Jason Scott Falbo II, 24, of Royal Palm Beach, pleaded guilty Thursday in Palm Beach County court to nine counts of felony cruelty to animals.
And at the same time, the lawn man pleaded guilty to a separate domestic battery by strangulation charge concerning a fight with his girlfriend about a month before the duck carnage.
For both crimes, the punishment handed down from Circuit Judge Glenn Kelley totals three years of probation, with the first year to be spent in Palm Beach County Jail.
The owners of the Wellington home and back yard where the newborn ducks perished under Falbo’s blades contacted authorities soon after watching the horror on the afternoon of May 2.
Boyd Jentzsch told an animal control officer he confronted Falbo after the mower scattered pieces of the ducklings all over the grass. Falbo’s reply, according to the arrest report: “They were in my path so I just kept mowing.”
The mother duck and four of her ducklings managed to escape to a lake behind the property, but two of the ducklings drowned, according to Jentzsch and his wife, Laura Gontchar. The couple and their young son had left food out for the duck family before Falbo, who then worked for a lawn service, arrived.
“These are our friends,” Jentzsch later recalled telling Falbo, in an interview with the Sun Sentinel. “These are our babies, we love to feed them.”
After taking out several ducks on one pass, a smiling and laughing Falbo aimed his mower at more of them, the homeowners reported.
“Nine baby ducks lost their lives cruelly and viciously with extreme intent by Jason Falbo,” according to an arrest report. Falbo’s employer told the officer it was the man’s first day on the job.
After he’s set free, Falbo must not own “any animals of any kind” nor can he live with anyone who has pets. Just to be sure he stays clear of animals, he’s going to get random visits from county animal control officers.
Along with those punishments, Falbo has to perform 10 hours of community service a month and have a mental health exam within 30 days of getting out of jail. He has two years to pay $669 in fines and court costs.
All of the terms of this plea deal were negotiated by Assistant State Attorney Judy Arco and Assistant Public Defender Darcia Rufus.
On June 23, Falbo wrote a letter to Judge Kelley asking for a hearing so he could make arguments to fire his attorney because he had not heard from her concerning either of his cases.
Falbo noted that he has an associate’s degree in a health field and he wanted to go back to school to learn how to be an x-ray technician.
“Please don’t destroy my chance to be a pillar of the community,” Falbo wrote. “Let me have a lawyer that wants the same goal as me.”
Falbo later informed the court he changed his mind about dumping the attorney.
On March 31, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office arrested Falbo after he had a shouting match with his girlfriend that turned violent, records show. Falbo repeatedly choked her, but she was able to call 911. Falbo then told a deputy he never touched the woman.
Among the conditions of his plea deal, he’s under orders not to have any contact with the victim.
(Valdosta Today - July 25, 2015)
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