Florida

Charges Dropped Against 1 of 3 Florida Men in Shark Dragging Case

Prosecutors announced Tuesday that they were dropping all charges against Spencer Heintz

One of the three Florida men arrested after video of a shark being dragged behind a speeding boat was posted on social media is no longer facing charges.

Prosecutors announced Tuesday that they were dropping all charges against Spencer Heintz, WFLA reported.

"It was a good day for him and a good day for justice as well. The right decision was made," said Heintz's attorney, Paul Sisco. "There's four gentlemen in the boat that's involved here. The State Attorney's Office [...] looked at the case law and it's clear that there were different roles among the four men that were in the boat. There was nothing Mr. Heintz did at all that contributed in any way to any of the activities that were charged in the case."

Heintz, Michael Wenzel and Robert Lee Benac were arrested on felony counts of aggravated animal cruelty last year when video of the shark being dragged went viral after a Miami sport fisherman criticized it on social media.

In the video released by the FWC, one of the men appears to say "look, it’s already almost dead," while pointing to the shark flopping across the water behind the speeding boat.

Wenzel and Benac still face charges in the incident, and face up to five years in prison if convicted.

"I can tell you that the opinion of Mr. Heintz is that that shark was deceased at the time it was being dragged, but it's not necessarily a factual question in terms of what somebody's perception of that is," Sisco said.

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