FWC DIVISION OF LAW ENFORCEMENT WEEKLY REPORT January 4 - 10, 2013

FWC DIVISION OF LAW ENFORCEMENT

WEEKLY REPORT

January 4 - 10, 2013

 

This report represents some events the FWC handled over the past week; however,

it does not include all actions taken by the Division of Law Enforcement.

 

NORTHWEST REGION

 

ESCAMBIA COUNTY

 

Officer Kenneth Manning received information about a man who caught an oversized redfish at the Palafox Pier in Pensacola. Officer Manning responded to the area, but the man had already left. He was given the tag number and was able to confirm the vehicle driven by the suspect matched the tag. He proceeded to the man’s residence where he observed the vehicle in the driveway. He also observed numerous large fish scales in the yard. Officer Manning approached the man and asked him about the redfish. The man admitted to taking an oversized redfish off the pier and showed it to Officer Manning. Officer Manning issued the man a notice to appear for possession of an oversized redfish.

 

Officer Christopher Pettey received a complaint from a hunting club member regarding trespass and illegal hunting activity on his club’s land. Earlier in the week, one of the members was hunting on a food plot when two unidentified individuals walked onto the plot carrying a gun and started to approach the shooting house. When the individuals noticed the hunter, they ran but dropped a hat in the process. Members of the club tracked the two individuals to a nearby neighborhood. One of the club members thought he might know one of the subjects and assisted Officer Pettey with identification. An inquiry on Facebook revealed a video of the subjects shooting a doe deer out of the same shooting house on the private hunt club. Officer Pettey interviewed the two subjects and quickly obtained a confession after revealing the video evidence. One of the subjects in the video was wearing the same hat he dropped when he was confronted by the hunter. Officer Pettey seized an empty shell casing that was found in the shooting house, the rifle used during the trespass, and the deer meat. Officer Pettey obtained warrants on the subjects for trespass and for taking an antlerless deer out of season.

 

Officer Matt Cushing responded to a complaint in the community of Bratt about a doe deer being illegally killed. Officer Cushing spoke to a witness and learned he heard a shot the night before that was extremely close to his residence. After hearing the shot, the witness opened his door and was able to get a description of a truck before it sped away. The witness looked for a deer in the nearby field but did not locate one. Two individuals, who were driving the truck that sped away, were observed attempting to drag a doe deer from the field. A better description of the vehicle was obtained. After speaking to the witness, Officer Cushing photographed the deer and was attempting to locate additional evidence when two individuals slowly drove by in a small car. A brief time later, the individuals approached Officer Cushing a short distance away and asked him what he was doing. The individuals appeared very nervous and questioned Officer Cushing if he was there regarding the doe deer. After an informal conversation, Officer Cushing determined the subjects were the hunters involved in the case and he obtained written statements from them admitting to the incident. The subjects took Officer Cushing to their residence where the truck described by the witness was located. The subjects turned over the gun and spotlight used to kill the deer and charges are pending. It was later determined that one of the subjects in this case is the brother to the subject involved in the doe deer and trespass case Officer Pettey investigated.

 

SANTA ROSA COUNTY

 

Officer Kenneth Manning and Lt. Dan Hahr were on patrol within the Blackwater WMA when they observed a truck blocking a road. The officers tracked the driver into a wooded area where they observed a man hunting in a stand overlooking a feeder containing corn. The corn was approximately ten yards in front of the man. The man was issued a notice to appear for hunting over bait in a management area and an infraction citation for hunting deer without wearing the required blaze orange. The man was also warned for blocking a management area road.

 

WALTON COUNTY

 

FWC Officers from Okaloosa and Walton counties worked a night hunting detail covering both counties. Officer Ken White and Reserve Officer Jeff Hahr stopped a vehicle after it appeared the driver was using the headlights to shine a field for deer. An inspection of the vehicle revealed a dead doe deer in the vehicle and sign that other deer had recently been killed and transported in the vehicle. The subjects led the officers to a nearby barn where other harvested doe deer had been transported, field dressed, and placed into coolers. The deer in the vehicle had been struck by a vehicle on a nearby road, but deer in the coolers had not been properly tagged. It was later determined that numerous doe tags had been issued for the property the hunters were on. The subjects were issued warnings for failing to tag the harvested deer properly.

 

Officer Ken White was contacted by a landowner after the landowner observed someone trespassing on his property and observed him shoot a turkey near one of his deer feeders. Officer White searched the area and later found a turkey carcass that had been disposed of after it had been cleaned. The investigation is ongoing and charges are pending.

 

JACKSON COUNTY

 

Officers Hank Forehand, Scott Cassels, and Lt. Mark Clements worked a detail in the Graceville area after receiving information of night hunting occurring in the area. The officers utilized the replica deer in several locations known to be frequented by poachers. After several nights, their efforts paid off and shortly before midnight, a subject and his girlfriend stopped in the middle of the county road and fired five shots at the replica using a .22 caliber rifle. The subject was stopped and charged with shooting from the roadway and attempting to take deer at night.

 

Officer Hank Forehand was on patrol in the Graceville area when he heard what he believed to be a duck shoot in a nearby pond. After making his way into the property on foot, he set up surveillance on two subjects engaged in hunting. The end of legal shooting hours for migratory birds came and the two continued shooting at ducks for 30 more minutes. Once the two subjects finally stopped shooting, Officer Forehand exited from his concealed position and made contact with the two shooters. Both subjects were cited for attempting to take ducks after legal hours.

 

Officer Jason Hutchinson and K-9 Officer Mike Guy were working the Dellwood area after receiving a complaint of shots being fired from the roadway just after dark. After several hours of surveillance on the area, the two officers observed a vehicle enter a field and begin shining a spotlight. After several minutes, a single rifle shot was heard coming from the location of the vehicle. The officers stopped the vehicle as it tried to exit the field. After interviews were conducted of the two adults in the vehicle, it was discovered that the male subject driving the vehicle had held the spotlight on a deer and allowed his juvenile son to shoot at it. The adult male subject was cited for attempting to take deer at night and for providing false statements to law enforcement.

 

GADSDEN COUNTY

 

Officer Chris Jones concluded a felony trespass case. After interviewing witnesses and the suspect, he presented the case to the State Attorney’s Office. The State Attorney agreed on the findings of the investigation and issued a warrant for the arrest of the offender. The subject was picked up and booked into the Gadsden County Jail.

 

FRANKLIN COUNTY

 

Officers Jason Carroll and Matt Gore were working Apalachicola Bay when they encountered two suspects who were commercial mullet fishing. After conducting surveillance, the officers stopped the subjects when they observed them hide a net. Subsequent investigation revealed the net was not marked, was of an illegal mesh size, and was greater than 500 square feet. The two subjects were repeat offenders of resource violations. Both subjects were cited for the violations and the net was seized. Three hundred pounds of mullet were also seized.

http://www.oysterradio.com e-mail manager@oysterradio.com with comments