The video, which was first obtained by Fox 13, was presented by prosecutors in the case against Robert Lee Benac of Bradenton, who is awaiting trial for animal cruelty charges.
The recently released video shows Benac’s friend, Michael Wenzel, shooting a live shark four times from the side of the boat, while others cheer him on. It’s unclear if the video shows the same shark that was shown in the dragging video, or if the shooting occurred before or after the dragging incident.
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In the original viral video, Benac was in the boat with Wenzel and Spencer Heintz in the Gulf of Mexico when the three men filmed themselves driving at high speeds with a shark attached to the end of line. "Look, it’s already almost dead," said one man laughing and pointing at the shark.
The three men were arrested in December of 2017, and faced felony charges. However, last year the charges were dropped against Heintz, and Wenzel took a plea deal in February, which resulted in his charges getting reduced to a misdemeanor and 10 days in jail.
Benac, on the other hand, refused a deal and opted for a trial, which is set to begin this September. If he’s found guilty, Benac could face 10 years in jail.
According to the station, Benac’s lawyer plans to argue that the shark was killed before the dragging began, and that Benac was not aware that shark would be shot by Wenzel.
Coincidentally, this isn’t the first video involving Wenzel shooting a shark. Alex Kompothecras, the star of the MTV reality show Siesta Key, also appeared in a similar video alongside Wenzle that allegedly showed him firing a round into a hammerhead shark.
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This article appears in Jul 4-11, 2019.