Four Boca Bash Arrests Include DUIs, Battery on Child

Mug Shots: David Scott Howell; Jeffry Otoniel Pimentel Mena; Santiago Castro Valencia; Luis Miguel Gonzalez Fernandez. (All Photos: Palm Beach County Jail)

Four individuals were separately arrested at last weekend’s Boca Bash event, two of whom were charged by officers with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and two by Boca Raton police.

One arrest involved David Scott Howell, 58, of Fort Lauderdale, who faces felony and misdemeanor charges, including alleged child abuse and battery. Officers responding to a reported disturbance on a vessel said they observed an altercation and later determined, based on witness statements and visible injuries, that Howell was the “aggressor,” a police report stated. Two females were allowed to board the FWC’s vessel in order to separate them from the altercation, while the suspect’s vessel was escorted to Silver Palm Park by the Boca Raton police marine unit, after which the investigation got underway.

Howell was taken into custody and transported to the Palm Beach County Jail, where he was ultimately released on his own recognizance, according to jail records.

The other three arrests involved alleged DUIs.

Boaters anchor up for the 2026 Boca Bash event in Lake Boca, Boca Raton, FL, Spril 26, 2026. (Photo: Boca Daily News)

In one incident, Jeffry Otoniel Pimentel Mena, 32, of Delray Beach, was charged with operating a vessel with while intoxicated. FWC officers conducting a patrol in Lake Boca reported observing signs of impairment, including “slurred speech, bloodshot eyes and an odor of alcohol,” a police report said. The report said Pimentel Mena consented to field sobriety exercises and later provided breath samples that were more than twice the legal limit – one reading .22 and one reading .24. Florida’s legal limit is .08. Pimentel Mena was released from the Palm Beach County Jail after posting $1,000 bond.

The third arrest involved Santiago Castro Valencia, 33, of Boca Raton, who was taken into custody on multiple charges, including allegedly operating a vessel while impaired, reckless operation and refusal to submit to a breath test. Officers reported seeing a personal watercraft being operated erratically through a crowded slow-speed zone, nearly throwing a passenger off. According to the report, Castro Valencia showed signs of impairment and declined to provide a breath sample after being taken into custody.

Boaters anchor up for the 2026 Boca Bash event in Lake Boca, Boca Raton, FL, Spril 26, 2026. (Photo: Boca Daily News)

Finally, the fourth arrest involved Luis Miguel Gonzalez Fernandez, 32, of Homestead. The police report linked to his arrest was not yet available, however he was charged at 5:46 p.m. Sunday with boating while intoxicated and violating a no wake zone on a Yamaha watercraft. Gonzalez Fernandez was charged by Boca Raton police. He was released from the Palm Beach County Jail after posting $1,000 bail.