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 several 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 group who says they "pleasure ourselves on defending and spreading awareness on the gorgeous waters we get to name residence," was shot just 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 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 ship popping balloons into the ocean. NBC 6's Jamie Guirola experiences

Miami-Dade Police said Wednesday evening 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 surroundings.

“As a community, we share the responsibility to protect our environment," Miami-Dade Police Director George A. Perez said in a press release. "I'm extremely proud of our Unlawful 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 propose to his girlfriend, responded to the criticisms on his Instagram tales, 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 guard our environment," he stated.

Cloud Nine, an event planning company, additionally deflected duty in an announcement on Instagram.

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

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

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

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

"I mentioned to them,' are you guys serious, is this one thing you are going to do proper now?' [They] sort 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 simply dumping all of those balloons into the water."

Officers with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Fee said balloons will be mistaken for meals by sea turtles and different marine animals, and if eaten, can result in inner damage, starvation, and loss of life.

Balloon releases have been illegal in Florida since 1989.