FWC Division of Law Enforcement Weekly Report September 9 through September 15, 2016

(Having trouble viewing this email? View it as a Web page.) FWC Division of Law Enforcement     Weekly Report September 9 through September 15, 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 BAY COUNTY Officer Basford was conducting resource inspections at Martin Lake. During one of the inspections, he found an individual in possession of three undersized red drum. The individual stated that he caught the fish earlier in the day while fishing from the beach. The fish measured 15.5, 16 and 17 inches. Officer Basford issued the individual citations for possession of undersized and over the bag limit of red drum. Officer Basford was on vessel patrol when he conducted a resource inspection of a vessel that was actively engaged in fishing. During the inspection, he found the two occupants of the vessel to be in possession of six king mackerel. The captain of the vessel took responsibility and was issued a citation for the violation. Officer Hellett was on vessel patrol near the Hathaway Bridge when he observed three subjects snorkeling near the seawall on the east side of the bridge with no diver-down device displayed. Officer Hellett approached the subjects and questioned them for not displaying a diver down device. The group stated that they did not have one. Officer Hellett could see a black diver’s “catch bag” on the bottom near the subjects. He asked them what was in the bag and they stated “crabs.” They gave the bag to officer Hellett and he found 18 stone crabs. Officer Hellett checked all three subjects for warrants and two of them had active out-of-area warrants for their arrest. Officer Hellett arrested the suspects that had active warrants and issued citations for possession of stone crabs out of season, possession of undersized stone crab claws and possession of whole stone crabs. CALHOUN COUNTY Officer Baber, in the very early morning hours, saw a vehicle occupied by a male and female parked at Lam Eddy Boat Ramp along the Apalachicola River. As he approached the driver, a methamphetamine pipe was in plain view. The vehicle then fled the area and ran into a ditch approximately one mile away. Both suspects fled on foot. During a search of the vehicle, a large amount of drugs and paraphernalia was recovered. Officer Baber was able to identify both suspects and subsequently obtained arrest warrants for both. The driver was charged with possession of methamphetamine, possession of controlled substance with intent to sell, possession of drug paraphernalia, driving while license suspended, fleeing and attempting to elude. The passenger was charged with possession of methamphetamine, possession of controlled substance with intent to sell, possession of drug paraphernalia and resisting arrest without violence. ESCAMBIA COUNTY Officers Manning and Allgood inspected two commercial fishing vessels as they returned to shore. On both vessels, they found undersized red and vermillion snapper. A total of 125 pounds of illegal fish were seized. The operators of both vessels were issued notice to appear citations for the violations. Additionally, two of the vessels’ crew members were arrested and transported to the Escambia County Jail on outstanding warrants. FRANKLIN COUNTY While conducting a patrol in the Carrabelle River, Lieutenant Marlow and Officers Boyd, Nelson and Robb located a small commercial vessel that had a trawl net aboard rigged for fishing and had saltwater products aboard. During further inspection of the vessel and gear, it was observed that the trawl net was the only net aboard and had evidence that it had been recently fished. The net did not have a Turtle Excluder Device (TED) or Bycatch Reduction Device (BRD). The captain of the vessel did not have his required commercial licenses and had three boating-related violations as well. The appropriate action was taken for the violations. During offshore patrol south of Franklin County, Lieutenant Marlow and Officers Boyd, Nelson and Robb conducted numerous vessel stops in federal waters. During the patrol, they located three different vessels with red snapper aboard during the federal closure. The vessel stops resulted in multiple cases for possession of red snapper during federal closure. The appropriate action was taken for these violations. While conducting offshore vessel patrol south of Franklin and Gulf counties, Lieutenant Marlow and Officers Boyd, Nelson and Robb conducted a stop on a dive vessel approximately 25 miles offshore. As they approached, they noticed two red snapper floating directly behind the vessel. After recovering the red snapper, they noticed that one of the fish had been shot with a spear gun. Once aboard the vessel, the officers located another red snapper in another cooler and the captain of the vessel stated “where did that come from?” An interview of the occupants revealed that they had speared, hooked and line-caught the red snapper and thrown them overboard upon seeing the officers. The appropriate action was taken for the violations. As they approached a vessel in federal waters, FWC officers observed fish being thrown overboard. They observed an occupant quickly digging in a cooler. A quick approach prevented additional fish from being thrown overboard and the officers were able to locate four red snapper in the fish box and one red snapper in between the captain’s foot and gunwale of the vessel. The appropriate action was taken for the violations. JACKSON COUNTY Officer Forehand saw a vehicle driving erratically, weaving in and out of its lane and almost striking a parked vehicle. He initiated a traffic stop and the driver showed signs of impairment. Based on field sobriety tasks, the driver was booked into jail for DUI. Lieutenant Allen and Officer Forehand watched two fishermen wading along the bank of the Apalachicola River near the Hwy 90 Bridge. When the fishermen began to leave the area, the officers checked their catch. They found that one of the fisherman had gigged gamefish, including a five-pound black bass. He was charged with taking freshwater gamefish by illegal method. OKALOOSA COUNTY Officer Corbin was on land patrol at the Fort Walton Beach Landing where he observed a sailboat in a junked, wrecked and dismantled condition. He recognized the sailboat and had previously warned the vessel owner that the sailboat was a derelict vessel. The sailboat was tied to a private pole on the south side of the Intracoastal Waterway. Upon completion of the derelict vessel process, the vessel owner was issued a notice to appear citation. SANTA ROSA COUNTY Officers Ramos and Roberson were on patrol in Blackwater Wildlife Management Area (WMA) and conducting inspections on primitive campsites. At one remote site, Officer Ramos detected the odor of cannabis. A brief interview revealed the couple had cannabis and drug paraphernalia on them. The couple had also committed three additional non-criminal violations per Blackwater WMA regulations. Each person was charged for the cannabis and drug paraphernalia and warned for the remaining violations. WAKULLA COUNTY Officer Boutwell was on land patrol in the Flint Rock WMA when he saw two men standing next to a vehicle. When he made contact with the camouflage-clad individuals, they said that they had been scouting for deer. Officer Boutwell noticed that they had backpacks on the ground next to them and asked if he could inspect them. One of the backpacks contained several empty Ziploc bags. When asked what had been in the bags, one of the men said they had contained corn and other bait for deer. The two men agreed to show Officers Boutwell and Anderson where they had placed the bait within the WMA. One of the men admitted that he had been the one who had placed the bait and was issued a notice to appear for placing bait in a WMA. WALTON COUNTY Officers Basford, Wicker and Lieutenant Allen were conducting patrols offshore when they observed a vessel with several subjects fishing. During the subsequent fisheries inspection, it was determined that the vessel was on a charter. While inspecting the fish that had been declared, Officer Wicker noticed a large, black bag in one of the vessel’s hatches. As Officer Wicker asked the captain of the vessel about the bag, something inside moved. A closer inspection of the bag revealed two red snapper in the bag. At this time, red snapper season is only open on weekends. The captain of the vessel was issued a citation for possession of red snapper during closure. RESCUES JEFFERSON COUNTY An elderly Jefferson County resident left his house in his pickup truck to go scout a friend’s property for hunting. He started his walk around sunrise and shortly after noon he realized he was lost and too exhausted to continue walking. He called a friend for help on his cell phone. After receiving a call for assistance from the Sherriff’s Office, FWC Officers Wilcox, Pekerol and Lieutenant Wass de Czege arrived to assist with the search. After searching the property for a short time, the FWC officers, along with a friend of the lost man, found him lying in the shade at the edge of a cow pasture around mid-afternoon. Vehicles were escorted to the site and the man was taken to an awaiting ambulance where he was examined and found to be in good condition. SANTA ROSA COUNTY Officers Ramos and Roberson were on patrol In Eglin AFB in the very early morning when they made contact with Santa Rosa County deputies responding to two stranded motorists stuck in the sand on the Eglin Reservation. Officers Ramos, Roberson and the Santa Rosa County deputy located the woman, along with her husband, deep in the reservation. The officers were able to safely pull them out of the sand and escort them to a main road. The couple had gotten lost and stuck in a long patch of very soft sand while trying to find a campsite at Escribano Point WMA. DIRECTED CONSERVATION PATROLS SANTA ROSA COUNTY Officers Ramos and Roberson concentrated enforcement efforts the weekend nights from the early evening to the very early morning hours of the next day, checking more than nine boats and looking for users on alligator hunts. They did not observe any hunting violations, but did address multiple boating safety and navigation issues.

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