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Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
Division of Law Enforcement Weekly Report
Patrol, Protect, Preserve
November 22, 2019 through December 5, 2019
This report represents some events the FWC handled over the past two weeks;
however, it does not include all actions taken by the Division of Law Enforcement.
NORTHWEST REGION
CASES
BAY COUNTY
Officer Specialist N. Basford was on patrol in St. Andrews State Park and observed a vehicle parked outside the gate. The park was closed and only campers and persons with a park pass could enter. Another vehicle pulled up to the closed gate and entered the code. As the gate opened, the parked vehicle pulled behind the vehicle that was coming into the park. The driver of the first vehicle stopped, stepped out of his vehicle, and told the driver behind him that he could not come into the park. Officer N. Basford approached the driver of the second vehicle who displayed signs of being impaired. After field sobriety tasks, the driver was arrested for DUI and booked into the Bay County Jail.
Officer N. Basford received a complaint of a van that was stuck down a service road at St. Andrews State Park. When she arrived on scene, she observed the operator sitting in the driver seat with the vehicle keys in his lap. The operator displayed signs of impairment and field sobriety tasks were conducted. The operator was arrested for DUI and booked into the Bay County Jail.
Officer T. Basford received a complaint of individuals keeping undersize fish at the Deer Point Dam. Once Officer Basford arrived, he conducted several resource inspections of individuals fishing in the area which located an undersized red drum in an individual’s cooler along with several legal spotted sea trout. The appropriate citations were issued, and the fish was returned to the water.
Lieutenant J. Allen was on patrol in St Andrews State Park at the Jetties when he saw four individuals placing fish in a cooler. During a resource inspection, only one of the four individuals could produce a valid saltwater fishing license and they were in possession of 11 mangrove snapper, eight of which were undersized. The appropriate citations were issued, and the fish were returned to the water.
LEON / JEFFERSON COUNTY
Officers from the Leon and Jefferson squads conducted a Targeted Enforcement Detail created by Officer Pekerol for duck season. On opening day, Officer Specialists Miller and Brookes each wrote a citation for hunting from a permanent blind on Lake Iamonia. A few days later Officer Pekerol and Officer Specialist Brookes issued citations to three individuals for hunting from a permanent blind on Lake Jackson. The following day, Officer Specialist Miller and Officer Pekerol issued two citations for the same offence on Lake Miccosukee. During this time, there was also one citation written for motor restrictions on Lake Iamonia and two citations written for hunting license violations.
LIBERTY COUNTY
During Thanksgiving weekend, the Liberty and Gadsden County squads recorded 72.5 hours of forest land patrol in the Apalachicola National Forest area. During these patrols, 207 users were checked; this resulted in 16 written warnings, eight license violations, shining a light in a manner capable of disclosing the presence of wildlife, allowing a minor to hunt without supervision, prohibited method of take, two criminal traffic arrests, and four incident summary reports.
OKALOSSA COUNTY
Lieutenants Molnar and Bartlett observed a male and female fishing from the bank at Highway 2 Boat Ramp on the Yellow River. As they approached the couple to check their fishing licenses, the male subject fled on foot, jumped into the river and started swimming down river. While Lieutenant Bartlett maintained a visual on the subject, Lieutenant Molnar drove across to the west side of the bridge and located the subject in the middle of the river. The subject refused to comply with verbal commands, so Lieutenant Molnar entered the waist deep water and took the subject into custody. The subject was booked into the Okaloosa County Jail for obstruction of a Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation (FWC) Officer and issued a citation for not having a fishing license.
Officer Murphy and Investigator Pifer were on water patrol conducting resource inspections in the Destin Pass. The officers conducted a vessel stop and discovered 10 undersized greater amberjack. The vessel owner was issued a notice to appear citation.
Officers Hahr and McVaney received information about a man that had killed a velvet antlered buck before the hunting season. A Facebook post made by the man’s girlfriend showed him posing with the buck two days before archery season began. The officers located the man and the remains of the deer. Interviews with the subject and girlfriend verified the violation. The man was charged with taking deer at night with a gun and light, taking deer out of season, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. The woman was also charged for her role in taking deer at night with a gun and light and taking deer out of season.
SANTA ROSA COUNTY
Officer Roberson was on land patrol in the Escambia River Wildlife Management Area (WMA) near Keyser Landing when he saw a vehicle parked in the woods. Officer Roberson approached the vehicle and observed an individual with a lighter, heating up a clear pipe commonly used to cook drugs. Officer Roberson identified himself and observed another individual in the truck, along with a white substance in a clear plastic baggy in between the individuals. K-9 Officer Hutchinson arrived shortly after to assist. Both suspects were booked into the Santa Rosa County Jail for the possession of methamphetamines.
Officers Andrews and Allgood were conducting water patrol on opening morning of duck season in the Santa Rosa Sound and observed three male subjects in waist deep water near a camouflaged hunting blind. A resource and license inspection found an unplugged shotgun. The appropriate citation was issued.
Officer Specialist Lewis was on land patrol in Blackwater River State Forest on opening day of General Gun Season when he heard a shot at the final minutes of legal shooting hours for deer. The shot sounded like it originated on private property near his location. Officer Lewis located a hunter with an antlerless deer, which the hunter admitted to shooting on the property. Antlerless deer were not permitted to take on that day and the hunter was cited appropriately.
Officers Hutchinson and Hicks were on patrol near Blackwater State Forest when they observed a deer being cleaned behind a barn. They conducted a resource check and found that the deer had not been recorded on a harvest log. The person admitted to knowing he had to log the deer, but chose not to do so. The subject was issued a citation and a Santa Rosa County Court date for failure to report the deer.
Officers Hicks and Hutchinson were patrolling the Blackwater State Forest when they located three large piles of trash that had been dumped along one of the roads. They collected evidence from the trash piles that led them to a residence. Once at the residence they contacted three male subjects who all admitted to dumping the trash in the woods. The appropriate citations were issued with a court date and the men were instructed to remove the trash and properly dispose of it.
Officers Murphy and Hutchinson received a complaint of a subject who had shot a spotted fawn with his bow and left it to waste in the Blackwater State Forest. While conducting their investigation, Officer McVaney helped them identify the subject and confirm that he had already harvested and registered his yearly bag limit for antlerless deer. The subject was located and admitted to shooting the fawn and leaving it in the woods. An arrest warrant was filed through the State Attorney’s Office for the violations of taking a spotted fawn and taking over the yearly bag limit of antlerless deer.
FRANKLIN COUNTY
Officers Bradshaw and Korade were on water patrol in Ochlockonee Bay when they observed a vessel with no navigational lights displayed. They initiated an inspection and found the two subjects onboard retrieving a net partially constructed of monofilament webbing. Once retrieved, the net was transferred to the patrol vessel and transported to Mashes Sands boat ramp. Lieutenant Marlow, Officer Specialist Raker and Officer Nelson arrived on scene to assist with the investigation. The investigation led to two felony charges, three misdemeanors for net violations and two infractions for boating safety violations. The subjects were booked into the Franklin County Jail.
GULF COUNTY
Officer Specialist Lipford checked two subjects duck hunting on Lake Wimico. The inspection revealed one of the subjects was attempting to take waterfowl with a shotgun capable of holding more than three shells. Several other violations relating to license and permits were discovered. The appropriate citation and warnings were issued.
Officer T. Basford and Lieutenant J. Allen were on patrol when they saw three individuals working a seine net in St Joe Bay. They watched and could see that several of the seine nets were connected. Officers Gerber and Hellett who were on vessel patrol in St Joe Bay were called to assist. An inspection of the nets revealed four nets connected to make one larger net. The connected nets and 416 pounds of mullet were seized. Each of the three individuals received a citation for nets connected, exceeding 500 square feet.
JACKSON COUNTY
Officers Scott and Humphrey responded to a complaint at the Apalachee Wildlife Management Area (WMA). The check station operator stated a hunter drove by the check station without signing in. The officers located the subject’s vehicle where he had driven down a closed road. When the subject returned to his vehicle, the officers found that he had been hunting with a crossbow and was in possession of methamphetamine and a drug pipe. The subject was booked into the Jackson County Jail and the appropriate citations and warnings were issued.
WAKULLA COUNTY
Officer Bradshaw was patrolling in the area of the Mashes Sands boat ramp when he observed a vessel displaying fishing gear come to the dock. He conducted a boating safety and resource inspection of the vessel, which had five subjects on board. The investigation resulted in two subjects being cited for oversize red drum.
Officers Schulz was on water patrol south of the St. Marks Lighthouse. He conducted a boating and resource inspection on a vessel actively engaged in fishing with three subjects on board. Officer Schulz cited the captain of the vessel for undersize seatrout.
WASHINGTON COUNTY
Officer Parrish conducted a resource inspection of three subjects hunting ducks in a small cypress pond. The subjects were attempting to take waterfowl with a shotgun capable of holding more than three shells and approximately 200 pounds of shelled corn was scattered around the edge and in the pond. Appropriate citations and warnings were issued.
On the opening of General Gun Season, Officer Gore was on land patrol and encountered a group of hunters in the Sand Hills area. During his check, he inspected a gobbler turkey which was laying in the bushes near the group and had been cleaned. Officer Gore inspected the craw and found fresh corn. The hunter cooperated with Officer Gore showing him the baited tree stand where the turkey was killed. Officer Gore utilized his K-9 to locate the spent shell casing. The distance the turkey was taken over bait was at 48 yards. The appropriate citation was issued.
While on land patrol, Officer Parrish encountered a subject with an 8-point buck deer head in the back of his truck. The subject stated he had killed it in Kentucky. Officer Parrish documented the check and later contacted a Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Officer to determine if the deer was harvested legally. It was determined the subject did not tag the deer out as required by their rules. The Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Officer cited the subject accordingly for the violation. Officer Parrish educated the subject further on the Chronic Waste Disease (CWD) rule restrictions and violations concerning bringing whole deer or deer heads back into Florida.
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