FWC Law Enforcement Weekly Report August 3, 2018 through August 16, 2018

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FWC

 

Division of Law Enforcement Weekly Report

August 3, 2018 through August 16, 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 McHenry received information regarding a subject who was catching undersized Spanish mackerel at Fort Pickens. He responded to the area and found the subject in possession of seven undersized Spanish mackerel. Officer McHenry learned that the subject had a local warrant out of Escambia County. Officer McHenry cited the individual for undersized Spanish mackerel and transported him to the Escambia County Jail for the warrant.

OKALOOSA COUNTY

Officers Pifer, Baber, and Scott were on vessel patrol when they saw a vessel on plane in the idle speed/no wake zone on the east side of Crab Island. A vessel stop was initiated to address the violation and conduct a boating safety inspection. During the stop, the operator showed signs of impairment and Officer Scott administered standardized field sobriety tasks. Based on observations of the vessel in motion, personal contact with the operator, and the operator’s performance on the sobriety tasks, the operator was placed under arrest for BUI. At U.S. Coast Guard Station Destin, the operator agreed to provide a breath sample and the results were 0.104 blood alcohol content and 0.098 blood alcohol content. The operator was cited for BUI and violation of the idle speed/no wake zone. The operator was transported to the Okaloosa County Jail where the intake process was completed.

Officers Pifer, Baber, and Scott were on vessel patrol when they saw a vessel on plane in the idle speed/no wake zone on the east side of Crab Island. A vessel stop was initiated to address the violation. During the stop, an 18-month-old child was on board not wearing a personal floatation device (PFD) while the vessel was under way and the operator showed signs of impairment. Officer Pifer then administered standardized field sobriety tasks. Based on observations of the vessel in motion, personal contact with the operator, and the operator’s performance on the field sobriety tasks, the operator was placed under arrest for BUI. At the U.S. Coast Guard Station Destin, the operator agreed to provide a breath sample and the results were 0.159 blood alcohol content and 0.177 blood alcohol content. The operator was cited for BUI, violation of the idle speed/no wake zone, and operating a vessel with child under six on board not wearing a PFD. The operator was transported to the Okaloosa County Jail where the intake process was completed.

Officer Bartlett and Investigator Molnar were on vessel patrol at Crab Island and saw a pontoon vessel traveling on plane in violation of the idle speed/no wake zone. The officers initiated the patrol vessel blue lights signaling for the operator to bring the pontoon vessel to a stop. The operator waved at the officers and continued traveling south toward the Destin Marler Bridge. As the officers were approaching the stern of the vessel, they saw the operator slow the vessel down and then walk away from the helm while the vessel was still in gear. The operator then walked to the stern of the pontoon boat and attempted to establish contact with the officers while leaving his vessel not under command and still making headway. Another vessel that was in the path of the pontoon had to take immediate action to move out of the away to avoid a collision. While speaking with the operator, Officer Bartlett immediately saw his eyes were watery/glassy and his balance was unsteady while walking around the vessel. Throughout the safety inspection, the operator displayed signs of impairment. The operator agreed to perform standard field sobriety tasks (FSTs). Based on the operation of the vessel and the FSTs, the operator was arrested for BUI. The operator refused to provide a breath sample. The operator was transported to the Okaloosa County Jail where the intake process was completed.

Officer Bartlett and Investigator Molnar were on vessel patrol at Crab Island and saw a 22-foot vessel traveling on plane in violation of the idle speed/no wake zone. The officers stopped the vessel to address the violation. Officer Bartlett contacted the operator and conducted a boating safety inspection. Officer Bartlett saw the operator’s eyes were watery and glassy. When asked for the required safety equipment, the operator did not remember where the items were currently stored and had to search the vessel to locate each item. The operator agreed to perform standard field sobriety tasks (FSTs). Based on the operator’s conduct and the FSTs, he was arrested for BUI. The operator provided a breath sample, resulting in 0.123 blood alcohol content and 0.141blood alcohol content. The operator was transported to the Okaloosa County Jail where the intake process was completed.

Officer Pifer was on land patrol conducting boating safety inspections at the Marler Park Boat Ramp. The officer conducted a safety equipment inspection on a personal watercraft (PWC). During the inspection, the operator was unable to produce the vessel's registration and fire extinguisher. Officer Pifer determined the operator rented the PWC from a local livery. Due to his age, the operator was required to complete a boater safety course. The operator did not have a boater safety card. The officer issued notice to appear citations to the individual at the livery for renting a vessel without proof of insurance with sufficient coverage amounts and for renting a vessel with more than 10 horsepower to a person without a boater safety education ID card. He was also issued three boating warnings for failure to display the required boating safety sign for personal watercraft, failure to receive a written statement from the operator attesting to receiving instructions on the safe handling of a PWC, and for failure to conduct an on-the-water demonstration and check-ride.

Officer Wilkenson received a complaint regarding two subjects harvesting undersized Spanish mackerel at the Navarre Beach Fishing Pier. Based on the description provided by the complainant, the officer located the two subjects. The fisheries inspection revealed 15 of the 22 harvested Spanish mackerel were undersized. Both harvesters were issued notice to appear citations. The 15 undersized Spanish mackerel were seized and donated to Emerald Coast Wildlife.

Officer Wilkenson received a complaint of battery occurring at a Fred Gannon Rocky Bayou State Park campsite. The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s deputies arrived on-scene first. When Officer Wilkenson arrived, he saw the deputies speaking with an adult female later identified as the victim. It was determined that this was a domestic violence situation. The victim provided a sworn written statement stating that the male subject had been drinking and started to hit and strangle her. It was determined the male subject was the primary aggressor and was arrested for domestic violence. He was transported to the Okaloosa County Jail where the intake process was completed. He was cited for battery domestic violence and issued a no trespass warning from the state park.

SANTA ROSA COUNTY

Officers Hutchinson and Mullins were patrolling on the Escambia River concentrating on illegal fishing activity when they saw a freshly set bush hook that was baited with a live bream and not identified as required with the owner’s name and address. They continued patrolling and located several more similar lines baited with bream. They hid their patrol vessel and waited until just before daylight when they heard a boat approaching. They saw the operator of the boat check all the lines. The officers stopped the vessel to address the violation. The operator admitted to baiting the lines with bream despite knowing that it was illegal. The officers issued him a notice to appear citation for using bream for bait and fishing with untagged bush hooks.

Officer Roberson was on land patrol when he received information regarding a subject operating an ATV near Burnt Grocery Creek in Yellow River Wildlife Management Area. Officer Roberson located the subject and ran his information through dispatch. The subject’s information came back with a warrant out of Santa Rosa County. Officer Roberson received confirmation of the warrant and instructed the subject to put his hands behind his back because he was under arrest for the warrant. The subject refused multiple times and fled on foot. The subject crossed a creek and took off in a vehicle. The suspect was arrested a few days later by Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office for the same warrant. The suspect was issued multiple citations by Officer Roberson at the Santa Rosa County Jail.

SEARCH AND RESCUE

OKALOOSA COUNTY

While working off duty at Mary Esther Cutoff and Highway 98, Officer Bartlett was monitoring a complaint received by FWC Orlando Regional Communication Center regarding a call about a disoriented, overdue boater. The last known location showed the boater at the Mid-Bay Bridge. The officer cleared his off-duty status and went to his patrol vessel to search for the disoriented boater. With Global Positioning System (GPS) coordinates, he located the boater very quickly. He side-towed the vessel to a local marina where the 66-year-old boater’s son later picked him up. When the vessel ran out of fuel, the overdue boater called 911. It was determined the operator launched his boat the previous day in Navarre. It was estimated he was on the boat for over 21 hours.

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