A Florida drug dealer decided to lure endangered Florida Key deer into a house to watch Fox News with him and was put behind bars for it.
In typical Florida fashion, a convicted drug trafficker committed one of the strangest crimes to happen this week.
Man arrested after watching TV with Florida Key deer
Thomas Geatal Scancarelli, 61, was supposed to be painting a client’s house, but decided to take a break to hand feed a few local Key deer.
Scancarelli was previously arrested by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) just last week for hand feeding the same species of deer.
While staying at the home, he illegally lured four deer inside by once again hand feeding them.
The criminal mastermind decided to film the impromptu petting zoo experience, which he referred to as a “furry s— show,” and post a series of photos and videos on his Facebook page.
Two Key deer were caught on camera eating vegetables he had cut up for them on a wooden stool, while two more peered into the house from a sliding glass door.
In another clip, a deer was seen eating right out of his hand, while a follow-up video showed an antlered deer licking his lips next to a knife used to cut up bits of food.
The weirdest video by far showed Scancarelli watching Fox News with one of his new furry friends.
According to Local 10, the drug pusher was supposed to be working at the home, and did not have permission to stay there as he appeared to have been doing for a period of time.
Florida Key deer shouldn’t be hand fed
The FWC told the outlet that feeding deer endangers them by lessening their “fear of humans.”
The agency warned that Key deer are known to forage on the side of roads, and readily approach people and vehicles to scavenge up free meals.
“Getting hit by vehicles is now the primary cause of Key deer mortality,” the FWC stated.
“Illegal feeding also causes a concentration of Key deer populations, facilitating the spread of parasites and disease.”
On Monday, Scancarelli was arrested for two charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm, as the home he was squatting in had “two rifles and an AR-15-style weapon mounted on the wall.”
According to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO), when deputies arrived on the scene, “they said they believed Scancarelli to be a convicted felon who should not have had those weapons in the house where he was staying.”
Despite the weapons not being his own, he was charged with the felonies “due to his being in control of the firearms for the lengthy period of time he stayed there” without the owner’s permission.
After his arrest, Scancarelli who was on probation for drug convictions when he was taken into custody this week, is being held without bond at MCSO’s Key West jail facility.
