One of three men facing animal cruelty charges for dragging a shark behind a boat at high speeds has pleaded guilty and will serve ten days in jail.
Initially facing two felony counts of aggravated animal cruelty and a misdemeanor for using an illegal method to kill a shark, Michael Wenzel accepted a plea bargain. In exchange for a guilty plea for the misdemeanor charge, the state dropped the felonies.
Wenzel will serve his sentence on weekends and will be on probation for a further 11 months. He must also complete 100 hours of community service.
This sentence is disturbingly light, particularly considering the multiple acts of abuse that took place that day in late 2017.
Several videos shared on social media document a day full of cruelty and total disregard for the animals these men tortured and slaughtered, all aboard a boat piloted by Wenzel.
In one video, Wenzel catches a black tip shark on a fishing line — the only legal way to catch a shark in the region. Once the shark is on board, Wenzel aims a gun at its head and fires. The group can be heard laughing as blood pours from the shark’s head.
Another video shows the men shooting a black nose shark with a spear gun before performing a victory dance.
But the footage that went viral and shocked America was that of a shark being dragged by a rope behind the boat at high speed. The shark’s helpless body was flipped and tossed around as the group laughed and joked:
Multiple shark experts examined the video and told investigators it’s highly likely the shark was alive while being dragged. Robert Lee Benac was on the boat and admitted on Instagram posts that they dragged the shark in order to kill it.
Benac rejected a similar plea deal and will appear in court on June 24th to face a felony animal cruelty charge.
The state dropped all charges against the third man, Spencer Heitz, due to lack of evidence.
Wenzel’s sentence of just 10 days in jail is far too lenient for torturing an animal, and shows a disappointing tolerance for animal abuse. We urge prosecutors to take a stronger stand in the future, to protect more animals from suffering.
definitely a very light sentence, he deserved a more severe punishment since im sure this wont be the last time
10 days is a sick little joke. He’s not paying now, but he (and they) will pay in hell for their “reward” in the afterlife.
A stronger stand needs to be taken against cruelty.
This is why I don’t believe in plea bargaining. A felony dropped to a misdemeanor and only ten days in jail. Wrist slap crap.
Just evil, disgusting & vile torturous treatment of animals. It makes me so angry!!!
10 days in jail for sadists who tortured defenceless creatures to death! This won’t have been the first time either. Shocking travesty of justice.
Please do everything in your power to increase the jail sentence of this monster. I wish there is a way for them to experience the same cruelty and torture they did to the sharks. If they can do this to a shark, I’m too scared to think of what they can do to a dog, cat, rabbit, bird, etc.
Animal cruelty should be a felony.
TEN DAYS IN JAIL, you might as well send him a pizza. THIS IS A JOKE, A SLAP ON THE FACE. He practically continues with his stupid, useless life. HE SHOULD GET AT LEAST A YEAR FOR EACH CRIME, ALSO HIS USELESS
GOONS.
How I loathe — LOATHE — these psycho-monsters — 10 days in jail — wait, give me a moment to laugh, and then hurl — these idiots deserve 10 YEARS — what KIND of society allows for this horror against animals — we do NOT want repeats of such crimes against animals — EVER! — HOW do we teach these imbeciles NOT to repeat such crimes!
FIRE the judge . A lot of unnecessary, disturbing violence against sharks. Trying to kill it so he drags him to death? He should have taken that gun and shot him self and his loser friends.
Well there you go people. The laws are as stupid as they come. Who are the idiots who write up these laws…..what is in their feeble-minded brains? We need to post on billboards, the faces of all the imbaciles who are responsible for letting all pieces of crap who abuse or kill any animal go. Also the lawyers who defend those fools. Everything with these sub-human species is just a joke now to them. We are losing animals left and right, on land and sea, becoming extinct everywhere on this planet and it’s nothing but fun and games to these twits. Yet the laws, government, judicial system is not concerned. THEY JUST DON’T CARE!!!!! We will never get anything accomplished because of the laws that we have in place. UNBELIEVABLE!
CHECK OUT THE PIC OF THE PIECE OF SHIT WHO DID THIS TO,…ANY…..ANIMAL. IGNORANT, ARROGANT
ENTITLED PIECE OF SHIT. PUT HIM IN JAIL!!!! THIS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE IN ANY WAY. WHAT REALLY GETS ME
IS THESE PEOPLE ARE SO SELF ABSORBED AND SO SELF CENTERED,…THAT THEY ARE ABSOLUTE IDIOTS
ENOUGH,…ARROGANT ENOUGH,…TO POST FOR ALL TO SEE. CAN U BELIEVE HOW STUPID THEY ARE. OF COURSE THERE WILL BE BACKLASH BUT THAT IS WHAT THEY WANT AND NEED. TOTAL EGOMANIACS.
How do you expect them to learn if you don’t punish them more severely?
Heartless scum, brainless filth should not live.
It is sad and heartbreaking how little some animal owners care about these animal’s that we hear about being abused and killed with NO regard. Time to make some serious changes!
While on a dock in Cortez, Anna Maria Island FL, watching people fishing, if something like a juvenile shark, ray, or a fish not wanted was caught, the general attitude was KILL IT. I was appalled. Sure – catch it, but eat it.
I wonder how many sea creatures are slaughtered for nothing more than stupidity and arrogance.
After pleading with some guy to throw the ray he caught back into the water, I had to leave. Never saw such a disregard for living things. So I’m not all that surprised at the 10 days, the plea-bargaining, and other BS that went down.
Here’s hoping Michael Wenzel becomes someone’s weekend bitch.
This story made a lot of news in 2017 & now we learn it’s only TEN days in jail???? Is this a sick & twisted joke??? How much $$ was paid under the table for this one, we’ll never know. Why in the world would the state drop the felony charges in exchange for a guilty plea? So, what we have learned from this sad tale of injustice is, plead guilty & you get off light. Give us the name of the judge as well as the prosecutors & we’ll flood their emails.