(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
January 18, 2019 through January 31, 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
FRANKLIN COUNTY
Officers Travis and Kossey were patrolling the Apalachicola River when they heard gunshots. They went to the location of the shots and found a houseboat with three occupants. The officers conducted a camp check and found untagged deer meat. When questioned, one of the subjects admitted to shooting a doe earlier in the day. The subject was cited, and the deer seized.
Officers Pino and Swindell responded to a complaint of subjects hunting deer with dogs in the still hunt area of Tate’s Hell Wildlife Management Area. They located the subjects who admitted they had dogs actively pursuing deer in the still hunt area. Both subjects were in possession of firearms. They were cited for hunting deer with dogs in the still hunt area.
Officer Sauls encountered several subjects in the Tate’s Hell Wildlife Management Area and conducted inspections. During one inspection, the subject was in possession of fresh deer meat. The subject could not provide evidence of sex and the deer meat was seized and the subject was cited.
GULF COUNTY
Officer Gerber received a complaint regarding a doe being killed at night on a lease. After speaking with the complainant, Officer Gerber located the truck at a house nearby and interviewed the two suspects. The individuals admitted to using their truck’s headlights to illuminate the deer while one subject shot the deer from the sunroof of the vehicle. Both subjects were cited for night hunting and the rifle was seized.
Officer Gerber and Hayes were on patrol when they saw a truck displaying a light from the driver’s side window in the direction of several open fields. They conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle and found the driver in possession of a loaded .270 rifle and a loaded 12-gauge shotgun. The driver admitted he was looking for deer. The subject was cited for night hunting and the firearms were seized.
SANTA ROSA COUNTY
Officer Ramos saw several vehicles parked near an interstate bridge. He located three people who unlawfully went around a fence designed to prevent trespassing and were fishing at the seawall. When Officer Ramos greeted the three subjects, he discovered a red drum that appeared to be undersized, still alive and on a stringer. None of the subjects would admit the fish was theirs, and two of the persons could not readily provide proof of a fishing license. After checking with dispatch, Officer Ramos determined one of the men had an active warrant. The three subjects were escorted back to their vehicles and the man with the warrant was placed under arrest. The same man admitted he caught the red drum. Officer Ramos measured the fish and determined it was undersized. A custodial search of the man under arrest revealed that he had methamphetamine in his pocket. The subject was transported to jail for the warrant and was also cited for the illegal drugs.
Officer Ramos saw a vehicle shining a spotlight in Blackwater Wildlife Management Area in a manner capable of disclosing the presence of deer. After following the vehicle for a short time, he conducted a traffic stop to determine if the subjects were attempting to take deer at night. As Officer Ramos approached the vehicle, the strong odor of cannabis emanated from the driver side window. While speaking with the subjects, Officer Ramos saw a bag of cannabis in plain sight. An interview with the subjects led to the seizure of nearly 13 grams of cannabis, 2 grinders, and 6 smoking devices with cannabis residue. The subjects were issued citations for the violations.
WALTON COUNTY
Lieutenant Hollinhead and Officers Bradshaw and Yates checked a group hunting ducks on private property and determined they had taken 87 ducks. All the ducks were in one vehicle and none of the subjects could identify which ones they had taken. Two of the subjects later admitted to taking over their daily bag limit. Thirteen subjects were unable to identify what ducks they had taken so each one was issued a warning for failure to maintain custody of their ducks while in the field. In addition to the warning, two subjects were cited for taking over the daily bag limit of ducks.
Lieutenant Hollinhead received a call from a Walton County deputy who saw an illegal deer in a vehicle when he stopped it for a traffic violation. Lieutenant Hollinhead arrived at the location and determined the deer was a buck with antlers less than ten inches. The driver was cited for taking a deer with an antler length less than ten inches.
Investigator Armstrong and Officer Brooks searched for a subject in a wooded area of private property after a vehicle was located concealed in the area. The landowner previously had property stolen. When the subject learned the officers were searching for him, he called someone and was picked up to avoid being found on the property. Investigator Armstrong later stopped a suspicious vehicle leaving the area. An occupant of the vehicle was dressed in camouflage and was sweating. He later admitted to being on the property and calling someone to pick him up to avoid being caught. The subject was charged with trespassing at the request of the landowner.
Lieutenant Hollinhead and Officers Letcher, Tison, Bradshaw, and Yates targeted duck hunting activity the last two days of the season to ensure compliance with migratory bird hunting regulations. The officers located nine different areas with duck hunting activity and checked 43 subjects. Six subjects were cited for taking ducks over bait, one for no federal duck stamp, and two juveniles were issued warnings for taking ducks over a baited area.
WAKULLA COUNTY
Officers Hughes and Korade were conducting resource inspections at the fort in St. Marks when they saw what appeared to be a commercial fishing vessel returning to port. The officers checked the subjects after they loaded their vessel and found them to be in possession of over the daily bag limit of spotted seatrout, with one greater than 20 inches in length. Both subjects were issued citations for the violations and the fish was placed in evidence.
Officers Carr and Schulz were working the deer decoy in the Apalachicola Wildlife Management Area in response to complaints of illegal deer being shot. The officers set up the decoy deer on Forest Road 348. A subject stopped and looked for sign on the ground. He then reached for his rifle and fired three shots at the decoy deer (approximately a five-inch spike buck). The officers approached the subject safely, disarmed him, and cited him for taking an antlered deer that did not have at least one antler with two or more points.
ESCAMBIA COUNTY
Officer Allgood was working from a concealed location when he saw two vehicles approach the area and repeatedly spin out driving recklessly. Officer Allgood attempted to stop both vehicles and they both fled the area. One of the vehicles stopped after a short distance. Officer Allgood approached the driver and immediately smelled a strong odor of alcohol. While speaking with the driver, he noticed several signs of impairment. After performing poorly on field sobriety exercises, Officer Allgood arrested the driver for DUI and reckless driving. With the assistance of an Escambia County deputy, the other vehicle was located a short distance away. The driver admitted fleeing and claimed he did because his driver’s license was suspended. He was also arrested for fleeing, reckless driving and driving with a suspended driver’s license. Both subjects were transported and booked into the Escambia County Jail.
OKALOOSA COUNTY
Officer Specialist Pifer was on land patrol conducting resource protection on the Eglin Wildlife Management Area in the Sikes Unit. Due to military training that day, Eglin closed this area. All subjects are required to access the Eglin daily closure map before going hunting. Officer Pifer saw a group in the closed area. Further, the officer heard barking consistent with hunting dogs in pursuit of wildlife. Officer Pifer drove further down the road and saw a subject wearing an orange vest retrieving hunting dogs. Seven subjects were identified as hunting in the closed area. All subjects were cited and issued a notice to appear citation.
SEARCH AND RESCUE
LEON COUNTY
Officer Specialist Miller received a call from dispatch about an overdue boater on Lake Iamonia. When Officer Miller arrived at the Bull Headley Boat Ramp, he launched his patrol vessel. A firefighter equipped with a handheld FLIR system, capable of detecting heat, joined him in the search. Every couple hundred yards, Officer Miller would shut his boat off, turn on his blue lights momentarily, and look for a response from the missing boater. When Officer Miller neared the opposite end of the lake near the Highway 12 Boat Landing, he saw a dim light in “Jakes Hole.” The light was the missing boater who was extremely disoriented. Officer Miller loaded him into his patrol vessel and took the boater and his vessel back to Bull Headley Landing. EMS checked him and found him to be in good health. His family picked him up and drove him home.
| 
