FWC Law Enforcement Weekly Report January 24, 2020 through February 6, 2020

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Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

Division of Law Enforcement Weekly Report

Patrol, Protect, Preserve

January 24, 2020 through February 6, 2020

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

CALHOUN COUNTY

Officer Forehand responded to a landowner complaint regarding a shot he heard on his property. The complainant confronted the subject while he was dragging an eight-point buck toward his truck. The complainant was able to get the truck tag number and Officer Forehand identified the suspect. He reviewed the case with the assistant state attorney and the appropriate citations were issued.

ESCAMBIA COUNTY

Officer Specialist Clark received information of deer being shot in a residential golf course community. The complainant found two separate deer shot in her driveway four days apart. Officer Specialist Clark and Officer Long went to the residence and talked to the homeowner. As they looked around the property, they noticed a fresh blood trail from the complainant’s residence extending across the road to one of the neighbor’s back yard. There they found a hole with fresh corn and a salt block commonly used to attract deer. There was also evidence of fresh blood trails in the property owner’s driveway. Officers Clark and Long contacted the owner who admitted to shooting the deer and possibly another one that ran off. The subject had deer meat in a cooler outside his front door and a fresh head of a six-point buck buried by his sidewalk. The subject was cited accordingly.

GULF COUNTY

Senior Officer Specialist McMillion conducted an inspection on a vessel that came off the Apalachicola River after dark. A 5-gallon water cooler was found underneath the bow of his vessel with a freshly quartered out deer and back straps. The subject was cited accordingly.

HOLMES COUNTY

Officers Yates, Parrish, Gore, Land and Cushing responded to assist the Holmes County Sheriff Office (HCSO) and the Holmes and Walton Correctional K-9 Teams track two subjects who fled from the HCSO investigators. The male and female fled into the Ponce de Leon Springs State Park recreation area. The tracking lasted several hours and led into Walton County to a residence where Officer Parrish and a Holmes County deputy apprehended the two subjects.

OKALOOSA COUNTY

Lieutenant Hollinhead and Officers Rockwell and Letcher received information that a subject had killed an antlerless deer. The officers met the subject at his residence and determined the subject had recently started deer hunting. He showed the officer’s a cleaned antlerless deer in a cooler. An inspection of the area he hunted and further questioning determined he lost sight of a legal buck and shot the doe by accident. The subject had attempted to report the antlerless deer harvest. The subject was issued a warning.

Investigator Pifer was on patrol near a local bridge when he observed an individual carrying an oversized redfish towards the parking area at the base of the bridge. The individual placed the redfish in the bed of a truck with a bed cover, shut the tailgate, and began walking back towards the bridge. An inspection revealed the fish was approximately 33’’ long. The appropriate citation was issued, and the fish was returned to the water alive.

COMMUNITY ORIENTED POLICING – EXPANDING PARTICIPATION IN CONSERVATION

OKALOOSA COUNTY

Officer Specialist Rockwell and Officer Brown spoke to the Outdoor Education Class at Baker High School. Officer Specialist Rockwell brought his patrol vessel and the officers explained the importance of each piece of equipment and safety gear. The officers also discussed hunting safety, the new deer regulations and answered numerous questions from 43 students.

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