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Man Accused Of Dumping Balloons Into Biscayne Bay Out Of Jail

MIAMI (CBSMiami) – The man accused of dumping balloons into Biscayne Bay is out of jail.

David Torres-Bocanegra was arrested on a felony charge in connection to the viral video that showed the environmental crime.

According to the arrest report, "the defendant was observed and recorded popping/deflating approximately 50 party balloons on a large yacht docked within Bayshore Landing marina."

Biscayne Bay Balloons Dumping
(Courtesy of @mmgoutboarddivision)

 

The man who rented the boat for a wedding proposal says he had no idea about the balloon incident.

"I think it's so important to take care of our environment, and things like this certainly need to be addressed because it was certainly not the right thing to do," said Tom Rivas.

Recently, over 1,500 balloons were recovered in a cleanup operation at Biscayne National Park.

Sea turtles like to eat what looks like jellyfish and algae. And when you're underwater and you're an animal, sometimes balloons can look like jellyfish and algae, and they mistake these for actual food and eat them," said Katie Murphy with the Alliance for Florida's National Parks.

Murphy and the Alliance for Florida's National Parks helped Biscayne National Park recover those balloons.

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