A family of 11 Muscovy ducklings and their mother lived in Wellington, Florida and had garnered the love of residents in the neighborhood.
The family of ducklings was in grave danger in May when 24-year-old Jason Scoot Falbo, who was sentenced to a year in prison after pleading guilty to felony animal cruelty charges, intentionally ran over nine of the ducklings using a ride-on law mower, according to Buzzfeed News.
The Gontchar family was present when the landscaper killed the ducklings, according to The Washington Post. The Florida man reportedly headed straight for the family of ducklings.
“At the far west side of the property, the lawn man turned the mower around and began to head east again. At this point the blades were up on the lawn mower, and the man was not mowing adjacent to the first pass. The lawn man proceeded on a easterly direction and then the man stopped that mower,” read the affidavit describing the incident, according to the Washington Post.
“The man then engaged the blades again and began heading in a northeast direction headed for where the mother duck and ducklings had gathered…the lawn man then ran directly over the ducklings and body parts were scattered all over the lawn. Boyd Jentzsch, Larisa Gontchar, and [redacted] all observed the ducklings being chopped into little pieces.”
Falbo was reportedly smiling as he made the second pass over the family of ducks.
“They were in my path, so I kept moving,” stated Falbo, according to the police report.
The mother duck and four ducklings reportedly managed to get back to a nearby lake safely, but two of the young birds later drowned from injuries, according to Palm Beach Post.
“They should have just thrown away the keys. There is no justification for what he’s done,” stated resident Boyd Jentzsch.
“Just seeing the look on his face, it told me he was a very violent person inside.”
