FWC Law Enforcement Weekly Report August 24, 2018 through September 6, 2018

(Having trouble viewing this email? View it as a Web page.) FWC   Division of Law Enforcement Weekly Report August 24, 2018 through September 6, 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 FRANKLIN COUNTY Officers Swindell and Pino were on patrol in St. George Island State Park when they encountered three individuals exiting the east end fishing area. The officers noticed the truck contained multiple fishing rods and conducted a resource inspection. During the inspection, they discovered 24 egg bearing blue crabs. The appropriate action was taken for the violation. Officer Travis was on patrol near the Apalachicola Bridge when he saw several subjects fishing under the bridge. After checking multiple subjects and coolers, Officer Travis located two undersized redfish and one undersized spotted sea trout. The owner was cited for possession of undersized redfish and issued a written warning for possession of the undersized spotted sea trout. LEON COUNTY Officer Pekerol received a complaint of possible hunting during a closed season on the Ochlockonee River WMA. During his investigation, he located a vehicle that had hunting equipment inside. Officer Pekerol was able to contact the vehicle owner who was dressed in camouflaged clothing and carrying a crossbow. The individual stated that he was hog hunting. Officer Pekerol issued the subject a citation for hunting in the WMA during a closed season. GADSDEN COUNTY Officer Brower was on land patrol just after midnight when he saw a car weave back and forth, cross the center line, and drive the center line for approximately 200 yards before returning into the correct lane. The driver of the vehicle then initiated the vehicle’s left turn signal a quarter mile before the stop sign. Officer Brower conducted a traffic stop. Upon approaching the vehicle, he saw a female driver, a male passenger and a small child sleeping on the back seat. Officer Brower could smell the strong odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from inside the vehicle. He saw a beer can stuck in the center console and the driver was sweating and her eyes appeared bloodshot. The driver was not able to produce a valid driver’s license. Officer Brower saw signs of impairment and provided the driver an opportunity to do field sobriety tasks and she declined. Officer Brower arrested the driver and transported her to the Gadsden County Jail. Upon arrival, the driver consented to a breath test sample which resulted in a 0.185 breath alcohol content, more than double the legal limit of 0.08 blood alcohol content. Charges for the driver were careless driving, knowingly driving while license is suspended, revoked, or canceled, Florida seatbelt law (passenger/operator under 18 years not belted or in a device), possession of open container of alcohol in a motor vehicle (driver) and DUI. OKALOOSA COUNTY Officer Bartlett was on land patrol working boating safety and resource protection at Joe’s Bayou Boat Ramp. The officer saw a 20-foot pontoon vessel returning to the ramp with two people onboard. Officer Bartlett saw the vessel’s green starboard bow navigation light was not operational, and the Alabama vessel registration sticker displayed had expired on August 31, 2017. When the officer asked for the vessel’s registration, the operator explained that he did not have a copy, and he had purchased the vessel in June 2017. The officer explained he had to title the boat in his name within 30 days per state law. Officer Bartlett cited the owner/operator for failure to transfer a vessel title within 30 days. Officer Jarvis was patrolling Henderson Beach State Park and received information regarding a man illegally camping in an open grass area between the beach and the campground. When Officer Jarvis arrived, he saw an individual sitting on a park bench speaking with a park ranger. The officer saw a bed sheet, comforter and pillow on the ground next to him. It was determined the individual entered the park illegally from the beach side of the park. Throughout Officer Jarvis’ communication with the individual, the individual was belligerent, argumentative, and spoke profanity. Officer Jarvis issued a citation for evasion of park fees and a warning for illegally camping. At the request of the park manager, the individual was given a trespass warning. Officer Pifer responded to a boating accident at Crab Island involving a rental personal watercraft (PWC) and a 33-foot vessel. Officer Pifer’s investigation determined that the PWC struck the anchored 33-foot vessel. An eyewitness stated prior to the accident that the PWC was doing circles in the no wake/idle speed zone at Crab Island. At some point, the operator of the PWC traveled straight at approximately 20 mph and struck the anchored vessel at mid-range portside causing $20,000 in damage. The operator of the PWC was found at fault and was issued a navigational rule citation for unsafe speed. No one was injured in the accident. Officer Pifer and Lieutenant Clark were called-out to respond to a boating accident near the Mid-Bay Bridge. Information was received that a single vessel was swamped and capsized with five people in the water with only three life jackets. Destin Fire and Rescue personnel arrived on-scene first and were able to recover all five occupants and transported them to Joe’s Bayou Boat Ramp. No one was injured. Officer Pifer arrived at the boat ramp and began the boating accident investigation. During his communication with the operator, he smelled a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from the operator. After the boating accident investigation was completed, Officer Pifer requested the operator to perform field sobriety tasks (FST). Based on the FST performed, the operator was arrested for BUI. The operator was transported to the Okaloosa County Jail. Officers Matechik, Wilkenson, and Corbin were on vessel patrol conducting boating safety inspections on the east side of Crab Island. The officers saw a pontoon in violation of the idle speed/no wake zone. The officers stopped the pontoon to address the violation and during the boating safety inspection, the operator displayed indicators of impairment. Officer Corbin requested the operator to perform field sobriety task (FST). Based on the FST performed, the operator was arrested for BUI. The operator refused to provide a breath and blood sample. The operator was transported to the Okaloosa County Jail. The operator had three prior DUI arrests. Officers Corbin, Matechik and Pifer were on vessel patrol in the Destin Harbor. The officers saw a 27-foot Boston Whaler traveling west bound in the harbor with no registration numbers or decal displayed on the port (left) side. A vessel stop was initiated to address the violation. They determined the operator was the owner of the boat and that he bought it several months ago. The owner was cited and issued a notice to appear citation for failure to transfer vessel title in his name within 30 days. Officers Matechik, Wilkenson and Corbin were on vessel patrol conducting boating safety inspections when they saw a pontoon style vessel underway on the east side of Crab Island. The vessel had several adults, one child, and one infant on-board. The infant was not wearing a lifejacket. Any child under the age of 6 is required to wear a lifejacket while the vessel is underway. A vessel stop was made to address the violation. The officers determined the vessel was rented and was not provided the proper life jackets for the children and infant. The officers went to the livery and spoke to the employee who provided the safety equipment. The livery personnel were cited and issued a notice to appear citation for failure to provide the required safety equipment. Officer Corbin was on vessel patrol in the Destin Harbor when he identified a derelict vessel anchored on state waters. The vessel does not have a means of propulsion, no sail or motor, is extremely barnacle laden, has approximately one foot of standing water inside of the cabin and stern, no active means to dewater, and has an anchor light that is not sufficient (bright). The vessel has continued to deteriorate in condition since being anchored in the Destin Harbor. Officer Corbin contacted the registered owner and confirmed that he was still the owner of the vessel. He issued a notice to appear citation to the owner for the derelict vessel. Officer Corbin was on land patrol in Shalimar conducting boating safety and resource inspections. The officer saw several individuals fishing from the Shalimar Bridge. As he was walking along the bridge, he saw two individuals, one male and one female begin packing up their fishing equipment and walk in his direction to the parking lot. As they approached each other, the officer saw the tail of a large red drum sticking out of a five-gallon bucket. The red drum measured 29 inches in total length. The legal slot size is 18 to 27 inches in total length. One of the individuals took responsibility for harvesting the oversized red drum and was issued a notice to appear citation. A bear education initiative was conducted in the community off Brian Circle in Mary Esther. This initiative was generated through complaints received from home owners reference a female bear and her three cubs roaming the neighborhood and feeding from garbage cans. The female bear entered a fenced backyard to access the garbage can when the homeowner let the dog out. The bear attacked the dog. The dog was injured but survived. An unsuccessful attempt was made to capture the bear with the use of a trap. A total of 96 homes were contacted and provided bear brochures explaining the law requiring homeowners to secure their garbage. Nineteen non-compliance letters were issued to homeowners. SANTA ROSA COUNTY Officer Lewis was checking users in the Blackwater State Forest when he saw a gopher tortoise in the bed of a truck. He identified the owner of the truck and evidence indicated that it had been in the truck for a while, and the man was far from where he picked the tortoise up. Officer Lewis charged the man with the unlawful possession of a threatened species. Officer Hutchinson and Lieutenant Hahr were patrolling near the Escambia River when they saw a boat with alligator hunters. After watching the subjects attempting to take alligators, they contacted them to check their permits. Two of the three men onboard were permitted to take alligators, but their permits were not for Escambia County, which included the tributary where they were located. The two men were cited for attempting to take alligator outside their harvest area. WALTON COUNTY Officers Letcher, Tison and Bradshaw received a call from the Walton County Sheriff’s Office regarding a traffic stop that uncovered a large amount of saw palmetto berries. The officers responded and ascertained that the berries were illegally harvested from Topsail Hill State Park by five different individuals. The individuals were in violation of multiple state park rules and laws regarding the harvest and transportation of saw palmetto berries. The individuals were cited for the violations. Officer Tison was on patrol when he saw several individuals at an intersection loading a truck with large sacks. Surrounding the intersection on all sides was private property that is heavily wooded with palmetto plants. After a closer look, Officer Tison saw palmetto berries in buckets in the back of the vehicle. The harvesting of saw palmetto berries requires permits from the Department of Agriculture for harvest on private lands, written landowner permission, and permits to transport for sale saw palmetto berries. Officer Tison conducted a traffic stop and found the driver of the vehicle to be operating the vehicle without a valid driver’s license, and the individuals possessed no permits or landowner permission. The individuals were warned for the violations, the berries were seized, and the driver was arrested for driving without a license. SEARCH AND RESCUE SANTA ROSA COUNTY Officers Hoomes, Lugg and Roberson responded by vessel to an aircraft crash with a single occupant in the Santa Rosa Sound. The officers assisted local first responders and maintained security of the site until FAA investigators arrived and took over the investigation. COMMUNITY ORIENTED POLICING OKALOOSA COUNTY Officer Wilkenson participated in a freshwater fishing rodeo event at Anderson Pond on Eglin Wildlife Management Area for the Cub Scouts. The Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation held the event. An FWC freshwater biologist assisted with this important youth initiative. Material such as fish identification and regulations were passed out. There were 115 youth who participated and earned scout patches.

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