FWC
Division of Law Enforcement
Weekly Report
January 10-January 16, 2014
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.
Patrol, Protect, Preserve
NORTHWEST REGION
ESCAMBIA COUNTY
Officer Manning observed a subject cast-netting mullet. After watching him for a while, Officer Manning observed the subject leave the area. Officer Manning followed him to his residence where he asked the subject if he caught any fish. The subject stated that he had not, but a fisheries inspection revealed 57 mullet in his cooler. The subject was cited for possession of over the bag limit of mullet.
OKALOOSA COUNTY
Officers H. Rockwell, Brooks, P. Rockwell, and Jarvis worked a detail to enforce bag limits of mullet during their migration into Gap Creek. Officers H. Rockwell and Brooks observed two subjects cast-netting and filling several five-gallon buckets with mullet. Officers P. Rockwell and Jarvis conducted a fisheries inspection when the subjects quickly started to leave. The fishery inspection revealed the subjects were in possession of 100 mullet over the daily bag limit. The subjects were cited for taking over the daily bag limit of mullet and one of the subjects was also cited for driving while his license was suspended or revoked.
Officer Molnar was patrolling Eglin Wildlife Management Area (WMA) during the weekend youth hunt when he heard a shot close to his location. He observed a vehicle pulled off the side of the road. When Officer Molnar spoke to the driver, he learned that he had instructed his son to shoot a deer from the roadway. A dead doe deer was recovered a short distance from the vehicle. The subject was cited for taking a deer from a prohibited roadway within the WMA.
Investigator Armstrong and Officer Molnar were checking duck hunters in Santa Rosa Sound when they checked a subject who was unable to produce a hunting license, but produced an email on his phone with a validation code he stated was for his replacement license. After several attempts by FWC Dispatch to locate the subject’s license information, he confessed that he was from Georgia and had provided a false name to the officers. The subject was cited for giving a false name to law enforcement officers and for not having a hunting license.
Officer Kirchinger conducted surveillance on a feeder on the Blackwater WMA and observed a subject hunting over the baited area. The subject was checked and cited for attempting to take deer over bait on a WMA.
HOLMES COUNTY
FWC Officers responded to a request from the Holmes County Sheriff’s Office to assist with a search and rescue Saturday night at the Choctawhatchee River Bridge at Highway 90. It was reported that a female subject had possibly fallen or jumped from the bridge. Upon arrival, FWC Officers conducted search and rescue efforts until the early morning hours. The search resumed at daylight and continued all day Sunday. The officers have been conducting the search every day since and, thus far, have not been able to locate the individual. Numerous other agencies and volunteers have also aided in the search.
WAKULLA COUNTY
Officers Maynard, Harrison and Lieutenant Hooker located a commercial fishing vessel in possession of a large mesh seine net approximately 2,800 square feet and 1,000 pounds of mullet. The net and mullet were seized. The result was one felony and nine misdemeanor arrests.
FRANKLIN COUNTY
Officers Ramos and Bunker were on patrol in Eastpoint Channel. The officers noticed an oyster boat entering the channel and followed the vessel to their docking area. Once the oyster boat hit land, two subjects left the vessel and headed toward their vehicle. The third subject left the area and was later located at a gas station across the street. After all three subjects were brought back to their boat, a fisheries and boating safety inspection was conducted. All three subjects were cited for 46 percent undersized oysters, untagged oysters, no saltwater products license or Apalachicola Bay oyster permit, and various boating safety violations. Ten bags of oysters were seized and returned to the resource.
Officers Allen, Gore, Anderson and Louque worked information they received about individuals harvesting oysters at night in Apalachicola Bay. While on night patrol in Apalachicola, the Officers noticed a utility vehicle loaded with bags of oysters (later determined to be 22 bags) near the water’s edge. They also noticed two individuals hiding in the bushes next to the vehicle. An inspection of the vehicle and vessel at the location revealed a total of 27 bags of oysters (approximately 3,000 pounds). The bags of oysters were untagged and unculled. Also, both individuals gave statements to harvesting the oysters from conditionally approved bars during the closure (summer bars) and that they had caught most of the oysters late in the afternoon and then brought the bags into Two Mile Channel, concealing them in an area behind a locked gate until they could bring them to their vehicle. The two men were cited for untagged oysters, harvesting between sunset and sunrise, and failure to deliver shellfish directly to a certified dealer. The oysters were returned to the bay.
Officers Allen, Gore, Anderson and Louque noticed a vessel with non-navigation lights entering Two Mile Channel from the east while on night patrol. They conducted a stop of the vessel and found three individuals on board. Also on board were nine, untagged bags of oysters (approximately 1,000 pounds). The individuals admitted to harvesting the oysters from the summer bars as well as starting to harvest after sunset. The three individuals were issued citations for possession of untagged bags, harvesting oysters between sunset and sunrise, and failure to deliver shellfish directly to a certified dealer.
Acting on the information received, the officers seized a total of 36 bags of oysters (approximately 4,000 pounds of product) which were returned to the water alive, with five harvesters cited for 20 misdemeanors and 2 boating safety infractions.
LEON COUNTY
Officers Jones, Louque and Anderson came upon a baited site in the Apalachicola National Forest several weeks ago, and surveillance was set up on the area. After a week of monitoring the site, Officer Jones came across an individual hunting over the site. The officer and defendant knew each other very well. Two years prior to the stop, Officers made contact with the subject in the same area and charged him with hunting over bait, killing a black bear, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Officer Jones was able to determine through his investigation that the defendant had killed a doe deer out of season. The defendant was charged with placing bait in a WMA, no hunting license and no management area permit. After consulting with the State Attorney, the defendant was also charged with killing a doe deer out of season.
COPS (Community Oriented Policing)
Lieutenant Harvey conducted a firearms safety class for the 4-H shooting team. Each year, returning team members along with new team members must attend the class prior to starting on the range. In all, there were 40 people in attendance.
http://www.oysterradio.com e-mail manager@oysterradio.com with comments http://live.oysterradio.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment