Scene of the plane crash at Bayside Waters on Thursday evening
CLEARWATER, Fla. – A Florida man was arrested last week after crossing the yellow tape at the scene of a fatal plane crash, according to the Clearwater Police Department.
In a complaint, police said that an officer found the man — identified as Joseph Schifano, 64 — at the intersection of Sumo Drive and Nagano Drive.
At the time, first responders were dealing with the plane wreckage, which had sparked fires nearby after crashing into a mobile home park. According to investigators, the pilot and two other people were killed.
However, Schifano tried to get past the yellow tape marked “POLICE LINE DO NOT CROSS,” insisting that he was a medical worker, police said.
Despite that, Schifano was unable to provide proof of his employment, and after he crossed through the tape, he advised that he was “just nosey,” the complaint reads.
Schifano was warned to stay away from the scene, but shortly afterward, an officer spotted Schifano walk around to “conceal himself,” according to the complaint.
He then “quickly walked underneath the crime scene tape,” moving around an entire house-length into the crime scene and taking a video on his cell phone, investigators reported.
“Post Miranda, (Schifano) said that he knew he was wrong, apologized, and said he was trying to capture a video for a media company in an attempt to make money,” the complaint says.
Schifano was arrested and faces a misdemeanor charge of obstructing or resisting an officer without violence. He was later released on bond of $500.
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