Arrest Made in Balloon Littering Investigation at Coconut Grove Marina – NBC 6 South Florida

A man has been arrested after cellphone video captured what appeared to be a number of boaters popping balloons and letting the trash fall into the water near a Coconut Grove marina on Tuesday.

The video posted by MMG Outboard Division, a bunch who says they "satisfaction ourselves on protecting and spreading awareness on the beautiful waters we get to call residence," was shot simply after 4 p.m. at Bayshore Landing Marina.

Two individuals onboard the boat are seen popping balloons and letting them fall into the water.

"As we handed them and expressed our disagreement, we had been ignored and so they continued popping away with no care in the world," the group posted of their message.

Miami-Dade police have made an arrest after cellphone video surfaced of individuals on a ship popping balloons into the ocean. NBC 6's Jamie Guirola reviews

Miami-Dade Police mentioned Wednesday night time that they arrested one man and handed out nine civil citations.

The man was identified as 29-year-old David Torres-Bocanegra. He was charged with reckless disregard for the atmosphere.

“As a community, we share the responsibility to protect the environment," Miami-Dade Police Director George A. Perez stated in a statement. "I'm extremely happy with our Illegal Dumping Unit, for his or her thorough investigation and swift conclusion to this case."

David Torres-Bocanegra

Tom Rivas, who rented the boat so he might suggest to his girlfriend, responded to the criticisms on his Instagram tales, saying he was not accountable for the balloon popping.

"First off, I need to put my coronary heart out and say how important it's to guard the environment," he mentioned.

Cloud 9, an occasion planning company, also deflected duty in an announcement on Instagram.

"Our balloon vendor embellished the boat and left. We decorated the pier, finished the proposal, and cleaned up like we all the time do. We are never in command of removing balloon decorations," the assertion learn partly.

Esteban Bruna, a yacht dealer, shot the cellphone video.

"I was fairly upset about it, that is our bay, that is our livelihood," Bruna said. "I was here when they have been setting them up after which initially I didn't really suppose a lot of it however I suppose as the day was finished they usually began popping away and letting all of them go into the water I was shocked."

One witness mentioned the balloons could have been part of a marriage proposal. Bruna said he confronted the individuals.

"I discussed to them,' are you guys critical, is that this something you're going to do proper now?' [They] kind of just blew me off, ignored me," Bruna stated. "It was horrifying to see what they have been doing to the marine life and the waterways by just dumping all of those balloons into the water."

Officials with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Fee mentioned balloons can be mistaken for food by sea turtles and other marine animals, and if eaten, can result in inner harm, starvation, and dying.

Balloon releases have been unlawful in Florida since 1989.