As excuses go, this is certainly one. I either really do or really don’t want to be on this fishing trip.
Police responding Saturday afternoon to a 911 call about a suspicious person encountered Eric Bennett, 30, on a Vero Beach street. An officer described Bennett as “visibly intoxicated on an unknown substance.”
Asked about large bulges in the pockets of his shorts–and whether he possessed any weapons–Bennett replied, “I have hypodermic needles for fishing.” He then removed “a plastic bag with syringes inside” from a pocket and placed the works on the hood of a squad car.
Bennett also handed over a cigarette pack containing a baggie with fentanyl. “I don’t want to go to jail,” said Bennett, whose occupation is listed as landscaping in court records.
Bennett was not in possession of any conventional fishing gear at the time of his arrest, police say. I’m not sure that matters much, though. As Ernie from Sesame Street clearly demonstrated many years ago, you don’t need all that junk to be a successful fisherman.