Hillsborough prosecutor dives into ‘shark drag’ case

Hillsborough County is now central to the investigation sparked by a video that surfaced in July of several men dragging a shark behind a speeding boat.

Jurisdiction lies entirely in Hillsborough County, according to Melissa Mack, executive assistant to 12th Circuit State Attorney Ed Brodsky. The 12th Circuit covers Manatee, Sarasota and DeSoto counties.

Mack and other 12th Circuit State Attorney assistants referred questions to the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission, the lead law enforcement agency, and said Oct. 25-26 its office was no longer handling the case.

Rob Klepper, FWC public information coordinator, however, said he’s working with the prosecutor’s offices in both Manatee and Hillsborough counties, but understood the assistants’ deferral and declined further comment, citing the ongoing investigation.

The Hillsborough prosecutor’s office began working on the investigation two weeks ago, said Rena Upshaw-Frazier, chief of policy and communication for the 13th Circuit State Attorney.

The investigation has moved due to a question of jurisdiction “being in the water,” she said, adding the FWC is the only other agency her office is working with to make a charging decision.

Brodsky released a statement the week of Oct. 16, saying the videos depicted “callous disregard for Florida’s natural resources” and the investigation determined “many of the incidents” had occurred in Hillsborough County.

Klepper said Oct. 26 the FWC is “moving it quickly” to complete a “timely investigation.”

The video exploded on social media this summer, enraging the public, including campaigns against the alleged flagrant cruelty. One group delivered petitions with more than 250,000 signatures to the 12th Circuit State Attorney.

The video shows three men aboard a boat allegedly captained by Michael Wenzel, with Burns Easterling pointing to the shark behind the boat, saying: “Look it’s already almost dead,” and Spencer Heintz on a phone. A fourth man, Bo Benac, is alleged to have taken the video.

One of the men allegedly sent the video to a celebrity shark hunter, Mark “The Shark” Quartiano, who said he was shocked and horrified by the torture.

Easterling is formerly of Holmes Beach, where his father spearheaded the Tidemark — now Waterline — resort development. He works in Holmes Beach.

Manatee County planning section manager Robert Wenzel and County Commissioner Betsy Benac are parents, respectively, of Wenzel and Benac. Heintz is the son of attorney Steven E. Heintz, a Bradenton-Sarasota personal injury attorney.

Alex Kompothecras, a “Siesta Key” MTV castmember and friend of the other men, is allegedly linked to similar animal abuse, including a video depicting a hammerhead shark he allegedly shot and killed off the side of a boat.

Other images on social media allegedly show one or more of the men pouring beer into the gills of a goliath grouper, placing a water hose into the mouth of a manatee and spreading a white pelican’s wings while holding its beak closed.

Jon Weiffenbach, an attorney representing the men, did not return emails Oct. 26-27.

In an August email, he told The Islander the men have been cooperating with the shark drag investigation and wrote: “The shark depicted in the video was dead prior to being pulled behind the boat.

“The purpose of tail wrapping the shark and pulling it behind the boat initially was to bleed it out, a common practice to improve the quality of the meat before the shark is cleaned/fileted for consumption.

“The shark was taken back to the dock where it was cleaned and eaten.

“The acceleration of the boat while the shark was being pulled was a lapse in judgment but did not harm the animal or violate any laws.”

Asked about the attorney’s claims, Capt. David White of Anna Maria Charters said in an Oct. 26 email that while bleeding fish is “relatively common,” they are typically hung by the tail off the side for a few minutes, not pulled or dragged at high speed. He estimated the shark draggers’ boat in the video traveling “at least 35 mph.”

About the consumption, he said, “Any angler that fishes locally knows that shark meat is in no way comparable to the other species we have here, ie. grouper, snapper, redfish and snook.”

And referring to the video, White added, “As you can see, they are laughing.”

“They did this for no other purpose than a strange amusement,” which gives captains and fishers who respect waterways and the ecosystem “a bad name.”

Staci-lee Sherwood, a former FWC sea turtle permit worker, disputes Weiffenbach’s claim of an already-dead shark, pointing out Burns’ statement when the boat was pulling it as being “almost dead.”

Sherwood hopes the Hillsborough prosecutor being added to the investigation will mean more charges. However, she said, “it might be a ruse to keep pushing the ball down the road so no one does anything, based on jurisdiction.”