From rom winter harvest ... to table fare. 14-15. VOLUME 26, NO. 8
AsTheWorldTerns wish everyone a merry Christmas. 6
Merry
Motel revival. 30
Christmas
The Best News on Anna Maria Island Since 1992
DEC. 20, 2017 FREE
www.islander.org
FEMA’s flood risk update nearly done. 2 Treehouse owners to Supreme Court: Give us a chance. 3 County planners go ‘green’ for Cortez development. 4
Op-Ed
The Islander editorial, reader letters. 4
10-20 YEARS AGO
From the archives. 7
Holmes Beach advised to soften formula business ban. 8
Meetings
On the government calendar. 8 Bradenton Beach seeks equal city funding. 9
Happenings
Community announcements, activities. 10 Make plans, save a date. 12-13 Christmas worship. 16
Obituaries. 17 Streetlife. 20 Fundraiser for former city pier employees underway. 21 Major League lesson. 24 Gearing up. 26 Cosmic calendar. 27 Wrestlers compete. 28 Windy fishing. 29 Classifieds. 32
The Manatee High School Drum Line poses with a bear in a blizzard. Page 15
Santa hears a child’s wish at the Moose Lodge. Page 14
Investigation nets 3 arrests for ‘shark drag’ abuse
By Kathy Prucnell Islander Reporter Three men have been arrested for animal cruelty, resulting from a shark-dragging video that drew widespread public outrage this summer. And there is new, emerging information from the investigation. Robert Benac III, 28, of Sarasota, and Michael Wenzel, 21, and Spencer Heintz, 23, both of Palmetto, were arrested Dec. 12. They each face two felony counts of aggravated animal cruelty against a blacktip shark June 26 in the waters near Egmont Key in Hillsborough County. Benac and Wenzel also were charged with a misdemeanor for breaking a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission This collage includes a still photo from the video that depicts the shark-dragging and three of the four participants.
rule against spearing a blacknose shark. The three men turned themselves into authorities in Hillsborough and Pinellas counties and were released. Benac and Wenzel posted $4,250 in bonds and Heintz posted a $4,000 bond. A fourth man on the fishing trip, Nicholas Burns Easterling, was not charged. “The fourth individual in the video provided information and cooperated with investigators and is not being charged in this case,” FWC spokesman Rob Klepper said in a Dec. 13 email. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission began investigating July 24 after complaints poured in about animal abuse videos and photos posted on Instagram and Facebook, including the viral 10-second
video of a blacktip shark being dragged behind a vessel at a high rate of speed. Manatee County prosecutors worked with the FWC to gain access to social media accounts with search warrants. In October, the 13th Circuit State Attorney became involved when investigators determined the alleged offenses occurred in Hillsborough County. Assistant State Attorney Christine Shiver Brown filed formal charges Dec. 11 against the trio. FWC investigator George McCorkle provided a probable cause affidavit to support the arrests. According to McCorkle’s affidavit, photographs, videos and texts revealed Wenzel shot the blacktip shark before dragging it behind his boat near Egmont Key in Hillsborough County. The FWC and 13th Circuit prosecutor’s office determined shooting the blacktip shark and then dragging it at high speed warranted two charges of animal cruelty. The trio, along with Easterling of Palmetto, formerly of Holmes Beach, left Wenzel’s home, also in Palmetto, for the June 26 fishing trip. Benac allegedly impaled a blacknose shark with a spear gun at 3:08 p.m. Thirteen minutes later, Wenzel recorded Benac, Easterling and Heintz dancing on the bow PLEASE SEE SHARK PAGE 2