Jason Falbo pleads guilty to purposely running over helpless ducklings with lawn mower

FLORIDA -- He intentionally mowed over nine ducklings. Now the landscaper responsible for the Muscovy massacre in May has been handed a jail sentence.

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)

Earlier:

• Family 'horrified' when nine ducklings were killed with lawnmower

Family 'horrified' when nine ducklings were killed with lawnmower

FLORIDA -- like any normal day, Boyd Jentzsch and his son, Kai, put out food for the family of Muscovy ducks that lived outside their Wellington home.

But on May 2 as they watched out their patio door at the mother duck and her 11 ducklings peck at their food, a lawn worker plotted a different fate for the birds, according to an arrest report.

He gunned his riding lawnmower toward the ducks, which were perched on the grass near a tree in the family's yard, and swerved his blades over them, the report stated. Inside, the family of three watched and screamed at what they had just witnessed.

"We were horrified," said Jentzsch. "I couldn't believe it was happening. It was totally disgusting."

The landscaper, Jason Falbo, 24, of Royal Palm Beach, was arrested Wednesday and charged with nine counts of animal cruelty by Palm Beach County Animal Care and Control.

Officers were called to the family's home at about 2:30 p.m. the day the ducks died.

As Jentzsch's wife, Laura Gontchar recalls, the day started beautifully. She said Kai, 7, loves animals and grew especially fond of the ducks that would waddle up into the family's backyard.

Gontchar said the ducklings weren't more than a few days old. Meanwhile, Falbo's lawnmower hummed along the side of the house and Kai watched as his beloved ducks ate their lunch.

Then, the lawmower appeared. Jentzsch said the blades on the mower were up, lifted above the grass. In an instant the blades went down and a flurry of feathers, bones and small beaks went flying into the air.

The three bolted out the door; first Gontchar, then Kai, then Jentzsch.

"What are you doing?" Jentzsch remembers screaming, as Kai and Gontchar became more and more hysterical. "These are our friends. These are our babies, we love to feed them!"

Falbo sat on his mower, backed up and ran over the ducklings again, the family said. This time he smiled and laughed. Four ducklings managed to get away, hobbling with their mother into the lake, but two drowned.

Out of the 11 ducklings, only two survived, according to the report.

"What are you doing to my ducks?" Kai wailed, his father remembers. "Why are you laughing?"

The boy, in tears, ran from the backyard and back into his house. Jentzsch and his wife were stunned.

"It was one of the most emotional things I've ever seen," Jentzsch said. "It was just — wow."

Jentzsch called the police and the county's Animal Care and Control, who found the remains of the birds.

When the officials were gone, the family sat inside and cried. Kai grabbed his iPad and started watching cartoons.

"I don't want to hear about it," he told his dad. "I'm too upset."

Nearly two weeks later, the family is still reeling from witnessing the traumatic event. On his way to the school bus stop Thursday, Kai asked Jentzsch whether he thought more ducks would come and if they could take care of them so he could remember what it felt like.

It's hard for the couple to explain to Kai why this happened, they said.

"He asked me, 'Is everybody out there like this?'" Jentzsch said.

Officers said they were able to make contact with Falbo about the attack a few hours after the incident occurred. They wrote in the report that the nine baby ducks lost their lives "cruelly and viciously with extreme intent."

Records show Falbo was arrested in March for domestic battery and aggravated child abuse after he was accused of beating his girlfriend.

He is being held at the Palm Beach County Jail on $27,000 bail on the animal cruelty charges.

Gontchar said she is still emotional from what she and her family saw, but she and her husband are trying to use this experience as an opportunity to teach their son about the value of life and how cruel some people can be.

"A person came and ruined the lives of those birds," she said. "We talked about it, going through death and questions like that, and how things need to be done when he sees these cruel things happen. I think that was a very powerful and hurtful experience for him to see."
(Sun Sentinel - May 14, 2015)