CLEARWATER, Fla. (WWSB) – Jeff Knight, the man who was operating the boat that crashed into the Clearwater Ferry Sunday night, has a checkered history with law enforcement, court records show.

According to the Pinellas County Court, he was issued a vessel citation in 2017 for careless operation of a vessel, a misdemeanor, for allowing his 14-year-old stepson to operate a boat.

Knight also was charged in a 2019 boating accident, which was later dismissed. In 2012, he was sued after a man died getting off his boat, but that suit was dismissed.

He was charged with DUI in 2007 but that was reduced to reckless driving where he was convicted but not sentenced.

Knight also faced a DUI charge in 2012 and was found guilty, according to county court records.

Knight owns Knight Global Entertainment, LLC, which runs several St. Petersburg businesses, including Jannus Live, Pelican Pub, MacDinton’s Irish Pub, Ringside Cafe, Detroit Liquors and The Landing.

Jannus Live posted a statement on its Facebook page issued a statement urging the community to use “compassion and patience as the facts surrounding this heartbreaking incident continue to emerge.”

“We ask that judgment be reserved while the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the United States Coast Guard conduct their thorough investigation into what occurred that night,” the statement said.

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