Man Entered Plane Crash Crime Scene To Take Video: Clearwater Police

CLEARWATER, FL — A man who crossed the crime scene tape at the site of Thursday night’s fatal small plane crash in Clearwater faces charges, court documents show.

Joseph Schifano, 66, of St. Petersburg was charged with resisting an officer without violence, a misdemeanor, around 9:30 p.m., just hours after the crash, according to his arrest affidavit from the Clearwater Police Department.

The plane crashed into Bayside Waters, a mobile home park on US Highway 19 near the Clearwater Mall, around 7 p.m. Three people were killed in the crash, including the pilot and two women inside a mobile home.

Related Stories:

• Clearwater Plane Crash Victims Identified By Police
• Clearwater Plane Crash: 3 Dead At Mobile Home Park, Report Says

When Schifano tried to enter the crime scene the first time, he told officers that he was medical staff, but couldn’t provide proof of employment, the affidavit said.

He was seen crossing under the crime scene tape again later and told officers that he was “just nosey.” Officers warned him to stay out of the crime scene.

Shortly after this, officers spotted him walking under the crime scene tape again, getting about “an entire house length” into the crime scene, and taking a video on his cell phone of the crash, the affidavit said.

After his arrest, Schifano told investigators that he knew it was wrong and apologized, explaining that he was trying to take a video of the crash site to sell to a media company.