Posted on 10/29/2021 9:12:37 AM PDT by simpson96
Deputies in Florida found a live grenade in the truck of an “idiot” who was driving with a terrifying clown mannequin in the passenger seat, wild video shows.
The footage released Monday by the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office shows the moment a deputy stumbled upon the explosive find after Louis Branson, 65, was pulled over in Bunnell for expired tags on his Dodge pickup.
“Oh shoot, is this for real?” a deputy asks her partners after discovering the grenade inside a sealed canister in the back of Branson’s ride, video shows. “Get out of the truck, it looked like a possible grenade.”
Branson told deputies he found the grenade three or four years ago while cleaning out a veteran’s home and decided to keep it.
He was unsure whether it was active, said Flagler County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Melissa Morreale.
“He thought it was cool, so he kept it in his toolbox and was driving around with a grenade for quite some time,” Morreale told The Post.
An explosive disposal team conducted an X-ray of the device, which was believed to be active based on its internal mechanisms. It was later safely detonated at a nearby facility, another clip shows.
Sheriff Rick Staly blasted Branson in a statement as an “idiot” who was lucky he didn’t kill himself or destroy his truck.
Along with the grenade, deputies found the life-size clown mannequin — as well as amounts of cocaine, marijuana and two pipes with suspected drug residue.
“I’m honestly not sure how the clown fit in,” Morreale said. “It looked pretty human-sized. It was crazy.”
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
Oh, there goes Florida Man again. What a card!
This dude knows how to party...
That area around Daytona is pretty much ground zero for Florida Man.
Clown mannequin?
I thought Joe was in Europe?
Yeah, it would be a shame if a perfectly good truck got ruined.
Passenger for HOV lanes? Or maybe just a big fan of Insane Clown Posse?
The grenade I understand but what’s with the clown?
Clowns with Grenades!
What could possibly go wrong?
Kinkeeeeee...
Damn, driving around with a clown mannequin in his truck! Crazy guy was just asking to get shot!
-The grenade? 9 out of ten cops were thinking they wish they were alone when they came across him.
“I’m just going to give you a warning this time, but don’t let me catch you with one of these again! Now put it in my trunk so I can safely dispose of it back at the station, and for God’s sake, get rid of the clown before somebody shoots you!”
“He thought it was cool, so he kept it in his toolbox and was driving around with a grenade for quite some time,” Morreale told The Post.
—
Grenades. For when a crow-bar just isn’t doing the job.
“Clown mannequin? I thought Joe was in Europe?”
LOL
I get the part about the grenade, but I don't understand why he had the clown mannequin -- and I'm pretty sure, I don't want to find out.
Nothing I know of makes a clown funnier than a live grenade
Clown mannequins should be against the law!
Grenade?
I have one in the bottom of my largest tool box.
What’s the big deal?
The clown though...I don’t have.
I throw grenades at clowns.
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