Driver Arrested For Running Over Ducklings

AUGUST 13--A Florida Man intentionally drove his truck over a group of ducklings that were “playing in a shallow puddle in the middle of a road” inside the mobile home park where the suspect resides, cops allege.

According to an arrest affidavit, witnesses told police that James Clairmont, 56, was behind the wheel of a Ford truck early Sunday evening when the vehicle approached a group of 11 ducklings that were in the middle of the road with a mother duck.

After slowing down for a speed bump, witnesses saw Clairmont “then quickly accelerate towards the ducklings intentionally,” cops report. As witnesses screamed for him to stop his vehicle, Clairmont allegedly “ran over three of the ducklings and fled the area to his home which is one street away from the scene.”

Two ducklings “passed away at the scene,” while a third was taken to an animal hospital for treatment of broken bones.

When a Largo Police Department officer subsequently contacted Clairmont, he “denied there ever being ducklings in the roadway.” But Clairmont, a cop noted, “was unable to explain why I observed blood and duck feathers on the wheels of his truck.”

Clairmont, who was confronted by police two hours after the incident, appeared to be “highly intoxicated” when questioned at his residence in the Whispering Pines mobile home park.

Pictured above, Clairmont was arrested for aggravated animal cruelty, a felony. He was released from the county jail yesterday afternoon upon posting $5000 bond.

Clairmont, who works for a swimming pool contractor, has previously been convicted of domestic battery, marijuana possession, violating probation, and possession of drug paraphernalia. His rap sheet also includes convictions for an array of vehicular charges, including driving without a license, leaving the scene of an accident, driving without insurance, and driving while in possession of an open container of alcohol. (1 page)