Division of Law Enforcement Weekly Report May 11, 2018 through May 17, 2018

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FWC

 

Division of Law Enforcement Weekly Report

May 11, 2018 through May 17, 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

BAY COUNTY

Officer Brady was conducting Joint Enforcement Agency (JEA) patrols when he noticed a vessel with three people on board actively fishing and conducted a resource inspection of the vessel. During the inspection, he found a gag grouper and six gray triggerfish in a cooler. At the time of inspection, gag grouper was closed in both the state and federal waters off Bay County. The captain of the vessel took responsibility and was issued citations for the violations.

Reserve Officer Cooper was conducting JEA patrols near the Panama City Pass when he noticed a vessel with three people on board returning from fishing. He conducted a resource inspection of the vessel and found a cooler in the vessel with a gag grouper inside. At the time of inspection, gag grouper was closed in both the state and federal waters off Bay County. The captain of the vessel took responsibility for the violation and was issued a citation.

ESCAMBIA COUNTY

While on patrol in Bayou Chico, Officers Cushing and Land heard a request for law enforcement over the VHF radio. Officer Cushing contacted the complainant who stated that another boater hit his vessel at the fuel dock and continued without stopping. The complainant indicated that the operator may have been drinking. After receiving a detailed description of the vessel and the operator, Officers Land and Cushing saw the vessel underway a few hundred yards away. They followed the vessel to a local marina where the described operator was docking. Officer Land contacted the operator and saw many indicators of possible impairment. He then conducted a BUI investigation and determined that the operator was impaired. The operator was arrested and booked into Escambia County Jail.

Officer Cushing received an electronic complaint regarding subjects landing gag grouper during the closed season. Several FWC officers assisted Officer Cushing to identify the vessel and help track down the subjects in question. Officer Cushing conducted interviews with two of the subjects. One of them admitted to catching and keeping the grouper. He stated that the captain of the vessel identified the fish as black grouper. Appropriate charges were filed for the violation.

Officers Allgood and Manning checked three individuals fishing approximately 12 miles off the Pensacola Pass. An inspection revealed the individuals in possession of two undersized triggerfish. Information was taken and federal citations will be issued for the violation.

FRANKLIN COUNTY

Officers Travis and Kossey were on water patrol in the Carrabelle River when they saw a boat tied to the Carrabelle City Dock. The officers conducted a resource inspection on the boat and during the inspection they discovered seven red snapper, two red grouper, and one gag grouper hidden in a compartment in the cuddy cabin. Also during the stop, they located a small amount of cannabis. The officers issued eight misdemeanor citations for various violations.

K-9 Officer Anderson and Officer Richardson were on water patrol in the Carrabelle River when they saw a vessel returning from an offshore fishing trip. They contacted the captain who invited them on board to conduct a resource inspection. During the inspection, they found an undersized red grouper and an undersized gag grouper. The two-undersized grouper were seized as evidence and the subject was cited for the undersized fish, expired registration, and expired flares.

LEON COUNTY

K-9 Officer Anderson was on routine patrol when he saw a Florida Highway Patrol trooper running across Bannerman Road with his taser out. The trooper stated that he just had someone run from him who was involved in a hit and run accident and had an outstanding warrant. Officer Anderson pulled off the road and deployed FWC K-9 Scout in the block of woods where the suspect had fled. K-9 Scout tracked the male subject for approximately 350 yards when a Good Samaritan told them the subject had jumped in a vehicle and left the area. The trooper called the track off and advised that he would issue a warrant for the subject.

OKALOOSA COUNTY

Officer Pifer received information regarding an individual attempting to sell red snapper via Facebook. Screen shots of the original posts were obtained and the owner of the Facebook page was identified. During an interview, the owner of the Facebook page admitted to harvesting red snapper during the closed season and then posting the fish for sale on Facebook. The individual did not possess a saltwater products license or a license to retail saltwater products. Charges were filed through the State Attorney’s Office.

Officers Pifer and Corbin were on vessel patrol conducting state fisheries inspections in the Destin Pass when they saw a vessel returning from the Gulf of Mexico displaying rods and reels. The officers stopped the vessel and determined it was returning from a fishing trip. The fisheries inspection revealed two undersized gray triggerfish. The vessel operator was cited and issued a notice to appear citation.

Officers Jarvis and Maltais monitored the return of a commercial fishing vessel to conduct a federal and state fisheries inspection. The commercial vessel was licensed federally with a Gulf Reef Fish Permit. The permit requires the vessel’s owner/operator to report all landing times and location to law enforcement. The vessel landed at a different location than what was reported, a violation of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). The violation was documented accordingly and a National Marine Fisheries Service law enforcement officer will follow up on the reporting and landing violations.

WALTON COUNTY

Officers Tison and Bradshaw were on water patrol when they saw a vessel displaying bright lights into the water in a manner commonly used for gigging and bow fishing. As the officers approached the vessel they saw a subject was bow fishing and he stated he had not had any luck. An inspection of a live well in his vessel revealed a large bass with a hole in it consistent with being shot with an arrow from bow fishing equipment. The subject admitted to shooting the bass and was cited for taking game fish by a prohibited method.

FEDERAL WATERS

While aboard the offshore patrol vessel Intrepid, Lieutenant Marlow and Officers Kossey, Nelson, and Travis located two vessels near each other and stopped both vessels at the same time. During the stops, officers located six gag grouper on one vessel and two gag grouper on the other vessel during federal closure. The officers took the appropriate action regarding the violations on the two vessels.

While aboard offshore patrol vessel Northwest FINCAT, Officers Cushing and Land were on water patrol in federal waters approximately 17 miles south of the Pensacola Pass. While conducting a marine fisheries inspection of a recreational vessel, Officer Land discovered undersized greater amberjack. The appropriate action was taken for the violation. Soon thereafter, Officer Land was conducting another marine fisheries inspection of a recreational vessel with six persons onboard. He discovered six greater amberjack – five of the six fish were undersized. The appropriate action was taken for the violations.

While aboard the offshore patrol vessel Intrepid, Lieutenant Marlow and Officers Kossey, Nelson, and Travis stopped two vessels within an hour of each other and both vessels and its occupants were found to be in possession of gag grouper during federal closure. The officers took the appropriate action for the violations.

While aboard the offshore patrol vessel Intrepid, Lieutenant Marlow and Officers Kossey, Nelson, and Travis stopped two vessels within a few minutes of each other. The officers located undersized red grouper and gag grouper during federal closure on one of the vessels. The officers located multiple undersized greater amberjack aboard the other vessel. The officers took the appropriate action for the violations aboard the two vessels.

While aboard the offshore patrol vessel Vigilance, Officers Matechik, Rockwell, and Nelson were on patrol focusing on compliance of Turtle Exclusionary Devices (TEDs). During the patrol south of Franklin County, the officers located and inspected five commercial shrimping vessels with some having significant violations of the legal specifications of the TEDs. The appropriate actions were taken with both warnings and citations for the violations.

While aboard the offshore patrol vessel Intrepid, Lieutenant Marlow and Officers Kossey, Nelson, and Travis located a vessel anchored with multiple people fishing. As the officers approached, one of the individuals tried to remove a cut-up piece of vermillion snapper from his hook that he was using for bait. The officers directed all the individuals to reel their lines up so that the bait could be inspected. One of the individuals stated had a whole vermillion snapper intentionally hooked as bait. The officers took the appropriate action for the violation of using reef fish as bait.

While aboard the offshore patrol vessel Vigilance, Officers Matechik, Rockwell, and Boyd were on patrol focusing on compliance of Turtle Exclusionary Devices (TEDs). During the patrol south of Franklin County, the officers checked seven commercial shrimp trawling vessels for TED compliance. There were many boating safety, resource violations, and violations for various TED compliance issues. The appropriate action was taken for the violations. A citation for possession of marijuana less than 20 grams was also issued.

While aboard the offshore patrol vessel Intrepid, Lieutenant Marlow and Officers Boyd, Nelson, and Richardson located four different vessels that were in possession of gag grouper during federal closure. The officers took the appropriate action for the violations that were located aboard the four vessels.

While aboard the offshore patrol vessel Intrepid, Lieutenant Marlow and Officers Boyd, Nelson, and Richardson located a large cabin vessel. They circled around the vessel approximately a mile away and approached the vessel from an angle the occupants were less likely to see them approaching. They pulled up to the vessel’s stern and after boarding, located a large plastic bag in an easily accessible compartment on the stern transom. The bag contained a large quantity of fish fillets. An inspection of the fillets revealed a small piece of skin that was consistent with red snapper. An interview of the occupants resulted in statements that they had filleted multiple red snapper and gag grouper and bagged them. The appropriate action was taken for the violations of possession of red snapper and gag grouper during federal closure and for failure to land fish in whole condition.

While aboard the offshore patrol vessel Intrepid, Lieutenant Marlow and Officers Hughes and Korade were on patrol in federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico south of Franklin County. During the patrol, they located four different vessels that were in possession of gag grouper during federal closure. The appropriate actions were taken for the violations.

While aboard the offshore patrol vessel Northwest FINCAT, Officers Cushing and Land patrolled multiple days in federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico. During their patrols, the officers discovered four different vessels with a total of five greater amberjack violations. The violations included size limit and bag limit and the appropriate action was taken.

SEARCH AND RESCUE

OKALOOSA COUNTY

Officer Rockwell responded to a call from a lost kayaker on the Blackwater River. He talked to the kayaker by cell phone and asked him to describe his surroundings. Officer Rockwell recognized the area by the description, located the man and returned him safely to his vehicle. The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office and Fire and Rescue also assisted with the search.

SANTA ROSA COUNTY

While aboard the offshore patrol vessel Northwest FINCAT, the crew responded to the report of a vessel explosion gulf side of Ft. Pickens with people in the water. Once on scene, the crew determined that all persons were accounted for and there were no significant injuries. Three of the five persons onboard were transported by the Northwest FINCAT for medical attention. Officer Land is conducting a boating accident investigation.

WAKULLA COUNTY

Officer Morales was conducting vessel patrol on the Wakulla River near the Mysterious Waters community when he saw an individual floating down the river on a pool float. As he was setting off to check on the subject, a group of people on the dock shouted that the man needed help immediately. Officer Morales could see that the man was showing signs of distress. He arrived and quickly provided aid by throwing two life jackets to the man. The individual was unable to grab or hold onto them. As the man appeared to slip into unconsciousness and go underwater, Officer Morales jumped into the water and swam to the man. He pulled him above the surface and the man regained consciousness and complied with instructions. Officer Morales held the man above water until Officers Hughes and Sauls arrived to help shortly afterwards. Together, they pulled the victim onto a patrol vessel and returned him to the dock where he was evaluated and treated by EMS.

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