Florida
Photo showing person holding dolphin several feet out of water prompts outrage, investigations
JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. – A photo of a North Florida angler holding a dolphin several feet out of the water has prompted outrage online and investigations by state and federal agencies. It’s not clear exactly where the photo was taken.
A marine biologist told News4JAX his first reaction to seeing that picture was horror. Harassing or feeding wild dolphins is against federal law.
According to Jacksonville Beach resident, Kevin Beaugrand, the photo of the dolphin hoisted out of the water was posted on Instagram last week and then shared with more than 100,000 people on a surfing account. It appears the photo has since been deleted from Instagram.
“I was immediately enraged,” said Beaugrand, who told News4JAX he saw the post on the surfing account Saturday.
He said he’s an avid surfer and wanted to take action after seeing the photo.
“It’s a crime against nature,” Beaugrand said.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, feeding or harassing dolphins violates the Marine Mammals Protection Act. It’s against that law to disturb their behavioral patterns or injure them in the wild.
Jacksonville University marine science professor Dr. Quinton White said holding a dolphin out of the water could hurt them.
“The dolphin was probably ill to be caught like that,” Dr. White said. “And to put that kind of stress on an animal really is horrific.”
He said marine mammals need buoyancy to breathe, so hoisting a dolphin out of the water can make it very hard for them to draw breath.
“It may not survive…and we won’t know probably for a while whether it made it or not. So it’s, it was pretty horrific when I saw it. A lot of animals, people don’t realize it, they catch them. And they say, ‘Oh, I want to take pictures,’ and they put it back in the water…and they die because they’re not used to being out of the water,” Dr. White said.
Beaugrand reported the photo to several agencies. NOAA and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission are now investigating.
If prosecuted, violators of the Marine Mammal Protection Act could face civil penalties up to about $34,000 or criminal fines and up to a year in prison.
News4JAX reached out to the person holding the dolphin in the photo on Instagram — we have not yet heard back.
Dr. White says if you see a marine mammal in distress, the best thing you can do is call Fish and Wildlife to let them assess the situation.
A spokesperson for NOAA said, “Anyone with information should contact NOAA’s Enforcement Hotline at (800) 853-1964.”
Copyright 2023 by WJXT News4JAX – All rights reserved.
Florida
Florida private school principal accused of choking, hitting, slapping student: sheriff's office
An Ocala, Florida, private school principal has been arrested after allegedly attacking a student in a classroom for over an hour, according to authorities.
The Marion County Sheriff’s Office said 33-year-old Dontay “Donnie” Akeem Prophet, principal of the Destiny Leadership Academy, was arrested May 11, and charged with aggravated child abuse and false imprisonment of a child under the age of 13.
On May 10, a Marion County Sheriff’s Office deputy responded to a call at the school for a report of a physical disturbance between the principal and a student.
The sheriff’s office said the investigation involved reviewing surveillance footage from the classroom, which allegedly showed Prophet preventing a child — identified as a 13-year-old boy — from leaving a classroom.
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An arrest affidavit obtained by FOX 35 Orlando claims Prophet smacked the victim in the face and on the side of his head with a computer charger before picking him up and throwing him on the floor.
The deputy reported that surveillance footage began at 11:34 a.m., with the victim’s head on the table and Prophet approaching.
During the ordeal, Prophet was allegedly seen grabbing the boy then restraining the child on the ground while using a chokehold. He is also allegedly seen using a charging cable to hit the victim, causing him to fall and sustain injuries.
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Prophet is accused of twisting the child’s ankle, slapping the child in the face and subjecting the child to physical abuse.
By about 12:40 p.m., the boy was able to leave the classroom and his teacher reported the incident to the secretary at the school after hearing yelling from the classroom.
When the teacher looked inside, she reportedly saw the principal yelling at the boy, slamming him on the ground and preventing him from leaving.
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When the responding deputy questioned Prophet, he said he was attempting to prevent harm to the child, though the sheriff’s office said the evidence told a different story.
Prophet was ultimately arrested and taken to the Marion County Jail, where he was held without bond.
The Destiny Leadership Academy did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
FOX 35 reported that the school fired Prophet.
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Court records show Prophet was arrested in 2019 on molestation charges from a 2017 incident.
The charges were ultimately dropped for “interfering with child custody,” and Prophet was sentenced to 90 days in jail, along with probation.
Florida
Florida man allegedly takes bite of RaceTrac pizza, leaves without paying
PALM COAST, Fla. – A Florida man has landed himself in jail after he allegedly took a bite out of a slice of pizza from inside a RaceTrac and left without paying for it because he was “tired” after work and “didn’t have the money,” according to an arrest affidavit from the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office.
Ronald Broaddus, 62, was arrested and charged with petit theft on Friday after the incident that unfolded at the gas station on SR-100 in Palm Coast, the affidavit said.
A RaceTrac employee told deputies that a man, later identified as Broaddus, stole pizza and frozen yogurt and left the store without paying, according to the affidavit. The employee said he went outside to confront Broaddus, who initially said he did pay for the items even though two people inside the gas station said he didn’t.
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“I told him, ‘I’m calling the police.’ He proceeded (as I’m on the phone with dispatch) to throw away the pizza box and ice cream. He came back to his bike (as I’m still on the phone with dispatch) and said, ‘You better watch your back because I’m going to kick your a***,” the employee said, according to the affidavit. “He then proceeded to step toward me with his bike in a hostile way. I stayed far enough back so he could not touch me. He then rode away.”
The employee said RaceTrac wished to pursue charges, and also trespass Broaddus from the location.
The two slices of buffalo chicken pizza and a cup of frozen yogurt totaled $8.98 before tax.
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Another deputy located Broaddus nearby and initiated a traffic stop. In a post-Miranda interview with deputies, Broaddus said he went into the gas station, picked up the frozen yogurt and pizza and walked outside to eat. The man said he was approached by an employee and told him that he didn’t have enough money to pay for the items, but would pay for it at a later time.
“(Broaddus) then stated that he threw the pizza and ice cream away after the clerk threatened to call law enforcement,” the affidavit said.
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He was placed under arrest for petit theft and was transported to the Flagler County Inmate Facility. Broaddus’ sister was contacted and she retrieved the bicycle after the arrest.
Broaddus told deputies that even though he was trespassed from the gas station, he “will be returning” to “defacate on the property,” the affidavit said.
Broaddus remains in custody on $1,000 bond.
Florida
Florida drivers get a break at the pump
TALLAHASSEE – Florida drivers got a break as the average price of gasoline fell 16 cents a gallon in the past week.
The AAA auto club said the average price of a gallon of regular unleaded was $3.44 on Monday, amid tepid pre-Memorial Day demand and oil trading below $80 a barrel. The national average Monday was $3.62 a gallon.
Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, said in a blog post last week he expects gas prices “to continue cooling” because of seasonal factors and because “a weaker-than-expected jobs report is adding to some concerns that gasoline demand could remain weak through the summer driving season, which is just a few weeks from beginning.”
Florida’s average price Monday was 9 cents lower than a month ago and 5 cents lower than a year ago. Areas in the Panhandle continued to have the state’s cheapest gas Monday, including an average of $3.26 a gallon in the Crestview-Fort Walton Beach area, according to AAA. By contrast, motorists paid an average of $3.67 in the West Palm Beach-Boca Raton area.
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