A Florida man has been sentenced to 10 days in jail for attacking a man who was dressed like a Minion from the Despicable Me film franchise.
Ryan Nihart from Citrus County pleaded 'no contest' on Monday to misdemeanour battery and criminal mischief for the 2018 attack on 41-year-old Jamie Roehm.
Police said the 26-year-old spun Roehm, who was dressed as one of the fictional yellow creatures to promote a local business, around, before knocking him over and kicking him on Daytona Beach's boardwalk on July 8.
The attack on Roehm, who is said to be "partially blind", was captured on surveillance video and on a phone camera and allegedly intended to be a comedic viral prank.
According to the Miami Herald, days after the incident, Nihart wrote on his Facebook page: "So I do want to apologize to anybody I offended or offend with my situation!!! I was trying to give you guys a funny video with no ill intentions. I mean no harm and still love everyone and just want to make you all happy."
Nihart faced a maximum sentence of one year in jail, but was sentenced to 10 days in the Volusia County Branch Jail followed by 12 months of supervised probation.
In addition, the "self-proclaimed social media star" was instructed to pay for damages to Roehm's costume and enrol in a "moral recognition therapy course".
Nihart is not the only Florida Man to make the news this week; another is facing felony charges after allegedly stealing 'opioid' pills that turned out to be laxatives.
Peter Emery was reportedly caught on camera taking pills from his flatmate's lockbox, according to a Pinellas County Sheriff's Office affidavit.
He told police after that he took two pills thinking they were hydrocodone acetaminophen — a narcotic that contains an opioid — but threw them away when he found out they were "something else".
According to the product's listing on Walmart's website, the capsules were "Equate Gentle Laxatives", an over-the-counter medication that can be used to relieve constipation.
Jayme Ream, who lived with Emery, told WFLA that he bought a camera and switched the laxatives and opioids after suspecting his housemate of stealing his pain medication in the past.
His suspicions were proven true when Emery walked in, took two pills from the mislabelled box and left.
"I couldn’t believe how quick he got in. He just basically, from the video, he just walked in," Ream told WFLA. "Had the code and he was in."
Emery, who was reportedly found guilty of theft in 2014 and 2015, now faces a charge of felony petit theft.
In addition, another Florida man has been sentenced to a year in jail after jumping into a zoo's crocodile enclosure.
Court records show 23-year-old Brandon Keith Hatfield pleaded no contest to multiple charges, including trespassing and criminal mischief on Friday after breaking into the St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park on November 5, 2018.
According to an arrest report, Hatfield was bitten on the leg when he jumped into the water in the zoo's Nile crocodile exhibit.
He escaped, but left blood and clothing behind in the enclosure and caused over $5,000 in damage at the 125-year-old attraction. He was arrested the next day after a resident reportedly spotted him crawling in his underwear across a neighbouring yard.
