FWC Law Enforcement Weekly Report August 17, 2018 through August 23, 2018

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FWC

 

Division of Law Enforcement Weekly Report

August 17, 2018 through August 23, 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 Allgood made several saltwater fisheries cases over the past week. He issued notice to appear citations for undersized triggerfish and spotted sea trout. He also cited a different subject for possession of red snapper during a closed season.

Officers Allgood and Long were on a vessel stop when they noticed a vessel dock at a residence. Officer Allgood knew who lived at the residence and did not recognize the vessel or individuals as the owner of the property. As they approached the vessel, two of the occupants got out of the vessel and quickly walked away. After confirming with the residents that the individuals were trespassing, Officer Allgood exited the vessel and confronted the individuals. One of the individuals was compliant but the other refused to identify himself and walked away. Officer Allgood gave loud verbal commands to stop and the subject refused. The officer then attempted to place the subject in handcuffs. The subject resisted and both Officer Allgood and the subject ended up on the ground. Officer Allgood gained control of the subject after a short struggle. Officer Allgood arrested the subject and charged him with resisting an officer with violence, possession of a concealed weapon, armed trespass, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. Officer Long arrested the second subject on an active warrant out of Arkansas.

As Officer Allgood was driving to a commercial fisheries offload inspection, he noticed a vehicle swerving out of its lane and off the road. He stopped the vehicle and spoke to the driver. The driver showed several signs of impairment and was asked to perform several field sobriety exercises. He did poorly on the exercises and was arrested for DUI. A breath sample was given, and the results were .175 blood alcohol content. The driver was booked into the Escambia County Jail.

FRANKLIN COUNTY

Officer Specialist (SPC) Anderson and Major Duval were working an alligator hunting detail. They were at Abercrombie Landing when they heard two gunshots from downriver. About 20 minutes later, a vessel with three people on board came to the ramp and dropped two of the occupants off before heading back downriver. A short time later, the vessel returned, the operator got out and one of the previous occupants got back in the boat and went back downriver while the first operator backed the trailer into the water. Once the boat was loaded, SPC Anderson and Major Duval contacted the three individuals. An inspection of their vessel revealed several raccoons that had been killed illegally. SPC Anderson issued one misdemeanor citation for illegally killing the raccoons and several infractions and warnings for other resource and boating violations.

GULF COUNTY

During the opening weekend for bay scallops, Officer M. Webb noticed a pontoon boat with five people onboard returning from fishing. An inspection revealed they were in possession of over 12 gallons of whole scallops. The captain out of Georgia was issued a citation. Over two gallons of whole scallops was returned to the water alive. The remaining ten was returned to the captain.

Officer M. Webb saw two subjects returning from fishing. During a resource inspection, it was discovered that they were in possession of over four gallons of whole scallops and nearly one pint of meat (three bag limits). The captain was issued a citation. Two gallons of whole scallops was returned to the water alive. The rest were returned to the captain.

Officer Gerber was on vessel patrol in St. Joe Bay and saw a vessel traveling towards the marina. There were three people on board. A resource inspection was conducted, and four pints of scallop meat were located in an ice chest. The owner of the vessel was issued a citation for over the bag limit of bay scallops.

Officer H. Webb was on vessel patrol in St. Joe Bay conducting marine fisheries inspections when he stopped a recreational vessel returning from harvesting bay scallops. The vessel was occupied by two individuals, and upon inspection of their harvest, Officer Webb discovered that they had in their possession five pints of shucked scallop meat inside their cooler, three pints over their legal daily bag limit. The captain of the vessel took responsibility for the violation, and Officer Webb cited him for over the daily bag limit of bay scallops.

Officer H. Webb was on vessel patrol in St. Joe Bay conducting marine fisheries inspections when he stopped a recreational vessel returning from harvesting bay scallops. The vessel was occupied by two individuals, and upon inspection of their harvest, Officer Webb discovered that they had in their possession six gallons of whole bay scallops inside their two dive bags, two gallons over their legal daily bag limit. The captain of the vessel took responsibility for the violation, and Officer Webb cited him for over the daily bag limit of bay scallops.

HOLMES COUNTY

Officers Greene and Yates were on patrol when they encountered a group fishing from the shore on Choctawhatchee River. A check revealed two subjects fishing without a license and one subject who had two felony warrants. Appropriate citations were issued, and the subject was arrested for the warrants.

OKALOOSA COUNTY

Officers Corbin and Wilkenson were on vessel patrol conducting boating safety inspections in the Destin Harbor. The officers stopped a 24-foot pontoon vessel with nine passengers onboard. As the officers approached the pontoon, they were unable to see the vessel’s registration numbers, only the decal. The officers determined the pontoon was rented. After establishing communication with the operator and passengers, Officer Corbin detected a strong odor of alcohol coming from the vessel. Several passengers on board the vessel appeared to have been consuming alcohol. The operator had a red Solo cup in a cup holder next to him at the helm and the officers saw the individual drink from the cup. The red Solo cup contained what appeared to be alcohol. The operator had a strong odor of an unknown alcoholic beverage coming from his mouth and his speech was slurred. During the safety inspection, the operator displayed indicators of impairment. Field sobriety tasks (FSTs) were performed on the operator. Based on the indicators on the FSTs, the operator was arrested for BUI. The operator provided a breath sample resulting in 0.096 blood alcohol content and 0.095 blood alcohol content. The operator was transported to the Okaloosa County Jail where the intake process was completed.

Officers Corbin, Matechik, and Mullins were on vessel patrol in the Destin Pass and Destin Harbor conducting boating safety and resource inspections. The officers saw a 22-foot pontoon vessel in violation of the idle speed / no wake zone. The officers stopped the vessel to address the violation. The operator was instructed to place his vessel in neutral. The operator looked in the direction of the officers and was slow to respond. Again, he was instructed to place his vessel in neutral and he pulled back on the throttle but did not place the vessel in neutral. The operator explained he was late returning the rental pontoon back to the livery. During the safety inspection and addressing the violation, the operator displayed indicators of impairment. Field sobriety tasks (FSTs) were performed on the operator. Based on the indicators on the FSTs, the operator was arrested for BUI. The operator provided a breath sample resulting in 0.184 blood alcohol content and 0.181 blood alcohol content. The operator was transported to the Okaloosa County Jail where the intake process was completed.

Officer Corbin was on vessel patrol in the Destin Pass conducting boating safety and resource inspections. The officer saw a vessel with two individuals onboard returning from the Gulf of Mexico with fishing equipment displayed. Officer Corbin stopped the vessel to conduct a boating safety and resource inspection. The fisheries inspection revealed a harvested red snapper during closed season and an undersized gray triggerfish. Throughout the fisheries inspection and boating safety inspection, the operator displayed signs of impairment. Field sobriety tasks (FSTs) were performed on the operator. Based on the indicators on 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. The operator was cited and issued a notice to appear citation for harvesting red snapper during closed season and for possession of an undersized gray triggerfish.

Officers Corbin, Matechik, and Mullins were on vessel patrol in the Destin Pass and Destin Harbor conducting boating safety and resource inspections. The officers saw a local charter vessel returning from the Gulf of Mexico into the Destin Pass with six people onboard and fishing equipment displayed. The fisheries inspection revealed two undersized greater amberjack. The deckhand accepted responsibility and was issued a notice to appear citation.

Officers Corbin and Mullins were on vessel patrol in the Destin Pass and Destin Harbor conducting boating safety and resource inspections. The officers saw a vessel returning from the Gulf of Mexico with fishing equipment displayed. The fisheries inspection revealed two undersized greater amberjack. The operator was cited and issued a notice to appear citation.

Officer Corbin was on vessel patrol in the Destin Pass conducting boating safety and resource inspections. The officer saw a vessel returning from the Gulf of Mexico with fishing equipment displayed. The fisheries inspection revealed an undersized gray triggerfish. The operator was cited and issued a notice to appear citation.

Officers Wilkenson and Lugg were on vessel patrol near Crab Island. The officers saw a pontoon boat traveling on plane in violation of the idle speed / no wake zone. A vessel stop was conducted to address the violation. During the identification process of the operator, the Tallahassee Regional Communication Center confirmed there was an active out of county warrant for violation of probation. The operator was arrested and transported to the Okaloosa County Jail.

Officer Corbin investigated two derelict sailboats in Boggy Bayou and Joe’s Bayou. One sailboat was in deteriorating condition, completed gutted and the other was sunk. Both owners were located and issued notice to appear citations.

Lieutenants Golloher and Tolbert were flying when they noticed vacant land being used for solid waste disposal. A subsequent site inspection by Environmental Investigator Hughes revealed solid waste to include household trash, waste tires, plastics, bedding, and other solid waste. A second pile onsite consisted primarily of white goods. Both piles were approximately 80’ x 15’ x 5’ in size. The source of the waste was from a subject who owned forty-one rental properties, and after tenants moved out he would remove the waste and take it to another one of his properties and burn it. During the site inspection, the property owner advised that he would have the solid waste disposed of properly. The following week, FWC aviation units saw the solid waste being burned. Investigator Hughes obtained two arrest affidavits on two individuals for collecting solid waste and burning it.

SANTA ROSA COUNTY

Officer Wilkenson was on vessel patrol in Santa Rosa Sound near the Navarre Beach Boat Ramp. The officer saw a PWC being operated in Santa Rosa Sound by an individual that appeared to under the age of 14 years old with a passenger onboard. A vessel stop was conducted to determine the age of the operator. Officer Wilkenson saw the PWC kill-switch attached to the operator and he was the only person whose hands were on the handle/steering column. The officer determined the operator was 12 years old. The minimum age to operate a PWC is 14 years old. Further, the operator did not have a boater safety card. The PWC was a private vessel and owned by the parents of the operator. It was determined the mother allowed her underage son to operate the PWC. The parent was issued a notice to appear citation.

Officer Hutchinson was patrolling in the Escambia River Wildlife Management Area when he saw a vessel from his position at Keyser Landing. As he watched, the two men worked bush hooks and a trotline, and while doing so, they baited the lines with live bream. When they returned to the ramp, Officer Hutchison contacted them and they admitted to using bream for bait on the lines. Both men were cited for using bream for bait

WAKULLA COUNTY

Officers Swindell, Hughes and Korade were on water patrol near St. Marks when they saw a vessel returning from fishing offshore. They stopped the vessel and the operator stated they had caught a lot of fish and pointed out the compartment where they were located. An inspection of the compartment revealed a total of 50 black sea bass, 46 of which were undersized. The officers also located two undersized gag grouper and one undersized red grouper in the compartment. Officer Hughes also located a bucket near the back of the vessel which contained a shark that had been filleted to be used as bait. All the undersized fish and the shark were seized, and the occupants of the vessel were issued citations for the violations.

Officer Carr was dispatched to Wakulla Springs State Park regarding a vehicle burglary at the Cherokee Sink parking lot. The complainant was the state park ranger, who noticed a window was smashed on an SUV parked in the lot and glass was still falling on the ground beside the vehicle. Officer Carr contacted the only two people still at the park. He investigated the vehicle burglary and documented the information provided by the victims in an incident report.

Officer Hofheinz saw a vessel traveling towards Wakulla Beach from the east. Officer Hofheinz contacted the operator and upon inspection of the commercially registered vessel, he saw four nets that were wet in the rear of the vessel. Three of the nets had a stretch mesh of 2 ¾ inches, and one had a stretch mesh of three inches. Officers Morales and Carr arrived on scene to assist. Upon further inspection, one of the nets was not legibly marked on both ends and one had two different numbers on both ends. The nets were measured by Officers Carr and Morales for square footage. All the nets measured greater than the allowable limit. The operator was issued citations accordingly and the nets were seized as evidence.

Officer Morales was patrolling the Gulf of Mexico in the waters south of Carrabelle with Officer Carr. As they approached an anchored vessel to conduct a resource inspection, they were advised by the person on board that he had a diver in the water. Neither officer saw a dive flag displayed on the vessel. While Officer Carr maneuvered the patrol vessel alongside the subject's vessel, Officer Morales asked the subject if he had any fish on board. The subject advised the officers that he had two gag grouper on board. The officers continued with their resource inspection, which concluded with Officer Morales issuing one subject a notice to appear citation for harvesting a gag grouper under the minimum size limit of 24 inches and Officer Carr issuing a warning for not having a dive flag displayed. The undersized gag grouper was seized as evidence.

WASHINGTON COUNTY

Officer Gore completed an investigation into possible deer depredation permit violations after discovering a buck deer that had the head cut off in a field that was under a deer depredation permit. Upon completion of the investigation, charges were filed for three counts of violation of permit for removing antlers from field and two counts of removing deer from the field without tagging, as well as numerous written warnings for additional permit violations.

FEDERAL WATERS

The NW FINCAT with Officers Cushing, Land and Matechik on board worked across the Gulf of Mexico from Pensacola to the Dry Tortugas. The officers traveled more than 1900 miles conducting 114 hours of fisheries patrol. They made ports of call in Panama City, St. Petersburg, Key West and the Dry Tortugas. While underway, they focused on several marine protected areas including the Madison Swanson, Steamboat Lumps, Middle Grounds and the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. In addition to those areas, the crew spent several days prior to and during lobster mini season patrolling the Lower Keys. During the patrols, many violations were found for the following: closed season gray triggerfish, failure to allow inspection, use of reef fish as bait, closed season red snapper (South Atlantic), undersized spiny lobster, speared spiny lobster, undersized hogfish, undersized mangrove snapper, speared permit, and bottom fishing in a closed area (Madison & Swanson Marine Protected Area). Additionally, officers located several violations related to boating safety and dive flag laws. The appropriate action was taken for the violations.

COMMUNITY ORIENTED POLICING

WASHINGTON COUNTY

Officers Homan and Parrish attended the annual Back to School Bash at Live Oak Church. Approximately 300 people were in attendance and informational materials were distributed, questions were answered, and the officers had a small alligator that all enjoyed holding and having pictures taken.

Numerous FWC officers from the area participated in the Active Shooter Training at Vernon and Chipley High School conducted by Washington County Sheriff’s Office. It was a collaborative effort by WCSO, CSO, FHP, CPD, EMS, and local fire departments, Training Department from Chipola College and Washington/Holmes Safety Institute, and FWC. It involved training for law enforcement as well as teachers in response to an active shooter situation.

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