FWC Law Enforcement Weekly Report May 24, 2019 through May 30, 2019

(Having trouble viewing this email? View it as a Web page.) Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Division of Law Enforcement Weekly Report Patrol, Protect, Preserve May 24, 2019 through May 30, 2019 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. NORTHWEST REGION CASES ESCAMBIA COUNTY Officer Allgood and Captain Glover were on water patrol in the Pensacola Pass when they stopped a vessel coming in from off shore with fishing gear present on the vessel. While conducting a fisheries inspection the officers found two undersized cobia on board the vessel. Two of the vessel occupants admitted to catching the cobia and were issued citations for taking undersized cobia. Officer Allgood and Captain Glover were on patrol when they saw a vessel violating a wake zone and driving in an erratic manor cutting across other vessel’s paths on several occasions. The officers conducted a stop to address the violations and saw several indicators of impairment. Officer Allgood administered field sobriety tasks and determined that the operator was impaired. Officer Allgood arrested the operator for operating a vessel while normal faculties were impaired and transported him to the Escambia County Jail. Officers Long and Clark were on vessel patrol at Big Lagoon State Park in Pensacola when they saw a vessel violate a wake zone. After conducting a stop to address the violation, the officers detected several indicators of impairment. After field sobriety tasks, the officers placed the operator under arrest for operating a vessel while normal faculties were impaired and transported him to the Escambia County Jail. GULF COUNTY Officers M. Webb and H. Webb were assigned to the BUI Task Force working St. Joe Bay during the Memorial Day weekend. During a vessel safety inspection, they noticed the captain of a vessel showing signs of impairment. The subject was brought aboard the patrol vessel and field sobriety exercises were performed. The subject was placed under arrest for boating under the influence. The subject refused a breath test and was booked into the Gulf County Jail. Officers Gerber and Little were assigned to the BUI Task Force working St. Joe Bay near Highland View. During a vessel safety inspection, the officers noticed the captain showing signs of impairment. Standard field sobriety exercises were conducted. He was placed under arrest, refused a lawful breath test, and was transported to the Gulf County Jail. JEFFERSON COUNTY Officer Wilcox was on water patrol at the Wacissa headwaters and stopped a vessel with a Georgia registration to conduct a boating safety inspection. During her inspection, Officer Wilcox noticed the vessel operator was showing signs of impairment, and she could smell the odor of an alcoholic beverage on his breath. Officer Wilcox had the subject perform standard field sobriety exercises during which he showed more signs of impairment. The subject was transported to jail where his breath sample was over twice the legal limit. Over the Memorial Day weekend, Officers Wilcox, Mims, and Lieutenant Wass de Czege conducted boating safety patrols on the Wacissa River. They checked 159 vessels for boating safety compliance, contacted 320 boaters and documented 95 violations. OKALOOSA COUNTY Officer Pifer stopped a vessel returning from the Gulf of Mexico with five individuals and fishing gear on board. During a resource inspection of the vessel, an out of season greater amberjack was in the fish box in the front of the vessel. The owner/operator of the vessel admitted to catching the fish and was cited for the violation. Lieutenant Molnar, Officer Pifer and Officer Corbin were on water patrol when they conducted a vessel stop on a personal watercraft with an expired registration decal. During the stop, the operator stated he had purchased the vessel several months ago. A check of the vessel’s registration showed it was still registered to the previous owner. The operator was cited for failure to transfer title within 30 days of change of ownership. Officers Pifer and Corbin were on water patrol when they were contacted by the United States Coast Guard personnel to assist with a vessel stop on a personal watercraft whose operator was showing indicators of impairment. After speaking to the USCG boarding officer, Officer Pifer contacted the vessel operator and saw several signs of impairment. The operator agreed to perform standardized field sobriety tasks. The operator was placed under arrest for boating under the influence. At Coast Guard Station Destin, the subject provided a breath sample. The results showed a breath alcohol level of 0.183 and 0.169. Officers Pifer and Corbin were on water patrol in Destin Harbor when they saw a vessel with seven individuals on board violating an idle speed-no wake zone. A vessel stop was conducted to address the violation and to perform a boating safety inspection. During the inspection, the operator was only able to produce six personal floatation devices and showed indicators of impairment. The operator agreed to perform standardized field sobriety tasks. Officer Pifer placed the operator under arrest for boating under the influence. The operator was cited for boating under the influence, refusal to submit to a breath test, insufficient number of PFDs, and violation of the idle speed/no wake zone. Officers Pifer and Maltais were on water patrol near Crab Island when they stopped a personal watercraft. The operator was wearing a personal floatation device which was not securely fastened and did not have the kill switch attached. During the stop, Officer Pifer detected the strong odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from the operator when he spoke. The operator agreed to perform standardized field sobriety tasks. Officer Pifer placed the operator under arrest for boating under the influence. The operator was cited for boating under the influence, refusal to submit to a breath test, and operating a PWC with the kill switch not attached. Captain Glover, Lieutenant Bartlett, and Officer Pifer were on water patrol when they saw a vessel returning from the Gulf of Mexico. There were six individuals on board with fishing gear and the vessel was violating an idle speed/no wake zone. A vessel stop was initiated to address the violation and to conduct a saltwater fisheries and license inspection. During the fisheries inspection, an out of season greater amberjack was in a fish box. The greater amberjack was separated from all other fish on board the vessel. An occupant of the vessel admitted to catching the fish and was cited for the violation. Officer Hahr, Pifer, and Lieutenant Bartlett were on water patrol at Crab Island when they saw a cabin motor vessel violating the idle speed/no wake zone. A vessel stop was conducted to address the boating violation. During the boating safety inspection, Lieutenant Bartlett saw several indicators of impairment being displayed by the operator. The operator was asked to perform standardized field sobriety tasks and was arrested for boating under the influence. He later refused to provide a breath sample and was issued boating citations for operating a vessel while normal faculties impaired, refusal to submit to a lawful breath test, and violating the idle speed/no wake zone. Officers Hahr and Rockwell were conducting water patrol on the Shoal River when they stopped a vessel for a boating safety inspection. Throughout the inspection, Officer Hahr saw several signs of impairment from the operator of the vessel. The operator was asked to perform a series of field sobriety tasks and was arrested for boating under the influence. After arriving at the county jail, he refused to provide a lawful breath sample and was issued boating citations for operating a vessel while normal faculties impaired, refusal to provide a breath sample, and for insufficient number of life jackets onboard his vessel. SANTA ROSA COUNTY Lieutenant Berryman received information that a subject fishing on the Pensacola fishing pier caught an oversized red drum and placed it in his cooler. Lieutenant Berryman arrived at the pier a few minutes later and located the subject in question who possessed a 34-inch red drum. Lieutenant Berryman issued the subject a citation for taking an oversized red drum. Captain Glover and Officer Ramos were on vessel patrol in the Santa Rosa sound and conducted a resource inspection on a boat returning from off-shore. The two occupants appeared nervous and during questioning admitted they had harvested a red snapper even though they knew it was closed season. A large red snapper was seized and a notice to appear was issued to the vessel operator. FEDERAL WATERS While aboard the offshore patrol vessel NW FINCAT, Officers Cushing, Land and Matechik boarded a recreational vessel south of Pensacola in federal waters. During the boarding, officers located several gray triggerfish on the vessel. Gray triggerfish are currently closed to harvest. The appropriate action was taken for the violation. While aboard the offshore patrol vessel INTREPID, Lieutenant Marlow and Officer Boyd boarded a recreational vessel approximately 13 miles south of Dog Island. During the boarding Officer Boyd found four gag grouper. Gag grouper season was closed at the time. The appropriate action was taken for the violation. While aboard the offshore patrol vessel NW FINCAT, Officers Cushing, Land and Matechik boarded a recreational vessel south of Pensacola in federal waters. During the approach to the vessel, Officer Cushing noticed that the vessel made evasive maneuvers and moved from their original location. Officers were placed on the vessel to conduct the boarding and located five gray triggerfish. Officer Cushing drove back in the vessel’s prop wash to its original fishing location and found a bag of fresh fish fillets that were identified as triggerfish. Gray triggerfish are currently closed to harvest and it is illegal to fillet them on the water. The appropriate action was taken for the violation. While aboard the offshore patrol vessel NW FINCAT, Officers Cushing, Land and Matechik boarded a commercial state charter vessel 12 miles south of Pensacola in federal waters. During the boarding, the officers determined that the vessel and its captain were on an active charter trip. The captain did not possess the proper federal permits to possess reef fish in federal waters nor conduct charters in federal waters. The appropriate action was taken for the violation. Officers Cushing, Land and Matechik were on board the NW FINCAT patrolling federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Multiple violations were discovered on several different vessels. Officer Land boarded a vessel and found violations of failure to land reef fish in whole condition and possession of greater amberjack during closed season. Officer Matechik boarded a vessel and discovered a charter boat being operated in federal waters without the proper permit to retain reef fish. Officer Cushing boarded a vessel and discovered several gray triggerfish onboard during closed season. The appropriate action was taken for the violations. While aboard the offshore patrol vessel GUARDIAN, Lieutenant Marlow and Officers Balgo, Boyd, and Schulz were offshore working a stone crab trap closure. During the patrol they encountered several recreational vessels. Fisheries inspections revealed two vessels in possession of gag grouper during federal closure. The appropriate action was taken for the violations. Officers Cushing, Land and Matechik were onboard the NW FINCAT and assisted a vessel taking on water 12 miles south of Pensacola. What started as an attempted marine fisheries inspection of a small center console with four adults onboard quickly turned into a citizen assist after the operator indicated on VHF 16 that he was taking on water and was not able to stop. FWC crew communicated with USCG about the situation and was able to get the vessel in jeopardy to follow behind the patrol boat in the calmer waters of the wake. As the vessels entered Pensacola Pass and neared the desired marina a second FWC vessel being operated by Officer Allgood cleared the entrance of other waterborne traffic. The owner was able to successfully recover the vessel on the trailer without further damage. While aboard the offshore patrol vessel GUARDIAN, Lieutenant Marlow and Officers Boyd and J. Hughes were on patrol approximately 11 miles offshore. They stopped a recreational vessel and located multiple gag grouper during federal closure. The appropriate action was taken for the violation. While aboard the offshore patrol vessel GUARDIAN, Lieutenant Marlow and Officers Boyd and J. Hughes were checking commercial shrimping vessels. They stopped a vessel in nearshore waters and inspected their turtle excluder devices. The officers measured the vessel’s nets and found them to exceed the maximum size of 500 square feet. The nets exceeded 2000 square feet and were seized as evidence. The appropriate action was taken for the violations. COMMUNITY ORIENTED POLICING – EXPANDING PARTICIPATION IN CONSERVATION LEON COUNTY Lieutenant Wass de Czege participated in a career day at the School for Math and Science in Leon County. Lieutenant Wass de Czege worked with Mr. Yuan from the Division of Habitat and Species Conservation, Invasive Plant Management Section, on the project. Lieutenant Wass de Czege brought a truck, airboat, and an alligator, and talked about conservation law enforcement and boating safety. Mr. Yuan talked about invasive plants in Florida. The presentations were attended by approximately 100 kids from kindergarten through third grade.

http://live.oysterradio.com/