The man whose drunken stunt resulted in two potentially life-altering legal charges will get a second chance at making better life choices.
Two Lewd and Lascivious Conduct charges were dropped against Dante Micheal Koonce this week, leaving the 20-year-old facing just a single misdemeanor disorderly conduct charge.
The significance of the dismissal of two felony-level charges is hard to overstate. If convicted, Koonce would have been required to register as a sex offender, a designation that attaches for life and severely limits housing, educational and job opportunities. He also would have faced up to 15 years in prison and up to $10,000 in fines.
Koonce's attorney Susan Cohen says the seriousness of the charges was a harsh wake-up call for her client. “He was, as you can imagine, very frightened by that, and he’s taken this whole matter very seriously and is extremely apologetic about his behavior.”
Cohen says that Koonce's behavior, though inappropriate, does not meet the statutory definition of lewd or lascivious conduct -- something that includes public masturbation, or a demonstrably lewd act. Cohen says that standard is not met by public nudity alone, an assertion the State Attorney's Office appears to agree with.
As First Coast News previously reported, Koonce was attending the second Jumbo Shrimp game when he sent out a Tweet, saying he would streak if he got 10 retweets. At some point, before he got 40 retweets, Koonce ran onto the field near first base dressed only in boxers. He pulled those off and streaked across the outfield where attempted to climb the right field fence. When he was pushed back by a fan, he sprinted to left field and leaped into the Family Fun Zone.
He was promptly tackled by a Yulee man there with his two young daughters.
The man, who First Coast News did not identify, said at the time, “I guess my dad instincts just kicked in.” He held Koonce until police arrived.
Even as the streak was happening, the game’s announcer intoned that anyone "entering the field of play will be arrested and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."
Following the incident, the team released this statement:
“The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, in order to provide a safe environment for fans and players alike, strictly enforce a zero-tolerance policy regarding field invasion. Any attendee that enters the field uninvited is immediately removed from the stadium and put in the custody of our JSO officers that are on site every game. The Jumbo Shrimp, in cooperation with JSO, enforce all laws including, but not limited, to trespassing when such incidents occur.”
Cohen says her client is very remorseful and embarrassed about the incident. “If he could apologize in person to the people were there and their children, he would do that," she told First Coast News. He’s definitely taking it all very seriously, and I think it’s going to ultimately have a positive impact on him for the rest of his life, because he’s become very aware of how drinking too much or doing foolish things that you might not think much about at the time you do them, can have very serious consequences.”