Second Person Charged After Dozens Of Balloons Were Popped, Dumped In Biscayne Bay
MIAMI (CBSMiami) - A second person has been charged after dozens of balloons were popped onboard a large yacht docked within the Bayshore Landing marina.
Martina Gaspoz, 26, has been charged with willful disregard for the environment, a felony.
The man accused of dumping balloons, David Torres-Bocanegra, is also facing a felony charge.
The man who rented the boat for a wedding proposal says he had no idea about the balloon incident.
Gaspoz was spotted popping/deflating 50 balloons on the yacht which were then illegally dumped in the bay, according to her arrest report.
During questioning, Gaspoz reportedly told police she assisted Torres-Bocanegra in removing the balloons.
She said when the charter ended, she left the boat and then saw a news crew filming and saw the spent balloons in the water.
Gaspoz said she felt ashamed of what they had done after looking at the social media posts, according to the arrest report.
"Balloons are horrible for our environment. They often look like jellyfish floating in the water, sea turtles eat them," Debris Free Oceans Co-Founder Caiti Waks explained.
Recently, over 1,500 balloons were recovered in a cleanup operation at Biscayne National Park.