Bail Blog
03/11/2013
A Florida man’s romantic balloon gesture gets grounded immediately after take-off.
Anthony Brasfield, 40, was at a Motel 6 parking lot with his girlfriend when he released into the air a dozen heart-shaped mylar balloons. The intention was to gaze at them lovingly as they soar into the sky over Dania Beach.
Unknown to them, a Florida Highway Patrol trooper was also watching them. Brasfield was arrested and charged a third-degree felony for “polluting to harm humans, animals (and) plants under the Florida Air and Water Pollution Control Act”. He could be facing five years in prison.
Apparently many deflated balloons end up in the ocean where animals mistake them for jellyfish and other food. When animals eat them, they cause digestive tract obstructions that can cause death.