Only in Florida Strange but true stories

Only in Florida

Strange, But True Stories from Across the Sunshine State

In July, Eric Merda, 43, from Sarasota, says he became lost in the swamp while visiting Lake Manatee Fish Camp in Myakka. Not knowing where to go, he attempted to swim across a lake—something he later admitted was “not the smartest decision a Florida boy can make.” Waiting in the lake was a large alligator, who grabbed Merda’s right arm and attempted to drag him underwater. Merda fought back, eventually escaping from the gator, but not before losing much of his arm. He says he survived three days in the swamp before being rescued. “I said a gator got me arm,” Merda was quoted upon his discovery. “Holy smokes, man!” his rescuer responded. At the hospital, his right arm was amputated.

“That wasn’t good?” So asked Amy Harrington, 38, of Madeira Beach, following a traffic stop earlier this year. Harrington reportedly rear-ended a car while driving not far from her home. Responding officers stated she showed several signs of inebriation and requested she undergo a sobriety test, including walking a straight line. Walking proved not easy, so Harrington transitioned into an impromptu dance routine. The police report stated that she began to stumble but recovered by performing “multiple ballet and Irish folk dance moves.” The sobriety test didn’t improve, despite her dancing, which was captured on police body-cams, and Harrington was arrested after refusing to take a blood alcohol content test and charged with driving under the influence, property damage and refusal to submit to testing. A $3.9 million waterfront home built in 1982 and designed for the members of Swedish super group ABBA went up for sale in August in Tierra Verda, a small island community near Tampa. It is believed bandmates and former married couples Agnetha Faltskog and Bjorn Ulvaeus, Anni-Frid Lyngstad and Benny Anderson lived in the home during the early 1980s. The house was designed in a Swedish longhouse style and comes complete with a pristine stereo system, and recording equipment, and even cassette tapes and memorabilia belonging to the quartet. “The layout of the home is pretty special and just makes for a great house for somebody who likes to entertain or has a big family,” said listing agent Lisa Farmer of Premier Sotheby’s International Realty.

“He is naked, yelling at people in the parking lot.” The comment was part of a conversation between police officers in pursuit of Brandon Wright in August. Reportedly, Wright was picking berries in the woods near Deland, when he happened upon a surveyor at work. Wright suddenly grew angry and demanded the surveyor give him his clothes, wallet and phone. Then he proceeded to throw some of his collected berries and a large machete-style knife at the man. Fortunately, the handle of the knife hit the surveyor and bounced off his chest. Wright, 34, was quickly arrested and charged with attempted robbery with a deadly weapon and aggravated assault and battery. u