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Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
Division of Law Enforcement Weekly Report
Patrol, Protect, Preserve
May 31, 2019 through June 6, 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
BAY COUNTY
Lieutenant Allen, Officers T. Basford, N. Basford and Reserve Officer Waring were on water patrol near Red Fish point when dispatch told them of a subject operating a vessel in a reckless manner near their location. There also had been a physical disturbance between the person operating the vessel and a jet ski operator. Investigator Nelson was near the Port of Panama City and alerted the officers over the radio that he saw the vessel entering the MWR Marina. A vessel stop was conducted as the vessel pulled into the marina. The officers noticed the operator having difficulties tying his vessel to the dock and that he showed signs of impairment. The operator agreed to perform standardized field sobriety tasks. The operator refused to provide a breath sample and was cited for operating a vessel while impaired and refusing to submit to lawful test of his breath. The operator was booked into the Bay County Jail.
Officers T. Basford, Brady and N. Basford were on water patrol in Grand Lagoon when they saw a pontoon vessel violating the no wake zone. The vessel was not in the marked navigational channel and almost ran aground. A vessel stop was conducted, and the operator showed signs of impairment. After field sobriety tasks were completed, the operator was arrested for operating a vessel with normal faculties impaired. He was also issued a written warning for violation of the no wake zone and was transported to the Bay County Jail.
FRANKLIN COUNTY
Officers Travis and McLeod were on water patrol in state waters north of O-Tower. They saw a boat fishing and conducted a resource inspection. During the inspection they located two triggerfish one of which was undersized. Triggerfish are also currently closed to harvest. The fish were seized, and the owner cited for possession of triggerfish during closed season.
LIBERTY COUNTY
Officer DuBose responded to a boating accident at the Bristol boat ramp and verified there were no injuries. The operator stated that while trying to load the vessel on his trailer, the bow struck a parked vessel. Officer DuBose smelled alcohol on the operator’s breath. The operator consented to field sobriety tasks and was arrested for BUI.
OKALOOSA COUNTY
Lieutenant Molnar and Officer Nichols were on water patrol at Crab Island when they saw an individual attempting to start his boat engine while drifting towards the Destin Bridge. A vessel stop was conducted, and the operator showed many signs of impairment. When asked to board the officer’s vessel to complete field sobriety tasks, he refused. The operator was then taken into custody by Officer Nichols for boating under the influence and refusal to provide a breath sample. The operator was also issued an infraction citation for operating an unregistered vessel and was booked into the Okaloosa County Jail.
Lieutenant Molnar and Investigator Armstrong were on water patrol in the Destin Harbor when they saw a 30-foot house boat operating without registration. Upon making contact, the operator showed signs of impairment. When asked, the operator stated he would rather not perform field sobriety tasks. He was arrested by Lieutenant Molnar for BUI and booked into the Okaloosa County Jail. The operator refused to provide a breath sample and was also issued an infraction citation for the registration display violation.
Lieutenant Molnar and Officer Corbin were on water patrol in the Destin pass when they saw a diver at the Destin Bridge. Upon the approach, the officers saw the diver had a speargun and was actively spearfishing in a prohibited area. Once contact was made, the diver admitted to shooting multiple sheepshead. Although the sheepshead were all of legal size, the diver was issued a citation for spearfishing in a prohibited area.
Lieutenant Molnar, Officers Pifer, and Corbin were on water patrol in Destin when they saw a subject operating a pontoon boat on plane in the idle speed/no wake zone by the Destin Bridge. A vessel stop was conducted, and signs of impairment were apparent during a boating safety inspection. The operator admitted to consuming alcohol and was consuming alcohol when the vessel stop was conducted. The operator agreed to field sobriety tasks and was arrested for BUI. The subject refused to provide a breath sample and was transported to the Okaloosa County Jail.
Lieutenant Molnar, Officers Pifer, and Corbin were on water patrol at Crab Island when they saw three subjects being pulled on an inflatable raft from Crab Island toward the beach by a PWC. The operator of the PWC stated the three subjects asked him for assistance getting to land and asked if the officers could transport them. The officers assisted the three subjects on board their vessel along with their raft. While assisting them onboard, two of the subjects appeared under the influence of alcohol and appeared under the age of 21. One subject admitted to bringing and consuming alcohol throughout the day and had a clear jug in the raft containing alcohol. The subject was issued a notice to appear citation for underage possession of alcohol and turned over to an adult.
Officer Corbin was on patrol in the Destin Harbor when he saw a vessel being operated with an expired registration decal attached. The registration decal was from Alabama and the vessel was displaying Florida registration numbers. A vessel stop was conducted to address the violation and conduct a boating safety inspection. During the boating safety inspection, numerous empty beer cans were observed and the operator showed signs of impairment. The operator agreed to conduct field sobriety tasks and was placed under arrest for BUI. He provided breath samples of .139 blood alcohol content and .158 blood alcohol content and was transported to the Okaloosa County Jail.
Officer Corbin located a vessel at risk of becoming derelict in Fort Walton Beach and began tracking down the vessel owner. The vessel had been sold approximately five months prior and the title had not been transferred to the new owner. A phone number was located for the new owner of the vessel and he agreed to meet to discuss his vessel. The vessel did not have a means of propulsion, had taken on water, was aground at one point, and did not have an anchor light. The vessel owner was issued a notice to appear citation for failure to transfer title and issued a boating citation for at risk of becoming derelict.
SANTA ROSA COUNTY
While on patrol on Yellow River Officer Mullins saw a vessel pull up to the river bank. The subject had two large blue catfish in the bottom of his boat. While checking the subject, it was revealed that he was bush hooking with untagged lines and had been using live bream as bait for his untagged bush hooks. A flathead catfish was also discovered in the water tied to the bank. The subject was aware of the tag and bait laws for bush hooking and was issued a notice to appear.
Officer Hutchinson received information about a subject who had a gopher tortoise in an aquarium at his residence. He arrived at the subject’s residence and located the gopher tortoise in an aquarium at the back of the house. While interviewing the subject, he admitted to catching the tortoise along one of the county roads and taking it home. He was cited for possession of an endangered or threatened species.
WAKULLA COUNTY
Officers Hofheinz and Schulz were patrolling the Rock Garden off St. Marks when they saw four subjects fishing. They conducted a resource and boating safety inspection and found the subjects in possession of three undersized spotted seatrout. The captain of the vessel was cited for possession of undersized spotted seatrout.
Officer Hofheinz was on patrol in the Apalachicola Wildlife Management Area when he saw an individual fishing at the Government Pond swimming hole. After watching the subject put items in a vehicle, he conducted a resource inspection. The subject initially provided false information, but later gave his correct name and date of birth to the officer. Lieutenant Wass de Czege arrived and assisted Officer Hofheinz with the investigation. The subject was arrested on an active warrant out of Wakulla County. He was cited for driving on an undesignated road and providing false information to law enforcement. The Wakulla County Sheriff’s Office transported the subject to the county jail.
FEDERAL WATERS
While on patrol in the offshore patrol vessel NW FINCAT, Officers Cushing, Land, and Matechik, along with Division of Marine Fisheries Management Section Leader Guyas boarded several vessels offshore and south of Pensacola in the Gulf of Mexico. The season for red snapper is open in Alabama state waters and in federal waters for for-hire charter vessels possessing the appropriate federal permits for possession of reef fish and charter fishing. Eight recreational vessels were boarded in Florida state waters a minimum of four nautical miles from Alabama waters and nearly two nautical miles from federal waters. Five of the vessels were in possession of red snapper during the recreational closure. The officers addressed the violations with the appropriate action.
While on patrol in the offshore patrol vessel GUARDIAN, Lieutenant Marlow and Officers M. McLeod, Nelson, and Travis boarded a shrimping vessel approximately a mile south of Alligator Point. An inspection of their Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs) revealed the TEDs having significant violations which could prevent the turtles from escaping the nets. The violations have been forwarded to legal staff for review and processing.
While on patrol in the offshore patrol vessel GUARDIAN, Lieutenant Marlow and Officers M. McLeod, Nelson, and Travis boarded a shrimping vessel for the second time in eight days south of St. Vincent Island. During the first stop, the officers found the vessel to be trawling with nets over the lawful limit of 500 square feet in nearshore waters. The nets were both more than 2,700 square feet. During this second stop, the vessel was trawling with nets in excess of 2,500 square feet in nearshore waters. The nets were seized as evidence and the appropriate action was taken reference the overage. The turtle excluder devices (TEDs) were measured and were found to have violations. The appropriate action was taken to address the violations.
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