m. to report a stolen yacht and the suspect heading north. Suspect leads officials on boat chaseBudensiek said they began investigating and made contact with the owner who confirmed the boat should not have left the dock. From there, the MCSO, Florida Fish & Wildlife and the Jupiter Island Police Department deployed multiple boats and began to chase the yacht. "They locked onto the boat, realized that they were at extreme tactical disadvantage. We're talking about a three-story yacht, 68-foot, and our vessels with one or two marine officers were not suited to safely take those individuals into custody," Budensiek said. Officials had the Hobe Sound bridge shut down in an attempt to prevent Vilkov from getting through. However, Budensiek said they had to open it when Vilkov got closer to hitting it. They continued to chase Vilkov until Budensiek said it appeared he was no longer able to maneuver the yacht."They came up with a plan of beaching the suspect vessel, the stolen vessel, which they did, and that consisted of multiple boats, smaller boats, powering heavily against the side of the stolen vessel and pushing it into the mangroves where it was disabled," Budensiek said. Once stopped, SWAT operators came from the bridge and from local docks with tear gas and breaching rounds to make their way to where the vessel was pinned down. Budensiek said they began making announcements to get Vilkov to come out, but he did not respond. "Gas was deployed, and he eventually did come out and work his way to the front deck where SWAT operators took him into custody," he said.Suspect is questioned Vilkov was brought to the MCSO, where Budensiek said he claimed to only speak a small bit of English. "We do know that he interacted with Jupiter police earlier in the day. We know he interacted with people in the docks, so we don't really believe him in that regard," he said. However, they called the Department of Homeland Security, which provided a translator to communicate with Vilkov in Russian."During the interview, our suspect was caught in a multitude of lies. He, in our opinion, tried to fame that he was insane for a bit, and then he could answer questions that were more complex," Budensiek said. Since Vilkov wasn't cooperating, Budensiek said they haven't been able to pin down a motive for why he would steal the two boats. "We have worked together with the FBI and HSI to try to piece together his life," he said.Who is Nikolai Vilkov?The MCSO has been able to piece together a portion of a timeline to better understand who Vilkov is and how he got to the United States. In November of 2022, Vilkov and his family flew from Turkey to Mexico.On December 13th of 2022, they made their way to the Mexican-Texas border where he, his wife and child, were granted asylum and allowed to enter the United States.MCSO has not been able to find much more about Vilkov from 2022 to 2025.Vilkov has a driver's license that shows that he's from Charlotte, North Carolina.On April 30, 2024, his wife and child flew back to Russia from the United States.When asked why he was in Martin County or where he was staying, Budensiek said Vilkov claimed to be sleeping in his car but did not say why he came to South Florida. Budensiek said Vilkov also admitted to sleeping on the Yacht.Budensiek said Vilkov did not have a phone or any electronic device with him on the yacht, but did have a change of clothes.As for a criminal record, Budensiek said they haven't found any priors for Vilkov in the United States, but they can't be sure he hasn't committed crimes elsewhere."This does highlight a problem that we've seen with immigration, illegal immigration specifically. We don't know what he did in Russia. We know he showed up on the Mexican border; he was a lot into our country, but we have no idea what his criminal history is overseas. So we could be dealing with a real bad guy or not, but we're just not sure," Budensiek said.The sheriff said he's still trying to figure out how Vilkov had the knowledge to operate a 68-foot yacht."We want to know where you came from, why you stole the vessel, where were you going with the vessel, what were you going to do with the vessel, and those questions did not get answered properly," Budensiek said. A possible motiveBudensiek said while Vilkov didn't say why, he did confess to stealing the boat. Since he hasn't disclosed a motive, the sheriff said he's been left to theorize. "We have a lot of theories, and this is a theory only, but what we see here in South Florida is smuggling ventures. We know right now that the Texas border is locked down tight, the Mexican border is locked down tight, and we are expecting an influx of immigrant landings here in Florida," he said. Because of that, he feels it's possible Vilkov was involved in smuggling. "A theory, not necessarily a true theory, but a theory is this vessel was being stolen and moved to the Bahamas for a smuggling venture, but we have not been able to verify that," Budensiek said. Since Vilkov was seen heading north, Budensiek said it's possible he was going to the St Lucie Inlet. "Our fear was he was headed up to the St. Lucie Inlet and going over to the Bahamas, which we have seen as far as stolen vessels go," he added.Vilkov is held without bondVilkov is being held without bond on charges of grand theft of a motor vehicle, aggravated fleeing and eluding, and resisting arrest without violence.Budensiek said he expects more charges to follow. "He will be charged with the boat theft from earlier in that day, from down in Jupiter. So Jupiter Police Department's been up there. They've gotten their information. They're going to be filing for a warrant for his arrest," he said. An immigration detainer has also been put in place for Vilkov, who will be sent back to Russia when his sentence in Martin County in completed. Budensiek said this case highlights a problem they've known existed but feel could be becoming more and more common. "We know we're on a border. We know we've had Russians come in here before, Chinese, the list goes on and on so we're aware of that, and we're concerned about that. So, it's our job as we see pressure start to build on the Mexican border to pay attention over here, which we've done," he said. Budensiek said the MCSO has had their deputies certified on a federal level. "Tactically, we've got to go back to the drawing boards and make sure we're in a position where we can mitigate these kinds of situations. We did a good job yesterday, and we're thankful no one was hurt, but that could have been a lot worse," he said. He's now asking anyone who recognizes Vilkov or who has had contact with him to please come forward. "We are actually coming to you all. If anyone here in our area knows about this individual, knows of any other boat thefts that are unique, if you know anything about him, please reach out to us. Our detective bureau will do a thorough investigation to try to track down who he is and what he was all about," he added.Top Headlines:Man in stolen luxury yacht leads authorities on brief chase in Intracoastal near Hobe SoundMan, 79, dies after suffering a gunshot wound in Fort PierceStay up-to-date: The latest headlines and weather from WPBF 25Get the latest news updates with the WPBF 25 News app. You can download it here.