So as he sat Tuesday at a defense table in a Tampa federal courtroom facing possible prison time, Beede seemed perplexed as to how exactly he ended up here.
Beede, the proprietor of Shallow Point Fishing Charters, admitted that months earlier he’d used a fishing rod to touch a manatee off Weedon Island. He said he was only trying to help the animal, which had a worm or a fishing lure stuck to its back.
The act was caught on video taken from an overhead drone and soon became social media fodder. Armchair animal rights activists were outraged and called for Beede’s head.
Then came a criminal charge and a guilty plea. His voice shaking at times, the beleaguered boat captain struggled to explain himself Tuesday to U.S. District Judge Thomas Barber.
“I never imagined that this would come to this," Beede said.
Read the rest of the story in The Tampa Bay Times here: https://www.tampabay.com/news/pinellas/ ... ral-court/
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