No jail time for Florida man who brutally beat shark with a hammer on beach
No jail time for Florida shark beater
A Central Florida man who brutally beat a shark with a hammer at a Brevard County beach last year will not do any jail time. Instead, a judge ordered Brian Waddill to be placed on supervised probation for a period of 12 months, according to court records filed in July. He will not be allowed to go fishing and will be required to make a $250 donation to the Brevard County Zoo and take the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation's shore-based shark fishing course – special conditions ordered by the court.
BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. - A Central Florida man who brutally beat a shark with a hammer at a Brevard County beach last year will not do any jail time.
Instead, a judge ordered Brian Waddill to be placed on supervised probation for a period of 12 months, according to court records filed in July.
During his time on probation, the 34-year-old Melbourne man will not be allowed to go fishing and will be required to make a $250 donation to the Brevard County Zoo and take the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation's shore-based shark fishing course – special conditions ordered by the court.
Waddill must also undergo a psychological evaluation and any follow-up treatment deemed necessary within 11 months.
In December 2022, Waddill was reportedly shore fishing at Bicentennial Beach Park in Indian Harbor Beach where he caught – what's believed to be a protected lemon shark – and then repeatedly hit the shark with a hammer, including ripping its gills with the hammer, according to witnesses and an arrest report. The beating was captured on video by a nearby surf camera.
He was charged and later adjudicated guilty on two second-degree misdemeanor violations related to the possession of a prohibited species and a violation regarding the harvest, landing, or sale of a shark.
In addition to probation, he must pay court costs and fines in the amount of $412 by June 2024.