MIAMI — State wildlife officers arrested a Miami man on one felony and two misdemeanor charges after they said he was operating a personal watercraft so “recklessly” that he caused a wake forceful enough to injure someone over the weekend. They said he then fled the scene.
Authorities said it happened just after 4 p.m. Sunday off Pace Picnic Island in Biscayne Bay.
A Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission arrest report states that Jimmy Lagos, 32, of Overtown, was “extremely close to (another) vessel and doing figure eight and doughnut maneuvers and spraying the vessel, occupants and people swimming near (it) with water.“
Authorities said the victim was lying on a swim mat when Lagos got “close enough to (him) that the wake produced by the propulsion cut the victim and caused bleeding.”
The report states Lagos “never returned to identify himself or render first aid” but did eventually come back to the island, where witnesses were able to point him out.
FWC officers arrested Lagos on charges of leaving the scene of a boating accident causing injury and two misdemeanor charges related to a boater’s duty to aid and reckless operation of a vessel.
And it’s not Lagos’ first time being accused of behaving badly on the water.
Court records show he was arrested by what was then the Miami-Dade Police Department on Feb. 1, 2024 for failure to comply with boater registration laws and a manatee speed zone infraction. Prosecutors dropped the former charge, a misdemeanor, while he received withheld adjudication after paying a fine on the latter charge.
He’s also had a series of arrests, mainly for misdemeanor cannabis possession, in which charges were later dropped.
As for his latest case, court records show he posted a $3,150 bond.
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