FWC Division of Law Enforcement Weekly Report August 18, 2017 through August 24, 2017

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FWC

Division of Law Enforcement

Weekly Report

August 18, 2017 through August 24, 2017

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

CASES

BAY COUNTY

Officer N. Basford was patrolling Camp Helen State Park and checking compliance for visitors paying to enter the park. There was only one vehicle in the parking lot that did not display an appropriate pay stub for park entry. Officer Basford saw a subject return to the vehicle and proceed to exit the park. After a stop on the vehicle, a check on the driver revealed that his driver’s license was suspended and that he had received notification of such. He was issued a warning for entering the park without paying and was taken to jail for knowingly driving while license suspended or revoked.

ESCAMBIA COUNTY

Officers Roberson, Hoomes and Pettey worked a detail on Pensacola Beach checking fishermen. One subject was seen with two redfish and was issued a citation for over the daily bag limit of redfish. Officer Pettey located another individual who was in possession of 18 Spanish mackerel. The subject was issued a citation for over the bag limit of Spanish mackerel.

Officer Pettey followed up on a deer case he made earlier this month. After meeting with the state attorney’s office, warrants were obtained for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and willful waste of wildlife. The case involved an individual who poached a deer then left it on his front porch where it spoiled in the heat for approximately 16 hours.

Officer Manning responded to a call to assist the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office. An individual who was arrested for child endangerment also had an alligator in his possession. The individual had constructed a special room in his home for the alligator to live. While interviewing the subject at the jail, he admitted catching the alligator and keeping it as a pet. Officer Manning seized the alligator and charged the subject with three criminal violations.

Officers Roberson and Mullins received a call of an oversized redfish at the Bob Sikes fishing pier. The officers arrived and located a subject who had a redfish which was measured at 37 inches, 10 inches over the maximum legal length for redfish. The subject was issued a citation for possession of oversized redfish. The fish was seized as evidence.

JACKSON COUNTY

Officers conducted a detail targeting the opening week of the alligator hunting season. On the opening night, Officers Baber and Hayes checked a hunter who was actively hunting. The inspection of his permit revealed that he was hunting during phase one, with a phase three permit. The hunter was cited for attempting to take alligator during the wrong harvest period.

Lieutenant B. Allen, Officers Forehand, Little and Hayes were checking alligator hunters on Lake Seminole. They conducted surveillance on a hunter who was actively hunting and during a resource inspection, they found an alligator that had not been tagged. Inspection of the hunter’s permit showed that he was hunting out of his assigned area. The officers noticed spent .22 caliber casings inside the hunter’s vessel. After an interview, the hunter admitted to killing the alligator with a pistol. The hunter was subsequently charged with taking alligator outside of his permitted area, failure to attach CITES tag to an alligator and taking alligator by an illegal method.

OKALOOSA COUNTY

Officer J. Rockwell was on land patrol in Blackwater Wildlife Management Area (WMA) when he saw a Jeep traveling at a high rate of speed. He conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle and discovered that the license plate did not match the vehicle. Additionally, the driver advised Officer Rockwell that he was driving on a suspended driver’s license. The subject was charged with knowingly driving on a suspended license and attaching a tag not assigned.

DIRECTED CONSERVATION PATROLS

OKALOOSA COUNTY

Officers Nichols, Wilkenson and Lieutenant Clark teamed up with FWC Bear Management personnel to conduct bear canvassing efforts. The community/neighborhood targeted had a recent human/bear encounter. The effort was centered on making homeowners and the community aware of the law and their responsibilities in securing food attractants (unsecured garbage cans) in prevention of human and bear encounters. The canvas resulted in 157 houses visited with almost 100% direct contact with the homeowners. Two homeowners were issued non-compliance letters for unsecured garbage cans.

Officer Jarvis responded to a bear complaint in Mary Esther. The complaint centered on a bear that knocked over a garbage can. The officer arrived on the scene and could not locate the bear. The garbage can that had been knocked over had household garbage spread out on the lawn of a residence. The homeowner was identified and was issued a non-compliance letter.

RESCUES

SANTA ROSA COUNTY

Officer J. Rockwell received a call from FWC Dispatch advising that two girls had not returned from a short tubing trip on Cold Water Creek. Officers Lugg and Land also responded to the call. In a joint effort with Santa Rosa County deputies and Santa Rosa Fire Rescue, they located the girls and returned them to their mother.

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