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 close to a Coconut Grove marina on Tuesday.

The video posted by MMG Outboard Division, a gaggle who says they "pleasure ourselves on protecting and spreading awareness on the gorgeous waters we get to call dwelling," 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 were ignored they usually continued popping away with no care on this planet," the group posted of 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 reports

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

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

“As a community, we share the accountability to protect our surroundings," Miami-Dade Police Director George A. Perez stated in a press release. "I'm 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 liable for the balloon popping.

"First off, I need to put my heart out and say how necessary it is to protect our environment," he said.

Cloud Nine, an event planning firm, additionally deflected accountability in an announcement on Instagram.

"Our balloon vendor embellished the boat and left. We embellished the pier, completed the proposal, and cleaned up like we all the time do. We're never accountable for removing balloon decorations," the assertion learn in part.

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

"I was fairly upset about it, this is our bay, this is our livelihood," Bruna mentioned. "I used to be right here when they were setting them up and then initially I didn't really think a lot of it but I suppose as the day was achieved they usually started popping away and letting them all go into the water I was shocked."

One witness mentioned the balloons might have been part of a wedding proposal. Bruna mentioned he confronted the people.

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

Officers with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Fee stated balloons may be mistaken for food by sea turtles and different marine animals, and if eaten, can lead to inner injury, starvation, and death.

Balloon releases have been unlawful in Florida since 1989.