MIAMI — A man already being held in jail is facing an additional charge after Miami police say an Instagram video showed him dumping a trash container and its contents into Biscayne Bay from a bridge in Brickell Key last month.
Juan Emilio Iglesias, 34, was arrested Saturday by the Miami Police Department and is facing a charge of willful disregard of the environment, jail records show.
According to an arrest report, a Miami police detective reviewed a video posted to Instagram on July 8.
Police said the video shows Iglesias standing on the Brickell Key Drive bridge and intentionally emptying a brown trash container filled with “miscellaneous solid waste” over the bridge railing and into Biscayne Bay.
They said Iglesias, who is listed as homeless in his arrest report, then threw the trash container into the water.
The video also showed remnants of the trash that had landed on the bridge sidewalk being gathered by hand and thrown into the bay, according to the report.
The report states that authorities identified Iglesias on July 16 using a police flyer. An MPD officer said he saw Iglesias the day after the dumping while working an off-duty detail at a Whole Foods Market on Biscayne Boulevard.
Police said they obtained surveillance video from the store showing Iglesias wearing the same clothing seen in the Instagram video entering the store on July 9 and briefly interacting with the officer.
Records also show Iglesias is facing charges of resisting an officer without violence, giving a false name or identification after arrest, and prohibited camping in Miami Beach in an unrelated case.
As of Tuesday afternoon, he remained at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, where his bond was listed as “to be set.”
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