Joseph Malinowski, better known as Lieutenant Dan to the internet, rose to fame after staking out Hurricane Milton in his boat. It would turn out that his boat was his undoing as he got arrested because of it.
On Friday morning, Tampa Police arrested Lieutenant Dan, according to TMZ. The stubborn sailor had two outstanding warrants and issues with his boat, leading to his arrest.
Two outstanding warrants for not appearing in court and a misdemeanor charge of trespassing in a city park after warning were the grounds for the arrest.
Lieutenant Dan's representative, Brandon Gilchrist, tells TMZ that his team is working on bailing the super seafarer out of his predicament.
Lieutenant Dan Arrested Thanks To Boat
Tampa Police had approached Joseph Malinowski on Thursday at Bayshore Linear Park and Dock. They found out that Lieutenant Dan did not have a record of proper waste disposal nor an accessible marine sanitation device on his small jetty.
This meant that his boat posed a public health hazard. He was instructed to leave Bayshore Linear Park. Despite numerous warnings, he was as stubborn as ever.
When the police returned on Friday morning, the indomitable captain remained. If a hurricane couldn't move him, the words of others certainly wouldn't either.
Naturally, they arrested him.
He may have lucked his way through Hurricane Milton through willpower and determination, but he can't luck his way through inadequate sanitation conditions.
No updates have surfaced, meaning the famed Lieutenant Dan is still being held by the police. His bail hasn't been released, so it's unknown just how much Gilchrist's team will have to raise to bail him out.
Lieutenant Dan was promised a huge gift from a streamer. A $50K to $100K boat and a live-streaming deal was offered to the viral sailor. The streamer hasn't gone through with his promise after learning about his criminal past.
Thanks to Malinowski's mile-long rap sheet it's also not surprising that he's back in trouble with authorities.
With his criminal past coming to light, many have turned their backs on the Hurricane Milton survivor. Whether he'll see his boat again or not is unknown.
