Update on the Bass Pro Diver

Law enforcement are still looking for the man who dove into the Bass Pro fish tank last week. I left his name out of the original post because I don’t think he has committed a felony, but the man they think did it has gone on social media to speak out. Daniel Armendariz posted on his Facebook account confirming that he is the one in the Bass Pro video, and proceeding to eviscerate Bass Pro for trying to charge him with a ridiculous felony. Multiple media outlets are referring to his post as a ‘confession’… but it’s only a confession if what he did was a crime. I’ll reiterate my previous post, it is not criminal mischief to jump into a giant fish tank. He did not willfully destroy any property, and it really shouldn’t be considered a felony, regardless of how mush Bass Pro claims they paid to disinfect the tank.

Mr. Armendariz says he will turn himself in… but not until he is ready. It’s also worth pointing out that Crimestoppers mentioned his previous charges for some serious offenses, but he says he beat those charges. It’s like they were trying to make him look bad as they are trying to sell the idea that his silly prank is a serious crime. Again, not a good look. You can check out his rant, but be forewarned, mature content:

 

Man Exposes Himself to a Woman trying to drink her Coffee

Florida gonna Florida. (It’s a verb now.) Man, you gotta respect someone when they need their cup of joe.

Jousua Echezarreta

Naples Police reported a man was pantsless and playing with himself when a woman came out on to her condo balcony to drink her coffee. He yelled up at her, insinuating that he had been watching or stalking her, then he laid down on a lounge chair and played with himself. Naples Police identified and arrested the suspect, Jousua Echezarreta, and charged him with exposure of sexual organs, loitering, resisting and officer and stalking. Creepy.

 

Dude Jumped in the Bass Pro Fish Tank and Now They Want to Charge Him With a Felony

Man Diving in Tank

You might have seen the video going around of the guy who jumped into the giant Native Fish Tank at the Fort Myers Bass Pro Shops. If you haven’t been, Bass Pro has a huge tank with fish from Florida- it’s a centerpiece of the store. It made all the local news, and got shared all over on social media, and everybody had a good laugh about it. Now, local crimestoppers is claiming they have identified the man, and that he is wanted for felony charges!

That’s the kind of overblown hooey that frustrates people about cops.

Apparently, LCSO is claiming that it cost Bass Pro $3000 to ‘decontaminate’ the tank, and that makes him a felon. I call garbage- both on the cost and the felony.

They are alleging that the cost makes it a felony criminal mischief. Unfortunately, whoever is alleging that has not read the criminal mischief statute. To qualify, an individual must “willfully and maliciously” damage property. I have been out there to check it, but it certainly doesn’t look like any damage was done. On top of that, for it to be willful, he’d have to know that jumping in the tank would cause a $3000 disinfecting bill, which of course he didn’t, because it’s ridiculous. This might be some trespass of property, but to charge this kid with a felony is willful and malicious prosecution, and the authorities should be ashamed.

Here’s the story and video on the news:

The News-Press indicates some high school kids got in trouble for doing that in 2011… it doesn’t indicate that they gave a bunch of kids felonies, though:

Man Jumps in Canal to Flee, Gets Arrested on the Other Side

Shawn Gilligan

A local man tried running from the cops, only to end up getting arrested in addition to being wet. According to NBC-2, Shawn Gilligan was allegedly driving a car when a deputy attempted to stop him for running a stop sign. He fled, ended up on a dead-end drive, where he got out and ran. He came across a canal and jumped in, trying to escape. It didn’t work, and he was arrested by deputies on the other side. He ended up having to be taken to a hospital.

It’s worth noting, the deputy initially was stopping him for a mere infraction- for which he would have gotten a ticket. Now he’s facing multiple criminal charges, including felony charges. Any jumping into a canal in Florida is dangerous… he’s lucky it didn’t turn out much worse.