Overview
- The clash began at a known lobster‑diving spot on July 29 when deputies say a verbal dispute escalated and a man later identified as Michael Joseph Simpson swam to a Brownie/Third Lung unit and turned off a submerged diver’s air supply.
- Simpson surrendered to authorities on Aug. 4, was booked on an attempted murder charge that a judge reduced to attempted second‑degree murder at a bond hearing on Aug. 5, and posted the $10,000 bond for release.
- Investigators say cellphone and social‑media video plus witness statements and photographic identifications were key evidence used to identify Simpson and form the basis of the criminal case.
- Simpson’s attorney and family call the allegations “categorically false,” say on‑scene Florida Fish and Wildlife officers initially cleared him, and plan to plead not guilty as they contest the video and eyewitness accounts.
- The case has raised safety concerns because the Brownie device supplies air to divers at the surface, Florida’s two‑day lobster mini‑season concentrates boats and divers in tight areas, and prosecutors say the investigation remains active with possible further developments.