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
ESCAMBIA COUNTY
Officers Kenneth Manning, Nick Barnard, and Faris Livesay were on water patrol in Escambia Bay. A fisheries inspection of one vessel revealed two undersize greater amberjack and a Notice to Appear citation was issued for the violation.
Officer Kenneth Manning was on patrol near the Molino area when he observed a pickup truck cross the solid white line approximately five times. Additionally, the vehicle left the roadway and drove onto the road shoulder several times. Officer Manning stopped the truck and noticed a strong odor of alcoholic beverage and marijuana coming from inside the vehicle. Officer Manning observed an open container of beer inside the truck. Upon inspection of the beer can, Officer Manning saw it contained a marijuana cigarette. The driver performed poorly on field sobriety tasks and a search of the driver revealed a clear container of cannabis. The subject was taken to the Escambia County Jail where he provided a breath sample of .094 and .095. He was arrested for Driving Under the Influence, possession of cannabis less than 20 grams, and cited for the open container of alcoholic beverage.
Officers Ben Pineda and Howard Jones were on water patrol of Pensacola Bay conducting boating safety and fishery inspections. While inspecting a vessel, the officers located two harvested red fish over the slot limit. The vessel occupants stated they were legal and had measured them to the base of the tail. When the officers measured, both fish were oversize at 32 inches. Citations were issued for the violations.
Escambia County sheriff’s deputies contacted Officers Kenneth Manning and Faris Livesay regarding a night hunting complaint. The complainant advised he heard two gunshots off Enon School Road and provided information that proved to be helpful in correctly identifying and locating the suspects. Officers Manning and Livesay, along with the deputies, contacted the two male suspects, interviewed both, and obtained sworn statements indicating responsibility. Officer Livesay located and recovered a freshly shot doe deer in the farm field adjacent to Enon School Road. Citations were issued for night hunting and shooting off the right-of-way. The firearms used during the violation were seized. Additional information was obtained and the investigation is ongoing. Additional charges are pending.
SANTA ROSA COUNTY
Officer Howard Jones was on patrol in the Eglin Wildlife Management Area when he observed a vehicle parked along a closed area boundary. Officer Jones requested assistance from K-9 Officer Sarah Manning in locating the subject. While Officer Manning was en route, Officer Jones observed a hunter exit the closed area and return to his truck. While being questioned, the subject admitted to hunting in the closed area. Officer Manning and K-9 Sadie tracked the subject back into the closed area to his tree stand and confirmed that he was in fact hunting in the closed area. Officer Jones issued a citation for hunting in a closed area.
FWC officers assigned to Escambia, Santa Rosa, and Okaloosa counties worked an enforcement detail for the first four days of the quota hunt in Blackwater Wildlife Management Area targeting violations and recent complaints. During the detail, officers worked 404 hours, checked 871 hunters, issued 13 resource misdemeanor citations, 17 resource infraction citations, issued six citations for other violations (vehicles on closed roads), two misdemeanor and two infraction traffic citations, and 44 written resource warnings.
Officers Ben Pineda and Nick Barnard were on patrol in the Blackwater Wildlife Management Area in the area of Sandy Forest Road. The officers observed a vehicle exiting a dirt road within the management area. When they encountered the two hunters, the officers found them in possession of two antlerless deer in the back of their truck (a doe and a short-horned buck). After questioning both subjects, the officers learned that the hunters and two other friends had intentionally shot the deer. Three shotguns were seized and four people were cited with taking or possession of antlerless deer.
Officer Christopher Pettey was on patrol in the Blackwater Wildlife Management Area when he checked a hunter who was just arriving in the area. The man was preparing to hunt, but he did not have a quota hunt permit. Upon checking identification, Officer Pettey determined that the man’s driver license was suspended. Officer Pettey issued the man a Notice to Appear citation for driving with a suspended license.
Lt. Dan Hahr was on patrol in the Blackwater Wildlife Management Area when he observed a group of campers parked behind obvious closed road signs. When he pulled up to talk to the campers, two subjects hurriedly exited a parked truck. When Lieutenant Hahr spoke to them, he smelled the odor of burning cannabis. The man and woman who exited the truck admitted to smoking marijuana from a pipe. A search revealed several items of drug paraphernalia and a bag of cannabis. Both subjects were issued Notices to Appear for possession of not more than 20 grams of cannabis and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Officer Ben Pineda was working a complaint of illegal fishing on the Bob Sikes Fishing Pier. He checked a fisherman who was in possession of 52 undersized Spanish mackerel. Officer Pineda cited the fisherman for over the bag limit and possession of undersize Spanish mackerel. The fish were seized and donated to the Wildlife Sanctuary in Pensacola.
OKALOOSA COUNTY
Lt. Keith Clark received a call from Dispatch regarding the shooting of a black bear in Fort Walton Beach. Officer Andy Maltais responded to the scene. The shooting occurred at a trailer near a junkyard. The two individuals at the trailer, including the shooter, briefed Officer Maltais. Officer Maltais determined there was an injured bear roaming in the local community and attempted to locate the bear. Officer Steve Bartlett arrived on scene to assist in the search. At approximately 2:45 a.m., the bear was located in a tree. The FWC biologists arrived on scene and determined that due to the height of the bear in the tree, it was too dangerous to tranquilize. Officers Maltais and Bartlett stayed on scene through the night until the next morning when Officer Matt Webb relieved them. Approximately 21 hours after the call began, the injured bear climbed down the tree to a safe height allowing the biologists to tranquilize and safely remove the bear from the scene. Upon closer inspection, the bear had been wounded in the right front elbow with a .410 caliber shotgun. The bear was transported to a veterinarian for treatment and later released with a noticeable limp on the Eglin Wildlife Management Area. Both occupants and the landlord were interviewed. The case is under investigation with charges pending.
An FWC officer was conducting boating safety and state fisheries inspections in cooperation with the U.S. Coast Guard Destin Station personnel. During a vessel stop, the officer observed over the bag limit violation of red snapper. There were four occupants on board with nine harvested red snapper. The operator was cited for the violation.
FWC Dispatch notified all Okaloosa and Walton units of a possible plane crash in Choctawhatchee Bay. Lt. Keith Clark, Investigator Eddie Gatlin, Officers Steve Bartlett, Pete Rockwell, Andy Maltais, Randall Brooks, Alan Kirchinger, Van Barrow, Ken White, and Reserve Officer Jeff Hahr responded. Dispatch relayed additional information confirming a six‑passenger Piper plane had crashed during extremely dense fog near Joe’s Bayou and a U.S. Coast Guard Destin Station vessel was on scene. FWC officers arrived on scene and recovered one deceased victim. Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office Dive Team responded to assist with recovery of the two remaining victims from the plane’s fuselage. Officers Maltais and White maintained scene security until Officer Bartlett relieved them in the early morning hours. Agents from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) arrived on scene and supervised the removal of the aircraft.
Officer Alan Kirchinger was on patrol near a public dove field on Beaver Creek Road when he heard a shot and the impact of the round. Officer Kirchinger saw three flashlights moving toward two parked trucks. He proceeded on foot to within 15 feet of the trucks and watched as two subjects arrived at the trucks. He then observed a third subject dragging a deer, dropping it next to one of the trucks. Officer Kirchinger stepped out and identified himself to the subjects. The subject who dragged the deer stated that he made a mistake and shot a doe deer running with a spike and wasn't going to waste the meat. After running a check on the subject, Officer Kirchinger discovered the subject’s hunting license, quota, deer, and management area permits were all expired. Officer Kirchinger cited the hunter for the violations and seized the gun and deer.
Officer Van Barrow and Lt. Keith Clark were on patrol in the Blackwater Wildlife Management Area when they were dispatched to the Eglin Wildlife Management Area check-in station off Highway 85 and Range Road 213. The complaint involved a vehicle that failed to check-in on that day of the hunt, as well the previous day. Officer Barrow located the vehicle but was unable to locate the hunter. As sunset approached, the officers observed a hunter with a rifle, exit Eglin Wildlife Management Area. Officer Barrow confirmed the truck belonged to the hunter. During the interview, the hunter stated he was not aware of the requirements of checking in prior to hunting. The hunter possessed a valid hunting license and Eglin hunting permit. The hunter was extremely nervous and never made eye contact when answering questions. In plain view, Officer Barrow noticed a mineral block inside the hunter’s truck. Officer Barrow accompanied the hunter on a return trip to the areas where he hunted. After Miranda warning, the hunter was questioned regarding the mineral block. The hunter confessed and completed a sworn written statement that he had placed a mineral block on Eglin’s property. The hunter was cited for failure to check-in and a pending charge of placing bait on Eglin Wildlife Management Area property.
Officer Van Barrow was on patrol off Highway 393 north of Shoal River, when he observed a truck stopped on the side of the road. Within a few minutes, Officer Barrow heard a shot coming from the vicinity of the truck and observed the truck leave the area. Officer Barrow watched the property and within 20 minutes the same truck returned. When he contacted the vehicle operator, Officer Barrow observed blood in the bed of the truck. During the interview, the individual admitted shooting a doe deer, stating he was exercising a deer depredation permit. Officer Barrow confirmed there was no valid depredation permit issued for the property in question. The individual was cited for Possession of a Doe Deer and Taking by Illegal Method (during crossbow season). Two rifles and the doe deer were seized.
WALTON COUNTY
Officers Ken White and Matt Webb were dispatched to a report of a capsized vessel in Choctawhatchee Bay near Hogtown Bayou. Upon arrival, the officers discovered a Good Samaritan boater recovered both occupants from the water and took them to shore. The investigation revealed the small vessel had taken on water due to the wave action, which ultimately capsized the boat. The occupants were not injured during the incident.
Lt. Mark Hollinhead and Officer Randall Brooks attended a sentencing hearing for a subject charged in January for violation of a deer depredation permit. After a trial in October, the subject was found guilty of violating the permit and was recently sentenced to pay $550 in fines and court costs, one year probation, and one year suspension of hunting privileges. His firearm was ordered to be forfeited.
BAY COUNTY
Lt. Jay Chesser and Officers Mike Nobles, Dennis Palmer, David Brady, Joe Chambers, Nick Price, Neal Goss, and Kenny Atkins worked numerous coordinated details during the opening four days of hunting season. Results of these details included six subjects arrested for night hunting in three separate cases, numerous quota hunt permit citations were issued, and one subject was taken to jail for felony Driving Under the Influence. Specifics for some of these cases are below.
Bay, Calhoun, Jackson, Holmes, and Washington County units worked with FWC Aviation Section on a night flight. During the flight, the mobility impaired hunting area of the Econfina Wildlife Management Area was checked for illegal camping. A campfire was spotted along a creek and several officers walked in to check the site. Three subjects were cited for camping in an unauthorized area and warnings were issued for alcohol possession.
Officers Joe Chambers and David Brady were working a replica deer in southern Washington County when a truck stopped and two shots were fired into the replica. Two subjects were cited for attempting to take a deer at night with a gun and light and road hunting. An interesting fact is the two subjects were friends with two others that had been arrested for shooting a replica deer at the same location just 36 hours earlier. They said they knew their friends had been caught, but didn't know where.
Officers Mike Nobles and Nick Price were working a replica deer in northern Bay County when a truck stopped and a subject got out with a shotgun and a flashlight. The subject said he was just going to get out and look at the deer; however, when asked why he needed his shotgun to do this, he had no answer. He was cited for possession of a gun while using a light at night.
Officers Joe Chambers and David Brady were working a replica deer in the Econfina Wildlife Management Area when a truck passed, stopped, and a subject with a rifle climbed into the back of the truck. The truck returned and illuminated the deer and when officers tried to stop the truck, the shooter ran into the woods. The two occupants, an intoxicated driver and his 17‑year‑old son, were secured and the subject was located in the woods. The intoxicated driver was found to be a sexual offender. His truck was equipped with a court ordered breath alcohol ignition interlock device that was bypassed by his son, who submitted the breath samples to start the truck. The driver and shooter were charged with night hunting and the driver was booked into the Bay County Jail for felony driving under the influence and driving with a suspended license. Possible charges for felon in possession of a firearm are being investigated.
FRANKLIN COUNTY
Officers Percy Cook, Carmon Brownell, and Lowell Forehand conducted a shellfish detail in Apalachicola Bay in the area of Cat Point. The officers boarded 18 vessels inspecting safety equipment, size tolerance on the oysters, as well as license requirements for the harvesters. During the detail, the officers issued 12 misdemeanor citations, one infraction citation and 14 written warnings. Two misdemeanor citations were for possession of undersize oysters (67% undersize) and ten misdemeanor citations were issued for no saltwater products licenses and no Apalachicola Bay oyster harvest permits. The infraction citation was issued for insufficient number of personal floatation devices and the 14 warnings were issued for various safety equipment violations.
LIBERTY COUNTY
Officer Hank Forehand received information about a short- horned buck killed at Hitchcock Lake. Officer Forehand made contact with RPU Officer Benjamin Johnson and advised him of the information. The officers met to discuss the issue and proceeded to the lake. Upon arrival, and with the information given, the officers identified the camp responsible for killing the deer. After talking to some campers, a subject led the officers to the deer's head and showed them the deer meat that was stored at the camp. The subject responsible for taking the deer was out hunting. Officer Forehand and Johnson waited at the camp until the subject returned. The subject was cited for taking antlerless deer during closed season.
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