James Roy Massengale Jr., 47, apparently homeless, remained in custody at press time under a $25,000 bond, mostly for refusing to cooperate with Monroe County Sheriff’s Office deputies or Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers.
It’s against the law to molest manatees.
A witness advised the defendant that making contact with manatees was against the law, but the man reportedly declared, “I’m riding it!”
Baumgartner reported seeing Massengale “reaching for, touching, and lying over top manatees in the creek.”
Massengale denied being warned away from the protected marine mammal and became “verbally combative,” FWC Officer Bobby Dube, an agency spokesman, said. “A short time later, [Massengale] changed his story and admitted he did talk to the witness, but ‘wasn’t going to stop until someone with a badge’ told him to.”
He then was arrested by the Sheriff’s Office. During booking, Massengale was placed in isolation for refusing to provide identification information.
(Bradenton.com - Sept 21, 2016)
No comments:
Post a Comment