The man, who was videotaped by a beachgoer, escaped a felony charge by agreeing to plead guilty to a misdemeanor.
By Times Staff Writer
Published May 16, 2003
CLEARWATER - A man who performed naked antics on a boat off Clearwater Beach last year only to be videotaped by a beachgoer and later arrested, pleaded guilty to a lesser charge Thursday.
Timothy Hoskins, 28, was arrested last May on a charge of lewd and lascivious exhibition, a felony.
He pleaded guilty Thursday to a first-degree misdemeanor charge of exposure of sexual organs.
He was sentenced to 21 days in jail, which he already served before he posted bail, court records show.
Hoskins was on a boat just off the beach in the 600 block of Gulfview Boulevard on May 26, 2002, when he started blowing the boat's horn, then dropped his shorts to his ankles and started gyrating, police said.
About 100 people were on the beach, including many children, witnesses said.
When adults asked Hoskins to stop, he cursed and swiveled his hips even more, police said.
At one point, he swam to shore, dropped his shorts, put his hands behind his head and gyrated his hips.
But one beachgoer grabbed her video camera and started taping.
She captured not only Hoskins' antics, but the name and registration number of the boat and a dragon tattoo on his chest.
When police tracked down Hoskins, he admitted to the charge, police said.
Hoskins also is facing unrelated charges of sale and possession of marijuana, driving with a suspended license and careless driving, court records show.
