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March 3 through March 9, 2023
This report represents some events the FWC handled over specified weeks;
however, it does not include all actions taken by the Division of Law Enforcement.
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 CASES
Bay County
- Officer Boley and Senior Officer Gore conducted a resource inspection of an individual fishing at a bridge. The individual stated he did not catch any fish and his fishing license was in his vehicle. While waiting for him to produce his fishing license, Officer Boley observed a cooler bag in the back of the vehicle. When he asked to look in the bag, the individual admitted to having a fish in it. He was in possession of an oversized red drum. The appropriate citation was issued.
- While on patrol, Senior Officers Brady and N. Basford stopped a charter vessel to conduct a fisheries inspection. During the inspection, four undersized vermillion snapper were discovered. The vessel captain stated he was letting the customers put their own fish in the fish box without measuring them. The captain was issued a citation for possession of undersized vermillion snapper.
Washington County
- Officer Fowler and Lieutenant Walsingham were on patrol when they located an unoccupied vehicle and two subjects inside a hunting club. The subjects possessed turkey calls and a shotgun loaded with turkey loads. It was determined the subjects were attempting to take wild turkey two weeks prior to the opening of the spring season. The subjects were cited for the offense as well as license violations.
COMMUNITY ORIENTED POLICING
Bay County
- Officer’s K. Hellett, N. Basford, and T. Basford represented Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) at Palm Bay Charter School’s “Truck Day.” They educated approximately 500 students about safe boating and the importance of always wearing your life jacket. The officers also brought deer antlers and a pelt for the kids to examine as they talked about some of the wildlife they work to conserve.
- Officer’s Z. Rice, and T. Basford represented Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) at Southport Elementary’s Annual Career Day. Officer Rice and Officer Basford spoke with 250 kindergarten through 5th grade students about their job with FWC. The officers also educated the children about safe boating and the importance of always wearing your life jacket. The officers brought deer antlers and a deer skull for the kids to explore as they talked about some of the wildlife they work to conserve.
Calhoun County
- Officer’s K. Hellett, H. Forehand, T. Basford, and Investigator S. Williams attended the Florida Riverfest event in Blountstown. They spoke with hundreds of visitors and distributed stickers and boating safety armbands to the children. The officers and Investigator Williams also engaged with stakeholders about hunting and fishing regulations.
Santa Rosa County
- Officers Lewis and Burkhead spoke to about 30 members of a local church that organized a fishing event at the Naval Live Oaks Nature Preserve. The officers outlined the mission of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC); explained their responsibilities as officers; answered questions related to fishing, boating and hunting; and distributed educational materials.
 CASES
St. Johns County
- In anticipation of the pompano run, Officer Self conducted saltwater fisheries resource inspections of anglers along the beach. While checking the bridge at the Matanzas Inlet, he located a subject possessing an undersized pompano. A records check revealed the subject was issued a written warning in 2020 for keeping undersized fish. The subject was cited for the violation.
- While on patrol, Officer Self observed two subjects fishing at the end of the St. Augustine Inlet Jetty. He climbed out onto the rocks and conducted a fisheries resource inspection and found the subjects possessed undersized bluefish. In addition, neither subject could produce a saltwater fishing license. The two subjects were cited for the undersized fish and not possessing a saltwater fishing license.
- While patrolling nine miles offshore, Officer Specialist Lawrence and Officer Lemaster conducted a fisheries inspection at a popular reef. During the inspection, a subject was found in possession of a red drum. During a check of the subject's fishing gear, it was determined the subject was using lane snapper as bait. In addition, the subject didn't possess the required descending device. The subject was cited accordingly.
- Officers Thomas and Lemaster conducted a federal fisheries inspection about 30 miles east of St. Augustine at a popular reef. The inspection revealed the subject was in possession of red drum in federal waters. Additionally, the individual had no descending device on board. After failed attempts to return to the bottom, the officers observed several fish floating on the surface. The subject was subsequently issued federal citations for possessing red drum in federal waters and failing to possess a descending device.
Volusia County
- Officer Specialist Fletcher responded to an incident of a wild turkey that had been shot with a bow in a residential area during closed season. An investigation was conducted and Officer Specialist Fletcher identified a suspect. The suspect was interviewed and confessed to shooting the wild turkey. The suspect was charged appropriately.
Brevard County
- Officers Delano and St. Martin, Lieutenant Eller, and NOAA Officer Carrodagus were on water patrol near Sebastian Inlet when they noticed a large fishing vessel returning from offshore. As the vessel approached, the officers stopped it and conducted a resource inspection. The captain stated that the vessel was returning from the Bahamas. As the officers began their inspection, they immediately uncovered a large number of various reef fish and fillets being brought back into the county. Due to the sheer volume of saltwater products on board the vessel, the officers moved their stop to a local boat ramp and enlisted the help of Lieutenant Lee, Master Officer McDonough and Officer Specialist Marroquin. As the inspection continued, the officers discovered almost 300 pounds of illegally imported stone crab and queen conch in a large compartment. Queen conch alone is a restricted species and cannot be recreationally imported or harvested in Florida. Furthermore, the illegal importation of fish and wildlife into the United States constitutes a Lacey Act violation. All saltwater products found on the vessel were seized, and the captain was cited accordingly.
RESCUES
Flagler County
- Officer Chamberlain spotted a distressed vehicle on I-95 pulling a trailer that was on fire. Officer Chamberlain used his department-issued fire extinguisher to extinguish the fire, preventing further property damage and injury to the occupants.
St. Johns County
- Officers Chamberlain and Lemaster, along with the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office, St. Johns County Fire Rescue, and St. Augustine Fire Rescue responded to a 23-foot vessel taking on water 30 nautical miles off the coast of St. Augustine Inlet in rough sea conditions. The distressed vessel and its four occupants were located approximately 10 miles off the beach and safely escorted back to shore.
COMMUNITY ORIENTED POLICING
Indian River County
- Officers Delano, Beck, St. Martin and Hedgepeth, along with Lieutenants Lightsey and Cybula participated in the annual Indian River County Sheriff’s Office BBQ where they interacted with over 500 members of the public and provided them with information about safe boating, hunting and fishing regulations. The officers brought numerous wildlife displays of native Florida species as well as an offshore patrol vessel.
 CASES
Hillsborough County
- While on patrol at the Courtney Campbell Causeway in Tampa, Officer McCormack observed a group of four individuals with a cast net and buckets on the break wall. As the officer approached the group, he noticed one of them was cleaning a fish at the water’s edge while the remaining three were loading buckets and coolers into their vehicle. Officer McCormack conducted a resource inspection of the group. The individual cleaning fish attempted to hide his fish by throwing it into the rocks. He located and recovered the fish. At completing the inspection, the officer discovered seven undersized sheepshead and an undersized mangrove snapper. Additionally, the individual who admitted to fishing also admitted to catching all the fish with the cast net, which is illegal method for the mangrove snapper. The appropriate resource citation and written warnings were issued.
 CASES
Glades County
- Officers Jake Ciprich and Marina Hammad worked the opening day of spring turkey hunting season and wrote two individuals for attempting to take wild turkeys within 100 yards of bait.
Hendry County
- Officer Shawn Polly, Captain Mike Davis and Major Dustin Bonds worked the opening day of spring turkey hunting season. They sat on multiple feeders and wrote four individuals who were hunting wild turkey within 20 yards of feeders with bait on the ground.
Martin County
- While on patrol at the Stuart Causeway, Officer Koger observed three individuals fishing. Officer Koger inspected the group’s catch and found two of the black drum were undersized. The individual who caught the fish was issued a citation for undersized black drum. The other two were issued citations for no shoreline fishing license.
Okeechobee County
- Officer Wences and Officer Pecko were working cast net violations at Port Mayaca. While conducting the fisheries inspection, Officer Wences located a redear sunfish and a black crappie that were taken by illegal method and the subjects did not have valid fishing licenses. Citations were issued accordingly.
- Lt. Hayes and Officer Landers were on land patrol the opening morning of spring turkey hunting season. They heard a shot on private land and conducted surveillance. About an hour later they heard another shot from the same location. At that time, they made contact with three subjects in a ground blind and learned two of them harvested wild turkeys and the third subject assisted by calling wild turkeys. The officers conducted a field inspection and found the area near the blind to have feed on the ground. The hunters were not 100 yards away from the bait, which resulted in a violation. Citations were issued accordingly.
Palm Beach County
- On opening day of spring turkey hunting season, Officers Stone and Riggs worked private and public land. The officers contacted 76 hunters and found a variety of violations including license violations and wildlife management area violations. All violations were appropriately addressed.
St. Lucie County
- Officer Bingham while on vessel patrol in Fort Pierce, observed a pontoon boat speeding towards him, in violation of the posted manatee slow speed zone. A vessel stop was initiated and four people were found to be on board. As Officer Bingham pulled alongside the vessel and contacted the operator, the subject apologized for the violation and then pulled away. Further investigation determined the subject was on his way to a boat ramp where Officer Bingham said he would follow him. While on the way, the subject kept taking his vessel out of gear and was drifting closer to the bridge due to winds and current. When Officer Bingham brought this to the subject’s attention, he ignored him. Once at the ramp, a safety inspection was conducted. The subject fell off his seat while attempting to get a floatation device. Officer Bingham detected a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage and observed the subject's speech was slurred and he appeared lethargic. Officer Bingham initiated an impairment investigation. The operator refused all opportunities to perform field sobriety tasks. The subject was arrested and booked in jail where he refused to provide a breath sample. He was charged with operating a vessel while impaired.
COMMUNITY ORIENTED POLICING
Palm Beach County
- Officer Riggs responded to a call about an abandoned vehicle at John D. MacArthur Beach State Park. A check of the VIN showed the vehicle was reported stolen approximately five days prior from Boynton Beach. Officer Riggs contacted the registered owner and advised him of the location of the vehicle and its undamaged status. The owner arrived and was able to jump start the vehicle and took possession of it.
 CASES
Monroe County
- Officer Carroll was on land patrol conducting resource inspections at Channel 5 bridge and saw two individuals fishing from shore. Upon inspection, the individuals did not have any fish in the cooler found in the immediate area. Officer Carroll followed one individual back to their vehicle and observed another cooler there. Inside the cooler, Officer Carroll found 12 mangrove snapper with three being undersized. The individual admitted to catching all 12 fish the day prior. The individual was issued a notice to appear in court for a violation of the bag and size limit for mangrove snapper.
- Officer Carroll responded to a delayed report of a hit and run boating accident. Through investigation, Officer Carroll found the vessel involved at a local livery location in Snake Creek. Officer Carroll was able to obtain the renters information for the individual involved. The individual who left the scene of the boating accident was issued appropriate citations.
COMMUNITY ORIENTED POLICING
Lieutenant Sapp, Lieutenant Bulger, Officer Williams and Investigator Way participated in the Kids Wooden Bridge Fishing Tournament, which is hosted annually by the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office. Many of the children from the Big Pine area come to enjoy a day of fishing with MCSO deputies and FWC officers. This event educates youth about fishing and conservation.
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