Man arrested for lobster violation
A 66 year old Fort Myers man got into a confrontation with a woman over spearing lobsters at a Grassy Key trailer park Sunday night. The manager of Jolly Roger Trailer Park spotted Tim Branauer standing on the seawall at the trailer park spearing lobster at about 9:30 pm. When she confronted him, he threw the lobster in his hand back into the water and told her she had no proof he was doing anything illegal.
After she called the Sheriff’s Office, Branauer went back to his trailer and retrieved more wrung lobster tails and began discarding them into the water. The manager grabbed her camera and began taking pictures. When he saw what she was doing, he grabbed her wrist and took the camera away from her.
A second witness confirmed what the manager said when questioned by Sergeant Joel Slough. A Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officer arrived to assist. He recovered a wrung lobster tail from the water, and Sgt. Slough recovered a dead lobster which had a hole in it, indicating it had been speared.
Sergeant Slough arrested Branauer, charging him with two counts of violating saltwater fishing regulations, tampering with evidence, battery and robbery. He was booked into jail.
