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FWC
Division of Law Enforcement
Weekly Report
August 28, 2015 thru September 3, 2015
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
BAY COUNTY
Officer T. Basford was on patrol in St. Andrews State Park when he stopped a vehicle that displayed an expired vehicle tag. The driver was found to knowingly have a suspended driver’s license and the attached tag was not assigned to the vehicle being operated. The driver was booked into the Bay County Jail for knowingly driving with a suspended license and attaching an unassigned tag.
Officer Gore was working at night in the St. Andrews State Park when he noticed a vehicle parked in a handicapped parking spot. He found the vehicle occupied by two subjects consuming alcohol, who had no park pass and nor were they handicapped. A consensual search of the vehicle found two concealed handguns in the driver’s immediate reach, four baggies of methamphetamine, a glass pipe, digital scales and a syringe. The driver was booked into the Bay County Jail for possession of methamphetamine, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of concealed firearms. Both were charged with consuming alcohol in the state park and being in the park after hours.
ESCAMBIA COUNTY
Officers Cushing and Land were on patrol aboard the offshore vessel Fincat. During one of the boardings, Officer Land discovered two undersized greater amberjack. After interviewing the subjects onboard, two individuals took responsibility for the fish. The violations were documented and turned over to the National Marine Fisheries Service.
FRANKLIN COUNTY
Lieutenant Allen and Officer Hughes were on patrol checking commercial oyster vessels in Apalachicola. A vessel pulled up to the boat ramp and the three oystermen on board stated that they had harvested four bags of oysters that morning. Lieutenant Allen opened one bag and noticed that many of the oysters appeared to be under the 3‑inch minimum size. The officers conducted a size tolerance check of the bag and discovered that approximately 45% of the oysters were undersized, well above the allowable 5% tolerance. Officer Hughes issued the owner of the vessel a citation for the offense.
Officers conducted patrols focusing on the opening of the winter oyster harvest season. They checked 28 vessels and 55 users. Five citations for possession of undersize oysters were issued, ranging from 39% to 55% undersized, along with three boating citations. Officers Rice and Mynard were patrolling St. George Island when they observed a commercial oyster vessel leaving one of the canals. After the vessel was out of sight, they checked the area and found seven bags of tagged oysters hidden in the marsh at the water’s edge. The officers concealed themselves and waited to see if someone would return for the oysters. After a short time, the officers observed a truck slowly pass by several times. On the last trip, the truck stopped and one of the individuals exited the vehicle, ran to the bags of oysters, and loaded them on the truck. The officers identified themselves. A closer inspection of the bags showed them to be tagged with the saltwater products license number belonging to one of the truck’s occupants. That individual was issued a citation for failure to deliver shellfish to a certified dealer. The seven bags of oysters were seized and returned to the water alive.
JACKSON COUNTY
While on night patrol at the Jim Woodruff Dam, Officer Mims spotted a boat underway on the Apalachicola River without proper navigation lights. Officer Mims crept up to the edge of the river and observed two men in a boat, one of whom was throwing a cast net. After watching for several minutes, Officer Mims walked down to the boat along the shore and conducted a resource inspection. The inspection revealed 61 bream, 3 largemouth bass, 3 hybrid bass, and 1 speckled perch illegally caught with the cast net. Both men were charged with taking freshwater game fish by illegal method. All fish were returned to the water alive.
OKALOOSA COUNTY
Officer Pifer was on vessel patrol in the Santa Rosa Sound at the Brooks Bridge when he observed individuals fishing from a vessel. The fisheries inspection revealed one oversized red drum. The red drum measured 28.5 inches in total length. The legal state slot limit is 18 inches to 27 inches in total length. The owner/operator was issued a citation for the oversized red drum. The next day, Officer Pifer was on patrol conducting state fisheries enforcement at a local boat ramp in Niceville. He observed a vessel being loaded onto a boat trailer with fishing gear onboard. He further observed a passenger holding a clear plastic bag which contained six red snapper that had been beheaded, scaled and eviscerated. The owner/operator accepted responsibility and was cited for the harvest/possession of red snapper during closed season. Later that day, Officers Pifer observed two individuals fishing from shore on Okaloosa Island. A fisheries inspection revealed that the two individuals were found to be in possession of four oversized red drum. Both individuals were issued citations for possession of an oversized red drum.
Officers Rockwell and Jarvis were conducting state fisheries inspections at the Destin East jetties when they observed an individual in the water with a spear gun. The officers observed the individual a few minutes before they made contact. The individual was found to be in possession of a speared mullet and speared undersized gray snapper. The individual was cited for spearfishing within 100 feet of an unsubmerged portion of a jetty and a warning for the undersized red snapper.
SANTA ROSA COUNTY
Officers Tolbert and Jones responded to a citizen complaint of suspicious persons on the Eglin Reservation near Navarre. Officers found an adult male and an adult female who were camping on the reservation in a prohibited area. Officer Tolbert issued citations to both for no Eglin permits and for camping in an unauthorized area. Eglin Range Patrol issued written notices prohibiting them from returning to the reservation.
Officers Barnard and Hutchinson teamed up after receiving a complaint about a large buck in velvet that had been killed in the Milton area. They located a suspect and his girlfriend at their home and conducted interviews. Although reluctant to tell the truth initially, both suspects confessed to taking the buck illegally. They told the officers that they were returning home from fishing and had the girlfriend’s high-powered rifle with them. They observed two large bucks in a ditch alongside a clear-cut. The larger buck ran off out of sight, but the smaller one stopped within range of a small head lamp. The male subject shot the buck in the clear-cut and his girlfriend helped him pick it up and clean it. They turned over the head and cape of the 10‑point buck. Charges for taking deer at night with a gun and light and discharging a firearm from a public road were filed against the shooter.
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