BROWARD COUNTY, Fla. – It was literally kangaroo court on Wednesday when a Fort Lauderdale man entered a plea of not guilty in connection with misdemeanor charges he is facing for housing a kangaroo in his home. The kangaroo, named Jack Jack, escaped from a home just off of North Andrews Avenue and 15th Street in mid-July.
Anthony Macias. 24, faces three misdemeanor counts including failure to pay a fee to obtain a permit to possess captive wildlife, failure to house Class 1 wildlife in a safe manner, which resulted in an escape, and unlawful possession of wildlife, whether native to Florida or not, without a permit from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission (FWC).
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Stunned motorists called 911 on Thursday, July 16, to say that there was a kangaroo in the roadway in the 1600 block of North Andrews Avenue about 9:30 a.m.
(Hear the 911 calls)
Fort Lauderdale police were able to corral the roo after about a half-hour pursuit. Officer Robert Norvis was part of the capture and told Local 10 that day: “He’s very friendly. We were able to get a rope around his neck and get him in the back of the car.”
The kangaroo was transferred to a permitted facility until FWC locates a permanent placement location for the animal.
(Police bodycam video of the capture below.)
Keeping a kangaroo in your home is illegal in Fort Lauderdale, so Macias would not be allowed to have the animal back.
The day after Jack Jack’s rescue, Macias organized a fundraiser. “Free Jack Jack” on GoFundMe was to help Macias move to a zoned area so he could keep the kangaroo. He said he would use the money to move to a new place where he could not only keep Jack Jack legally but pay for the proper licenses and permits.
At last check, he had raised $805 of his $25,000 goal.
Macias did not appear in court Wednesday. His lawyer, Steven Schaet, submitted to the court a written plea of not guilty.