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

A man has been arrested after cellphone video captured what gave the impression 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 gaggle who says they "pleasure ourselves on protecting and spreading awareness on the attractive waters we get to name residence," was shot just after 4 p.m. at Bayshore Touchdown Marina.

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

"As we passed 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 people on a boat popping balloons into the ocean. NBC 6's Jamie Guirola stories

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

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

“As a neighborhood, we share the responsibility to guard our environment," Miami-Dade Police Director George A. Perez said in a statement. "I'm extremely happy with our Unlawful Dumping Unit, for their thorough investigation and swift conclusion to this case."

David Torres-Bocanegra

Tom Rivas, who rented the boat so he might suggest 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 guard our surroundings," he mentioned.

Cloud Nine, an event planning firm, also deflected responsibility in a press release on Instagram.

"Our balloon vendor adorned the boat and left. We embellished the pier, completed the proposal, and cleaned up like we all the time do. We are by no means answerable for 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, that is our livelihood," Bruna stated. "I was right here when they have been setting them up after which initially I didn't really assume a lot of it but I assume because the day was done and so they began popping away and letting them all go into the water I used to be shocked."

One witness said the balloons may have been part of a marriage proposal. Bruna said he confronted the folks.

"I mentioned to them,' are you guys serious, is that this something you are going to do right now?' [They] kind of simply blew me off, ignored me," Bruna said. "It was horrifying to see what they have been doing to the marine life and the waterways by simply dumping all of these balloons into the water."

Officials with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Fee said balloons might be mistaken for food by sea turtles and other marine animals, and if eaten, can lead to internal injury, hunger, and death.

Balloon releases have been illegal in Florida since 1989.