ST. PETE BEACH, Fla. – A 23-year-old man was arrested last week after molesting a manatee statue outside a Florida bar and throwing gator nuggets into the bar’s dining area, authorities confirmed.
The incident was reported Friday night at Rick’s Reef seafood restaurant and bar in St. Pete Beach.
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According to the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, Anthony Lessa, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was intoxicated and became upset after employees at the bar told him he had already paid his bill and asked him to leave.
Deputies said Lessa left the business and sexually molested a plastic manatee statue in the parking lot.
He was asked again by an employee to leave the area, at which time he became “physically aggressive” with the employee and then threw gator nuggets into the dining area of the business, authorities said.
Deputies said Lessa fled the scene, but resurfaced at the Postcard Inn, where he began yelling obscenities at employees before being asked to leave from there as well.
Authorities said he refused, prompting another call to the sheriff’s office.
Lessa was arrested on a charge of disorderly intoxication.
Deputies said nuggets were found in his pocket as he was being patted down, apparently saving some for the road.
See bodycam video of arrest by CLICKING HERE.