FWC Law Enforcement Weekly Reports October 11, 2019 through October 24, 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 October 11, 2019 through October 24, 2019 This report represents some events the FWC handled over the past two weeks; however, it does not include all actions taken by the Division of Law Enforcement. NORTHWEST REGION CASES BAY COUNTY Officer N. Basford was conducting vessel patrol in St. Andrews State Park and saw a pontoon boat with several people on board, two of which were children located at the boat ramp. They entered the basin and tied up to the pier. Officer Basford approached the vessel and conducted a boating safety inspection. The operator exhibited signs of impairment and standardized field sobriety tasks were administered. The operator was placed under arrest and booked into the Bay County Jail for BUI and child neglect. Officers Rice, Brady and Coker were conducting vessel patrol in St. Andrews Bay when they saw a vessel with several people on board returning from an offshore fishing trip. The officers conducted a boating safety and resource inspection of the vessel. During the inspection the officers located seven gray triggerfish, which were all undersize, and the season for gray triggerfish was closed. Appropriate citations were issued. CALHOUN COUNTY Officer Burkhead responded to a complaint received from a landowner that numerous suspects were on his property illegally. Officer Burkhead located four suspects illegally harvesting palmetto berries. Appropriate citations were issued, and the berries were returned to the landowner. FRANKLIN COUNTY Officer DuBose and Officer Brower were on land patrol assisting the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office search for a fleeing felon around the Crooked River area. It was believed that the felon possibly fled via vessel. Officers Dubose and Brower staged at Rock Landing to ensure the felon didn’t use the landing as a means for someone to pick him up. A vehicle arrived and contact was made by the officers. Both occupants of the vehicle were in possession of open containers and the driver was knowingly driving while license was suspended or revoked. The appropriate citations were issued. GULF COUNTY Senior Officer M. Webb and Officer Specialist H. Webb were working offshore fisheries during the opening weekend of fall snapper season at the Bell Shoal Reef in the Gulf of Mexico. They approached a vessel having Georgia tags with four individuals on board. The captain claimed to have the limit of red snapper, but an inspection revealed that he was over the limit. The appropriate citation was issued. JACKSON COUNTY Officer Burkhead received a call from an off-duty FWC officer who was fishing near Highway 90 on the Chattahoochee River. The off-duty officer witnessed an individual using a cast net and believed the person was keeping game fish. Officer Burkhead located the subject and found he was in possession of six black bass, four crappie and several bream. Appropriate citations were issued. LIBERTY COUNTY Officer Hildebrand and Dubose were dispatched to assist the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office on a report of a missing child. Officer Hildebrand was the first on scene, and after assessing the situation and topography of the location, he advised Officer Dubose to approach from the east. Officer Dubose quickly found the four-year-old child on a nearby road and returned him to his mother. Officer DuBose was on land patrol in Apalachicola National Forest Wildlife Management Area (WMA) when he saw a vehicle heading west on FH13. The vehicle met the description of a possible subject who had been illegally picking saw palmetto berries. Officer Dubose conducted a traffic stop and saw palmetto berries in the rear of the truck. A search of the vehicle revealed a meth pipe and methamphetamine in the center console. The driver was arrested and charged accordingly. OKALOOSA COUNTY Investigator Pifer and Officer Brown were on water patrol in the Santa Rosa Sound when they saw a vessel operating without the required navigation lights. The vessel was stopped, and a boating safety inspection found that one of the subjects on board had been fishing. During the resource inspection, the officers located an undersized spotted seatrout. The appropriate citations were issued. Officers Cushing, Land, and Brown were performing offshore vessel patrol when they inspected an anchored vessel with subjects actively fishing. The inspection revealed five red snapper. The season for red snapper was closed and the appropriate citations were issued. Officers Land and Brown saw two individuals trailering a boat at the Cinco Bayou boat ramp. The officers resource inspection found three undersized mangrove snapper and one undersized spotted seatrout. Appropriate citations were issued. COMMUNITY ORIENTED POLICING – EXPANDING PARTICIPATION IN CONSERVATION WASHINGTON COUNTY Officer Greene taught the law portion of the FWC Hunter Safety Class at Hard Labor Creek facility. There were approximately a dozen participants. Lieutenant Walsingham assisted teachers and other instructors at Vernon High School with FWC Hunter Safety Class Range Day. Approximately 60 students participated.

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