FWC DIVISION OF LAW ENFORCEMENT
FIELD OPERATIONS
WEEKLY REPORT
January 14 - 20 , 2011
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
K-9 Officer Sarah Manning and Officer Ben Pineda provided vessel transport for Channel 3 ABC news affiliate in Pensacola in an oil spill follow-up check of remote beach areas along several barrier islands in the Pensacola Bay area. The news media received reports of oil along these remote locations. Areas checked revealed oil three to four feet below the surface. BP clean-up crews and technical advisors were on scene as the locations are archeologically sensitive. The news crew obtained some video of these remote locations and of crews working.
SANTA ROSA COUNTY
Lt. Mark Hollinhead and Officer Howard Jones attended a meeting with Jackson Guard personnel and a group of dog hunters. The hunters expressed concerns and problems with several dog hunters hunting one area due to other areas being closed for military missions on Eglin Air Force Base. FWC officers will be conducting extra patrols for those identified areas to ensure safety and compliance with rules and regulations.
BAY COUNTY
Officer Dennis Palmer was conducting resource inspections at the Deer Point Dam. Two fishermen were checked and said they caught a few trout, but an inspection of their cooler revealed eight redfish (all undersized) and nine sheepshead (five undersized). Citations were issued for the bag limit violations and written warnings issued for the undersized fish.
Officer Joe Chambers has been conducting a follow-up investigation on a convicted felon and registered sex offender who was cited several weeks ago for night hunting. The arrest warrants were signed this week for the charge of felon in possession of a firearm. When Officer Chambers went to serve the warrant, the subject wasn’t living at his listed residence. Several leads were followed; however, Officer Chambers was unable to locate the individual. Additional warrants were signed for the subject failing to report his change of address and for failure to appear on the initial charge of night hunting.
Officer Kenny Atkins received information concerning an illegally dumped doe deer carcass and, with Officer Dennis Palmer, interviewed a suspect. When asked about the untagged doe, the suspect advised he had a tag but failed to tag the deer. The tag was seized and a citation was issued for failing to tag the deer, a written warning issued for littering, and the suspect was instructed to properly dispose of the carcass.
Officer Nick Price responded to a boating accident involving a commercial boat which ran aground at the jetties in St. Andrew’s Pass. The investigation is being worked jointly with the U.S. Coast Guard's Marine Safety Office.
A night flight was worked by Capt. Ken Parramore, Lieutenants Jay Chesser and Raz Castaneda, and Officers Dennis Palmer, Karl Hellett, Joe Chambers, Tony Lee, Nick Price, Jim Moore, Hal Webb, and Kenny Atkins. Decoy deer were deployed during the flight which resulted in one decoy being shot. Twice a truck drove past Lieutenant Chesser and Officers Price and Lee’s decoy location. On the third pass, the truck turned head-on to the decoy and fired one shot before being stopped. The shooter was charged with attempting to take deer at night with a gun and light and road hunting. The officers seized a 12‑gauge shotgun. Later, the FWC aircraft observed a truck maneuvering through a large section of private hunting leases displaying a spotlight. When Officer Jim Moore attempted to stop the vehicle, the driver failed to stop and attempted to elude the officer for a short distance and then fled on foot. Officers were unable to locate the suspect; however, his vehicle and a rifle that was thrown out of the window were seized pending further investigation.
Officer Mike Nobles was on patrol when he heard three shots fired from within a private lease. Officer Nobles waited on the hunters to exit the lease and discovered a short horned buck that wasn't properly tagged. A citation was issued for the violation and the tag seized.
Officer Mike Nobles observed signs placed along a roadway advertising oysters for sale. A check found the oysters to be untagged (not certified) and the sellers did not have proper licenses to sell seafood products. The oysters came from a licensed oyster harvester who was reported to have two more bags with him. The harvester was contacted and he agreed to sell more oysters. Officer Nick Price arrived at the designated location in his marked patrol truck and even though Officer Price was in uniform, the harvester offered to sell him the oysters. Lt. Jay Chesser arrived to assist and the oysters were measured and found to be undersized. In addition to numerous written warnings, the harvester was issued citations for failure to deliver shell stock directly to a dealer, undersized oysters, and no retail license. Four bags of shell stock were seized. The harvester had two outstanding arrest warrants from Bay County. He was booked into the Bay County Jail on the warrants.
GULF COUNTY
Lt. Jay Chesser and Officers Dennis Palmer, Kenny Atkins, and Mike Nobles were working a decoy deer detail around 1 a.m. when a car stopped and fired three shots at the decoy. The shooter was 17 years old and his father was the driver and light holder. The trunk of the brand new car, belonging to their mother/wife, was lined with plastic. Both were cited for attempting to take deer at night with a gun and light and road hunting. A Remington 710 rifle, scope, and light were seized.
RESOURCE PROTECTION UNIT WEEKLY ACTIVITIES
FRANKLIN COUNTY
FWC officers were working Alligator Harbor when they observed a vessel engaged in commercial fishing for mullet. Closer surveillance was put on the boat and individuals and it was determined the individuals onboard were fishing by an illegal method. The individuals were watched for a period of time and subsequently stopped just east of the FSU Marine Lab in Alligator Harbor. Upon stopping the individuals, the officers determined the subjects were fishing with a net in excess of 500 square feet and were also fishing two nets tied together. The rough net measurement was 1,450 square feet of mesh. The net they had on the boat held spotted sea trout, red drum and mullet. After the fish were removed from the net, the fishermen were escorted to the boat ramp where the fisheries inspection continued. While at the ramp, one of the fishermen made verbal threats toward one of the officers and had previously disregarded a lawful order given by the officer escorting them to the boat ramp. The fisherman was arrested for assault and interfering with an FWC officer and transported to the Franklin County Jail. The inspection continued and when the fish were offloaded, the fishermen were found to be in possession of 34 spotted sea trout, 15 of which were over 20 inches. The fishermen also had over 1,600 pounds of mullet. The fish were seized, and the fishermen were cited for numerous violations for use of illegal nets and violations pertaining to possessing the spotted sea trout. The three fishermen combined had 167 prior resource related arrests, the majority of which were net fishing violations.
Over the past two weeks, FWC officers have been monitoring individuals harvesting shellfish in Apalachicola Bay. During their patrols, officers cited six individuals for harvesting shellfish in conditional restricted/closed waters. These areas are closed for the harvest of shellfish due to water quality assessments in Apalachicola Bay.
GADSDEN COUNTY
FWC officers received a night hunting complaint on three individuals from Georgia. Officers contacted Georgia Department of Natural Resources and conducted an investigation into the incident. While conducting the investigation, they located two antlerless deer that had been taken illegally at night by the three Georgia residents. Also, one of the suspects had an outstanding arrest warrant from Georgia. The deer were seized and the individuals were charged accordingly.
WAKULLA COUNTY
FWC resource protection officers were working an area of Ochlocknee Bay when they observed an individual harvesting over the daily bag limit of mullet. When the officers spoke to the individual, the suspect offered to sell the fish and negotiated a price. At this point, the officers identified themselves and charged the subject with possession of over the daily bag limit of mullet and attempting to sell the fish without proper licensing.
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