Less than a month after a Florida Taco Bell made headlines because of a shooting allegedly sparked by a dispute over fountain drinks, another Sunshine State location has found itself at the center of a bizarre police report. This time, however, no bullets were involved—just an allegedly naked customer, a backpack, and a pet fish named Baja Blast.
The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office told WFTV that 28-year-old Brandon Irizarry was arrested shortly before 1 a.m. on Thursday, May 28, after employees at a Taco Bell on State Road 100 reported a man exposing himself near a side entrance of the restaurant, with the sheriffs joking that the man ‘had his chimichanga out’ in the dispatch. Deputies responding to the call said they found Irizarry still outside the building when they arrived.
Authorities allege Irizarry had multiple layers of pants pulled down and appeared unaware that law enforcement was approaching before attempting to cover himself. He was taken into custody and charged with unlawful exposure of sexual organs.
He was later transported to the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility, where officials said he was being held on a $5,000 bond.
As unusual as the arrest was, investigators say the strangest discovery came afterward. During a routine inventory of Irizarry’s belongings, deputies found a live betta fish swimming inside a plastic container stored in his backpack.
The fish was removed and transferred to the local humane society, where staff reported it was healthy and doing well. Deputies later gave the fish an appropriately fast-food-themed nickname: "Baja Blast."
Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly appeared to recognize the absurdity of the latest case while announcing the arrest. “In Flagler County, if you can’t keep your business inside your pants, you’ll find yourself at the Green Roof Inn, swimming with different company than your fish,” Staly said in a statement.
The sheriff’s office followed up with an additional reminder that a late-night Taco Bell trip should end “with a receipt, maybe some regret, but not a booking number.”
The arrest follows another widely reported Taco Bell incident in Florida earlier this week. In West Palm Beach, police arrested employee D'Mari Jy'Quan Patterson after a confrontation over a soda allegedly escalated into gunfire inside the restaurant. Authorities say three women were targeted during that incident, leaving two with non-life-threatening injuries.
