FWC Division of Law Enforcement December 4, 2015 thru December 10, 2015

(Having trouble viewing this email? View it as a Web page.) FWC Division of Law Enforcement   Weekly Report December 4, 2015 thru December 10, 2015 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. Patrol, Protect, Preserve NORTHWEST REGION BAY COUNTY While on patrol, Officer Hellett observed a commercial oyster boat tied up to a dock behind a vacant lot. He could see three oyster bags on the dock and stopped to conduct a resource inspection. None of the oyster bags were tagged. The subject on the boat stated he was commercially harvesting and that the three bags were his. The subject was issued a citation for untagged oysters. Officer Price responded to a vessel sinking in St. Andrews Pass.  Upon arrival, he found the vessel had sunk and the occupants had swam to shore.  All parties were found to be okay and a boating accident investigation was completed. Officers Wicker and T. Basford were on water patrol when they checked two commercial oystermen from Franklin County.  Their three bags of oysters were checked and all found to be undersized.  Citations were issued and the oysters returned to the waters. Officer Gore checked two kayakers returning to dock and asked if they had been fishing.  Both replied yes.  When asked if they had fishing licenses and had they caught any fish, they said no.  A check of a cooler found five speckled trout, four of which were undersized.  Citations were issued for the undersized violation and written warnings issued for the licenses. OKALOOSA COUNTY In October, Officer Pifer received a complaint about an individual displaying a badge and threating to issues citations to individuals feeding feral cats in the Fort Walton Beach area. Officer Pifer was able to identify a possible suspect and conduct an investigation. During the investigation, Officer Pifer learned that the individual was a local wildlife trapper and had previous complaints against him for fielding bear calls and misrepresenting himself. With assistance from Lieutenant Hollinhead, Officer Corbin and FHP Trooper Davis, information was gathered and presented to the State Attorney’s Office and an arrest warrant was obtained for false personation. Later that same day, Officers Pifer and Corbin booked the suspect into the Okaloosa County Jail without incident. SANTA ROSA COUNTY Officer Hoomes organized a detail in response to numerous complaints from the public regarding harassment by a landowner in the Blackwater Wildlife Management Area (WMA). Plainclothes RPS officers posed as hunters in the WMA around the landowner’s property in an effort to observe his actions and determine if any violations of the hunter harassment law were occurring.  During a two-week period, the officers observed the landowner harassing hunters in the WMA.  They also observed him firing weapons numerous times into the WMA without regard for the safety of the hunters who routinely hunt in the thinned pine plantation.  The officers documented the landowner’s actions with video when possible.  The landowner fired a semi-automatic rifle numerous times into the forest in close proximity to the officers.  At one time, he fired multiple shots directly over the heads of the officers as they ducked for cover behind pine trees.  After discussing the case with the State Attorney’s Office, Officer Hoomes obtained a warrant charging the landowner with three counts of improper exhibition of a firearm and four counts of hunter harassment.

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