FWC Division of Law Enforcement Weekly Report January 15, 2016 through January 21, 2016

(Having trouble viewing this email? View it as a Web page.) FWC Division of Law Enforcement   Weekly Report January 15, 2016 through January 21, 2016 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 Over the last couple of weeks, Officer Livesay has been working a site in Perdido River Wildlife Management Area (WMA) that was baited with sweet potatoes.  This week, he made contact with the hunter who he suspected put the bait out.  The hunter admitted to putting the bait out and deer hunting at the baited site. Officer Livesay issued the subject a notice to appear criminal citation for placing bait in a WMA. FRANKLIN COUNTY While conducting plainclothes water patrol near St. George Island, Officers Stephens and Nelson observed a group of five individuals duck hunting in Apalachicola Bay.  Officers Stephens and Nelson watched the group of hunters and observed the group shoot over the bag limit of red head ducks. The officers conducted a resource inspection of the group and found them to be over the bag limit of red head ducks and appropriate citations were issued. Officers Raker and Miller were on land patrol in Tate’s Hell State Forest and observed a pickup truck with the driver wearing camouflage and a hunter orange vest on the dashboard of the truck.  The vehicle began to drive north on State Forest Road 427 after observing the officer’s patrol vehicle.  The officers stopped the vehicle to conduct a resource inspection.  After they made contact with the driver of the vehicle, he advised that he had been hunting but had not seen anything.  While speaking with the driver, the officers observed a scoped rifle in the passenger seat of the vehicle and determined the driver did have a valid hunting license. The driver then advised the officers that his Florida driver license may be suspended.  FWC Communications confirmed that the individual’s driver license was suspended and that his vehicle registration was expired. Communications also advised that the driver of the vehicle had two felony convictions. The officers placed the individual under arrest.  Upon inspecting and seizing the weapon for evidentiary purposes, the officers determined the serial numbers had been removed from the firearm.  Appropriate citations and warnings were issued for the violations. INVESTIGATIONS SECTION Northwest Region Investigations closed out a felony fraud case this week that originated in March of 2015 with a tip from the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks. A subject located in Volusia County was selling Osceola Turkey hunts that included alligator hunts and wild hog. He had also offered elk hunts in Montana. The subject promised to provide all required licenses and private land hunts along with a condo and meals but never provided what was promised to clients. Twenty victims from six different states were identified, interviewed with statements and provided email and text evidence. The victims were scammed out of a combined total in excess of $16,000. The suspect was using the National Wild Turkey Federation as a front to make contact with the victims. After traveling to Volusia County in July of 2015, charges were filed, warrant obtained and the suspect turned himself in. A plea agreement was reached and the defendant was adjudicated guilty, fined costs, sentenced to probation and full restitution to the victims was ordered. Ten thousand dollars was paid up front with the remainder to be paid within the first year as a condition of probation. LEON COUNTY Officers Robb, Boutwell and Nelson were working a night hunting detail in northeast Leon County.  During the detail, the officers observed a pickup truck make several passes by their location at a slow rate of speed.  A short time later, the same vehicle made another pass and the officers observed a spotlight from the driver’s side window shine a wooded area nearby. The officers stopped the pickup truck and its two occupants.  Inside the vehicle, the officers found a loaded .30-06 caliber rifle with scope in plain view and a loaded 9 mm handgun in the glove box. The subjects were interviewed and admitted to attempting to take deer at night with a gun and light. The driver of the vehicle was also arrested and booked into the Leon County Jail for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Officers Raker and Miller were on land patrol in the Apalachicola National Forest and observed five UTVs traveling westbound on Forest Road 320.  They made contact with the drivers of the UTVs and interviewed the individuals.  All of the drivers but one admitted they knew they were riding in an unapproved area.  Appropriate citations were issued to the drivers. LIBERTY COUNTY Officers Raker and Miller were on land patrol in the Apalachicola National Forest when they observed a vehicle traveling southbound on Forest Road 126 using a spotlight to illuminate the tree line along the side of the road. They made contact with the occupants of the vehicle who advised they were looking for deer. The officers located a loaded .243 rifle in the front seat of the truck, a spotlight and a loaded 12‑gauge shotgun in the back seat. Officers Miller and Raker also discovered two open containers of alcohol in the vehicle. The occupants stated the firearms and alcohol belonged to them after Miranda warnings were read. The officers issued citations to the individuals for the violations. SANTA ROSA COUNTY Officer Hutchinson received a phone call late at night from a Santa Rosa County Deputy who had stopped a truck in the Munson Seed Orchard within the Blackwater WMA. The deputy observed two subjects in the bed of the truck and found a shotgun they tried to hide from view.  Officer Hutchinson arrived on scene and interviewed the three juveniles.  All three eventually admitted to trying to kill a deer and explained their plans to the officers.  The juveniles’ parents were contacted and all three were given notices to appear for attempting to take deer at night with a gun and light. Officer Hutchinson received information that a subject had two tree stands in his yard and had supposedly stolen them from a closed section of Blackwater WMA. While discussing it with his squad mates, Officer Hutchinson was informed by Officer Lewis that some stands and blinds were stolen from a section of Blackwater where the Florida Forest Service holds their Annual Wounded Warrior Hunt. The wounded veterans who had hunted there over the last few days went in to hunt and found their stands missing.  Officers Lewis and Hutchinson went to the suspect’s home and observed a tree stand that fit the description of the stolen property.  After interviewing the suspect, two additional suspects were identified, as well as another subject who bought one of the stands.  After several interviews, the officers determined that the three suspects went hunting in the Emachamee closed area in Blackwater and stole two tree stands, a ground blind and more blind material.  Two of the three suspects broke a lock off of a gate to enter the property.  Charges of grand theft and criminal mischief were filed with the court and warrants were issued for the three suspects. WAKULLA COUNTY A subject was arrested in Wakulla County on January 12 on a warrant for aggravated assault with a firearm. The charge stemmed from an incident on the St. Marks River in Franklin County in October of 2015. The defendant, who was on a houseboat, fired multiple rounds from a revolver towards a passing vessel occupied by two persons. Northwest Investigations worked the case, identified a suspect, and through witness statements, interviews and photo lineups, obtained enough evidence to obtain a warrant for the defendant’s arrest. Officer Boutwell along with deputies from the Wakulla County Sheriff’s Office, acting on information from Investigator Thomas, located the suspect at a residence near Crawfordville and arrested him on the warrant. He was then booked into the Wakulla County Jail. While on patrol in Panacea, Officers Boutwell and Nelson conducted a vessel inspection of a duck hunting charter vessel with one occupant aboard.  The charter captain had four times the daily bag limit of red head ducks in his possession. The captain advised that the ducks aboard his vessel belonged to his clients who were still actively duck hunting in the area. After the captain’s clients were located and all ducks in possession of the group were accounted for, it was determined that the charter captain and his clients were still over the bag limit of red head ducks, the captain was transporting over the bag limit of ducks and the ducks belonging to his clients were untagged. Appropriate citations and warnings were issued to the charter captain for the violations. While on patrol in Sopchoppy, Lieutenant Marlow and Officer Boutwell received a complaint of an individual who killed two hen turkeys.  They located the individual and interviewed him regarding the offense.  The subject admitted to harvesting the two hens and provided them the meat and the remains of the two hens.  Further interviewing provided that the individual killed the turkeys over bait.  The individual drove to the kill site and showed the officers a large amount of corn with evidence of the kill in the middle of the bait site.  The individual also did not possess a valid hunting license or turkey permit.  Appropriate charges and citations were written.

http://live.oysterradio.com/