Florida cocaine trafficker is accused of luring endangered deer into home, then watching FOX NEWS with one of the animals
- Thomas Scancarelli was arrested on two felony counts of firearm possession
- He was already on probation for drug convictions related to cocaine trafficking
- He was arrested last Tuesday for hand-feeding an endangered species of Key deer and posting it on Facebook from a home he didn’t own.
A Florida man has been charged with smuggling cocaine and luring endangered deer to a house he was working on before watching Fox News with the animals.
Thomas Geatal Scancarelli, 61, of Big Pine Key, Florida, was arrested Monday just before 5 p.m. on two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Scancarelli, who was already on probation for cocaine trafficking convictions, was previously arrested by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) last Tuesday for hand-feeding an endangered species of Key deer.
Becky Herrin, a spokesperson for the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, told the local ABC affiliate WPLG that FWC officers noticed “two rifles and an AR-15 style weapon on the wall,” and immediately alerted emergency services.
“They said they believed Scancarelli was a convicted felon who shouldn’t have had those guns in the house he was staying at,” Herrin said.
Thomas Geatal Scancarelli was arrested on two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm
Scancarelli lured the endangered Key Deer to his home and posted this video on Facebook
Jail records showed Scancarelli committed the crimes at a home he did not own in the 2000 block of Coral Way.
“Scancarelli did not have permission to stay in the house and was only going to be there to paint it,” the homeowner confirmed to WPLG.
During his stay, Scancarelli posted photos and videos of himself on Facebook illegally lure four deer into the house and feed them by hand.
The animals were seen eating carrots and other bits of food that Scancarelli had left for them on a wooden stool in the center of the living room.
In another part of the clip, a hungry deer could be seen licking its lips next to a knife the man had used to chop up the treats he had used to lure them into the house.
Herrin said he was also charged with two different felonies “because he had control of the firearms for the extended period of time he was there.”
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) arrested Scancarelli last Tuesday
At one point in the deer video, the man turned around the living room to show he was watching Fox News at the same time
Pictured: the caption of a Facebook post from Scancarelli, who was already on probation for drug trafficking
The house where Scancarelli filmed did not belong to him
In one of the clips he posted on social media, the man was seen feeding a deer in the house with his bare hands
The criminal also posted a video of him and one of the deer enjoying the Ingraham Angle on Fox News last Wednesday.
The Florida man’s deer obsessions date all the way back to November, as Scancarelli has posted dozens of other videos of himself feeding and petting the endangered animals.
Authorities said Scancarelli appeared to be aware that what he was doing was a crime.
On their website, the FWC warns against feeding wild animals because it “reduces fear of humans.”
“Key deer can be found foraging in yards and along roadsides, where they approach people and slow-moving vehicles for handouts,” FWC told WPLG.
“Being struck by vehicles is now the leading cause of Key deer mortality. Illegal feeding also causes a concentration of key deer populations, facilitating the spread of parasites and disease.”
Scancarelli is being held in the local jail without bond.