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

A person has been arrested after cellphone video captured what gave the impression 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 "pride ourselves on defending and spreading awareness on the beautiful waters we get to name house," was shot just after 4 p.m. at Bayshore Landing Marina.

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

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

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

Miami-Dade Police stated Wednesday night that they arrested one man and handed out 9 civil citations.

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

“As a neighborhood, we share the duty to guard the environment," Miami-Dade Police Director George A. Perez said in a press release. "I am extraordinarily pleased with our Illegal Dumping Unit, for their thorough investigation and swift conclusion to this case."

David Torres-Bocanegra

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

"First off, I wish to put my coronary heart out and say how necessary it's to guard our surroundings," he stated.

Cloud Nine, an occasion planning company, additionally deflected accountability in a press release on Instagram.

"Our balloon vendor embellished the boat and left. We adorned the pier, completed the proposal, and cleaned up like we all the time do. We are by no means in control of removing balloon decorations," the assertion learn partially.

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

"I was pretty upset about it, that is our bay, this is our livelihood," Bruna stated. "I was right here once they have been setting them up after which initially I didn't actually assume a lot of it but I guess because the day was completed they usually began popping away and letting them all go into the water I used to be shocked."

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

"I mentioned to them,' are you guys critical, is this one thing you're going to do right now?' [They] type of simply blew me off, ignored me," Bruna stated. "It was horrifying to see what they had 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 Commission said balloons will be mistaken for food by sea turtles and other marine animals, and if eaten, can result in internal harm, hunger, and loss of life.

Balloon releases have been unlawful in Florida since 1989.