FWC Law Enforcement Weekly Report January 26, 2018 through February 1, 2018

(Having trouble viewing this email? View it as a Web page.) FWC   Division of Law Enforcement Weekly Report January 26, 2018 through February 1, 2018 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 ESCAMBIA COUNTY Officer Long checked a subject as he returned to the Heron Bayou Boat Ramp. While speaking to the individual, Officer Long noticed that both the vehicle and vessel the individual had been operating had expired registrations. A criminal history on the individual revealed he had an active warrant in Escambia County for violation of probation. Officer Manning received information that an individual in McDavid was keeping an eastern screech owl as a pet and attempting to sell the owl. The owl was seized and turned over to a wildlife rehabilitator and the subject was issued a notice to appear citation. FRANKLIN COUNTY While conducting land patrol near Apalachicola Bay, Officers Nelson and Carr conducted a resource inspection of two individuals fishing from a bridge. During the inspection, it was discovered the individuals were in possession of 13 red drum located in a cooler in the bed of their pickup truck. The officers measured each fish and determined that of the 13 fish only one met the minimum size requirement of 18 inches, with 12 of the fish being undersized. The fish were returned to the water alive and appropriate citations were issued to the individuals. Officer Kossey and Reserve Officer Martin were targeting undersized oysters in the Eastpoint area. They conducted a resource inspection at the Eastpoint Boat Ramp. During the inspection, they determined that the subject was in possession of undersized oysters. After checking a bag of oysters for size tolerance, they determined the bag contained 42% undersized oysters. The subject was cited and 120 undersized oysters were returned to the water alive. LEON COUNTY Officer Brower was on land patrol at the Lake Miccosukee Boat Ramp and observed a vessel approach the ramp from the lake. A boating safety inspection revealed that the vessel operator did not have any personal floatation devices on board. The operator was issued a citation for the violation. OKALOOSA COUNTY While on water patrol on Yellow River, Officer Rockwell checked on a bait site he found earlier in the week. A boat was tied off near the bait site and he contacted the subject who was hunting the baited area. The subject admitted to placing the bait. The subject was issued a notice to appear citation for placing bait on Eglin Wildlife Management Area. Officer Maltais was contacted by Eglin Air Force Base Range Patrol personnel concerning two subjects that were observed exiting a closed area and in possession of a buck. The complainant stated the subject’s vehicle was parked and blocking an access gate. Officer Maltais arrived on scene and saw a six-point buck in the bed of the subject’s vehicle. Further, both subjects were found to be in possession of rifles and a semi-automatic pistol. When Range Patrol arrived to address the vehicle blocking the access gate, they observed the subjects exiting from a clearly posted closed area. One of the subjects did not have a state hunting license and the other subject did not have an Eglin permit. Both subjects were issued citations for no hunting licenses and hunting in a closed area. Officer Arnette received information that a subject had shot a deer while dog hunting that did not meet the horn restriction rule of at least three points on one side or a main beam of ten inches. Officer Arnette located the subjects and found a short-horned buck along with a hunting dog. He determined that one of them had killed the deer and issued a notice to appear for taking an antlered deer that did not meet the antler restriction rule. SANTA ROSA COUNTY Officer Hutchinson and Investigator Hughes received a call from a complainant who informed them that he saw a truck drive up to the edge of a field, two teenagers exit the vehicle, and one of them fired a rifle in his direction at a deer. After missing the deer, the teens drove off. The complainant said the following day, the same truck was seen again at the field after more shots. The complainant identified one of the subjects. The officers drove to the field and located evidence from the incident. The following day, Officer Hutchinson located both subjects at their residence and interviewed them. One of them confessed to shooting at the deer from the right of way and trespassing. The firearms used to commit the violation were seized as evidence and charges were filed with the State’s Attorney Office for attempting to take deer from a right of way. Officers Hutchinson, Long, and Clark were working late at night targeting night hunting. Officer Hutchinson saw a truck shining the field he was watching and conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle. While speaking with the three subjects, he discovered that the driver was the father of the other two subjects. All three subjects admitted to shining several fields that night to try to shoot a deer. The shotgun and the spotlight were seized and the subjects were cited appropriately. Officer Hutchinson saw a vehicle travelling towards him while shining a field with an LED light bar mounted on the vehicle. He watched the vehicle turn towards the field a couple of times and sweep the light across the field attempting to locate deer. As the vehicle approached Officer Hutchinson’s location, it stopped. A loaded hunting rifle was in the front seat. While interviewing the subjects they admitted to shining the field to look for deer. The firearm was seized and the driver of the vehicle was charged with night hunting. Officers Lewis and Jernigan received a complaint regarding someone illegally camping in a non-designated camping area in Blackwater River State Forest. Camping in the forest is only allowed in designated areas. When the officers arrived at the site, there was no one in the area. The area was in disarray, with trash and camping supplies consisting of propane bottles, a grill, soda cans, papers, and alcoholic beverage containers strewn about. The debris extended into a nearby creek. Various trees had been cut down. The officers identified two individuals from articles that were left behind. The officers contacted the subjects who cooperated with the officers and gave them the names of seven other subjects that camped in the area. The subjects were juveniles and young adults. The officers individually interviewed the subjects at their residences. Each of the subjects admitted to various crimes and, in total, 25 citations and three warnings were issued to the nine subjects. Officer Ramos discovered several large piles of yard waste, construction debris, fencing materials and insulation that had been illegally dumped on a county road. An investigation led to a nearby home which was undergoing an extensive remodel. The homeowner advised he paid a man to take the debris to the county landfill for proper disposal and that the man even asked for extra money for landfill fees. With the cooperation of the homeowner, Officer Ramos, along with FWC Investigations, set up a second job for the suspect to return to the property and haul off more debris a couple of days later. When the suspect arrived, he loaded a flatbed trailer full of debris and was paid to deliver it to the landfill. Officer Ramos and the FWC investigator followed the suspect covertly when he left the home. The suspect drove directly to the same dumpsite as before and quickly offloaded the debris on the county road. The officers revealed themselves and the suspect was placed under arrest. He was transported to the county jail and faces multiple counts of felony and commercial dumping. Officer Hutchinson was on patrol when he observed a truck parked in the middle of a paved road. He pulled up to the vehicle and saw a man slumped over in the driver seat. He attempted to get his attention and when he did the man sat up in the seat and drove off. The truck swerved off the roadway and into the other lane several times. Along with a Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s deputy who was patrolling the area, the vehicle was stopped and the man was placed under arrest for driving with a suspended license and driving under the influence of alcohol. WAKULLA COUNTY While patrolling the area of Dickerson Bay, Officer Nelson observed an individual harvesting oysters from a prohibited area. A resource inspection revealed that the individual did not possess either a commercial or recreational fishing license and had harvested over the recreational bag limit of oysters in the prohibited area and possessed undersized oysters. The appropriate citations were issued to the individual and the oysters were returned to the water alive. Officer Carr and K9 Officer Simpson were working a multi-agency detail in the Apalachicola National Forest, which involved approximately 20 officers. The focus of the detail was to conduct resource inspections for violations throughout the forest and hunt camp checks. The officers pulled up to a hunting camp located at Forest Roads 309 and 360 to inspect the camp. Officer Simpson went to a camper that had an ice chest sitting right beside the door. Officer Simpson asked the owner if he could look in the cooler, which he gave permission to do so. Upon inspection, Officer Simpson located deer meat in a black garbage bag that was untagged and absent of sex evidence. While Officer Simpson was talking to the subject, the camper door opened and the subject’s spouse was standing in the doorway and, when asked, stated she was just washing up the dishes. The officers immediately smelled cannabis coming from inside the camper as the door opened. Officer Simpson asked the subject’s spouse if she could explain why there was the smell of marijuana coming from inside the camper. She stated that there was no marijuana in the camper and that she didn’t know why there was a smell and gave permission to search. K9 Officer Anderson assisted with the search, which yielded less than 20 grams of cannabis and paraphernalia. The subject was issued the appropriate citations, given a property receipt and the evidence was placed in the evidence facility. WALTON COUNTY Lieutenant Hollinhead worked duck hunting activity to ensure compliance and enforcement of migratory bird hunting regulations. Numerous shots were heard at daylight around a small body of water on private property. Officer Letcher was contacted and responded to assist. An inspection of the subjects leaving the area revealed the subjects were in compliance with their hunting equipment, licenses, and bag limits. The area they were hunting from was checked and Officer Letcher determined the area had been baited with cracked corn. One of the subjects stated he had put the bait out prior to hunting. All three subjects were cited for hunting migratory game birds over a baited area. Lieutenant Hollinhead, Officers Letcher and Tison located a duck hunt on private property. Nine subjects were observed hunting from blinds. When they completed hunting, Officers Letcher and Tison made contact with them and observed a small amount of bait in their vessel. When questioned, one of the subjects stated he had baited the pond weeks prior to them hunting. Lieutenant Hollinhead and Officer Letcher inspected a portion of the pond in front of a blind they were hunting from and documented two types of grain present in the water. All nine of the subjects were cited for hunting migratory birds over a baited area. COMMUNITY ORIENTED POLCING LEON COUNTY Lieutenant Wass de Czege participated in the Skills Day portion of the online Hunter Safety Course which covers the knowledge, skills and attitude needed to be a safe hunter. Lieutenant Wass de Czege taught the laws portion of the course to six students in attendance. OKALOOSA COUNTY Officers Nichols and Wilkenson provided security and support to the park staff and Gulfarium personnel at Henderson Beach State Park. The Gulfarium released nine rehabilitated sea turtles that were affected by the recent freezing temperatures. The park staff estimated 1,600 people attended the turtle release.

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