Mangoes are not a forbidden fruit, but picking them from trees in a public park can get you in a peck of trouble.
Varkey S. Choriammackal faced 60 days in jail and a $500 fine because he picked 88 mangoes in a Plantation park. He pleaded no contest on Monday to a charge of petty theft despite his claim that he could take the mangoes because the trees were in a public park.
Broward County Court Judge Steven Shutter ordered Choriammackal to pay $120 in court costs — “a little over a buck a mango” — and withheld a formal ruling of guilt so he won’t have a criminal record.
“The park may be public, but that doesn’t mean you can walk away with the benches, concession stand and swings,” the judge said.
Choriammackal, 37, of Lauderdale Lakes, was cited on July 6 after an officer saw him jump the 6-foot fence around county-owned Heritage Park carrying bags and a pole with a hook on the end.
“If he took four or five mangoes it still would have been improper, but I wouldn’t have brought charges,” Assistant State Attorney Kenneth Padowitz said.
Kim Suppo, manager of the 90-acre park, said people are free to pick fruit provided they do it the right way.
“We don’t really mind if they come into the office first to find out what the guidelines are,” he said. “We’ve had problems with people using boomerangs and baseball bats destroying the trees, climbing trees and wandering out on weak limbs, and not being aware of what’s poisonous and what isn’t.”
