Man reportedly 'sexually molested' manatee statue at Florida restaurant, threw gator nuggets, caused traffic jam



A drunken man "sexually molested" a manatee statue at a Florida restaurant, threw alligator nuggets, got into a physical altercation with a worker, and went on an obscenity-filled tirade at a hotel that caused a traffic jam, police said.

Anthony Michael Lessa, 23, was arrested on Friday night and charged with a misdemeanor count of disorderly intoxication, according to an arrest report from the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office.

Lessa was reportedly dining at Rick's Reef, a bar and restaurant located in St. Pete Beach, Florida. Lessa allegedly became intoxicated at the restaurant and was hostile toward staffers.

"The patron became upset when he was told he’d already paid his bill, then got angrier when he was asked to leave the restaurant," the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office said.

WOFL reported, "When staff confronted Lessa, he 'became belligerent' and 'sexually molested' a manatee statue in the presence of staff and other patrons, the affidavit said."

Lessa is accused of being "physically aggressive" with a restaurant employee who asked him to leave. Lessa — from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania — allegedly hurled gator nuggets in the restaurant before fleeing the scene.

Approximately 30 minutes later, Lessa arrived at the Postcard Inn on the Beach, less than half a mile from the Rick's Reef restaurant. At the hotel, Lessa reportedly screamed obscenities at employees and "acted disorderly" before he was asked to leave. Lessa refused to leave so the hotel manager called police, according to the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office.

The hotel manager reportedly asked Lessa to calm down and offered to escort him to his room, but he refused to say which room he was in.

According to the affidavit, Lessa exited the hotel and went to the parking lot, where he continued to hurl vulgarities. Deputies said the man's outburst caused a back-up in traffic on Gulf Boulevard. He was also accused of "disturbing of the peace of several other guests waiting for rides."

During his arrest and subsequent pat-down, police officers discovered gator nuggets in his pocket, as seen in video released by the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office.

A deputy is heard on video asking Lessa, "What is that? Oh, that was the crap you had that you were throwing in the other restaurant."

Lessa responded, "Nuggets, yeah. Gator nuggets. Shark bites."

A shoeless Lessa repeatedly asked the officers why he was being arrested and ordered them to contact his lawyer.

Pinellas County Sheriff's Office deputies reportedly detected a strong odor consistent with alcohol and observed that his pupils were dilated in a high-light environment. The suspect was in a heightened state with a short-term memory implication, deputies said.

Lessa was arrested and booked into jail. He was released on Saturday morning.

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'Train Karen:' Woman accused of xenophobic rant against German tourists in viral video is fired from her job



A woman was caught on a viral video going on a xenophobic rant and telling a group of Germans to "get the f*** out of our country" on a New Jersey Transit train. The woman – who the internet has dubbed "Train Karen" – was fired from her job after her abusive behavior went viral online.

Brianna Pinnix, 30, was featured in a video that surfaced on Reddit on Tuesday. She is seen berating German tourists on a New York City-bound train.

The footage shows Pinnix confronting the German tourists. The group mostly laughs off the embarrassing clash.

The woman's boyfriend is seen attempting to de-escalate the tense situation, but Pinnix declares, "I can handle my own."

He warns her that she is going to get arrested, but she doesn't care. The boyfriend then threatens to never talk to Pinnix ever again, but she continues to scold the tourists.

The boyfriend tells Pinnix, "You know I’m an immigrant? I’m an immigrant, too, you know that, right?"

The boyfriend pulls Brianna away from the tourists, but she repeatedly castigates the group of men. "I love you, but get off me," she told her boyfriend.

While the boyfriend holds her back, Pinnix yells, "How about you get the f*** out of our country!"

Many online commentators have said that the woman appears to be drunk.

The video of the cringe-worthy encounter went viral this week.

Pinnix reportedly locked her social media accounts after her xenophobic rant went viral.

According to the New York Post, Pinnix was fired from her job at the New York-based pharmaceutical company.

"Our company has a zero-tolerance policy around prejudicial or discriminatory behavior. After conducting a review of the circumstances, we acted immediately and terminated the employee in question," the company said in a statement. "The former employee’s actions and words are not representative of Capital Rx, and we offer our sincerest apology to those who were hurt."

Pinnix had been a talent acquisition specialist at Capital Rx.

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‘Drunk’ woman chews out tourists on NYC-bound train before telling them to ‘get the f–k out’ of US www.youtube.com