Cape Canaveral Man Found With Rainbow Boa Constrictor Riding Shotgun, Arrested for Illegal Dumping in Brevard County
By Space Coast Daily // March 1, 2025
Daniel Dinovi charged with dumping over 500 pounds of Raw Human Waste
BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – Well this guy wasn’t lying when he said he had “Snakes & Stuff”, but the real problem was that didn’t know what to do with either of them.
This past Thursday, Cpl. Scott Stewart and Cpl. Bridgette Johnson responded to a complaint about a vehicle illegally dumping yard waste along the river bank on Sykes Creek.
As they arrived on scene they observed this guy, Daniel Dinovi, actively dumping waste from a large open-top trailer that he had backed up alongside of the Sykes Creek waterway.
As they spoke to Dinovi he told our Deputies that the yard waste was from a recent job he was working and he estimated the weight to be about one-half ton worth of debris.
Once he was informed that he couldn’t just dump his “stuff” along the waterway, and Deputies tried to read him his rights, he decided he wasn’t going to talk to them anymore. So, to help him out with where things go, we told him we would handle the rest of his “stuff” while he took a ride to Ivey’s Iron Bar Lodge.
This is where things took an unexpected turn…as the Deputies went to complete an inventory of his vehicle, Cpl. Stewart discovered the “snake” part of Dinovi’s likes as he had his pet, a juvenile Rainbow Boa Constrictor, just hanging out on the passenger seat.
Now as we all know my love for animals as Junny and I go everywhere together, but this, I think this goes just a bit too far. Heck, I don’t even let Junny ride in the front seat and not once has he ever tried to choke me to death, so you know a Boa Constrictor has got no shot at all of riding in the front seat.
The good news is that Dinovi got to visit Ivey’s Iron Bar Lodge where there are plenty of snakes in the grass just waiting to hang out with him.
Well thankfully our Animal Services Unit was able to respond and took custody of the snake, while our great partners at Brevard County Road and Bridge showed up in full force with a dump truck and equipment to remove the debris from the embankment and get it properly disposed.
As always I couldn’t be more proud of the partnerships we have built between our citizens, community, and our agency, that helps keep Brevard County one of the best places in the country to call home.
And of course as I always say…this is Brevard County where we have zero tolerance for crime and will lock you up if you as much as spit on our sidewalks!! You know dumping on our beautiful community is getting you a free ride to the jail so don’t do it.
– Sheriff Wayne Ivey
