FWC Law Enforcement Weekly Reports for March 24-30

March 24 through March 30, 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 Specialist Alsobrooks located a possible bait site during spring turkey season. He observed a hunter come in and turkey hunt over the bait. Wild turkeys were in the area, but too far for the hunter to harvest. Once the turkeys left the field, Officer Alsobrooks contacted the hunter. Photos were taken of the bait and blind, which were approximately 50 yards apart. The hunter had turkey loads in his shotgun. The subject was cited for the violation.  
• Multiple officers worked together to mitigate the illegal hunting of wild turkeys on closed areas of Econfina Water Management Area. Multiple citations and warnings were issued over the weekend for hunting in a closed area. 

Escambia County

• Officer Allgood received information regarding a raccoon being kept in captivity. Officer Allgood investigated and spoke to the owner of the residence and determined he didn’t have a permit to keep wildlife. Officer Allgood issued the appropriate citations and returned the raccoon to the wild.
• Officers Allgood and Hahr conducted a resource inspection on a vessel with fishing rods at the Pensacola Pass. During their inspection, the officers located three gray triggerfish that appeared to be undersized. The officer measured the fish and determined they were all undersized. Resource citations were issued accordingly.
• Officers participated in the recovery efforts of a missing boater. While returning to the boat ramp, the vessel struck a wave causing it to capsize. One occupant swam to shore at the Naval Air Station Pensacola where he was found by U.S. Navy personnel. However, the other individual was missing. FWC, Escambia Search and Rescue, the United Cajun Navy, and local volunteers searched for approximately five days attempting to locate the missing boater. Officer Mullins was first on scene when the missing boater’s body was located.

Franklin County

• Officers Nelson, Forbes and Lieutenant Smith were conducting resource inspections on commercial shrimping vessels around the Dog Island area. While on board a shrimping vessel, Lieutenant Smith noticed a basket of stone crabs and blue crabs off to the side. Lieutenant Smith asked the captain of the vessel about the crabs, to which he replied he shouldn’t have them on board. Several violations were observed to include undersized claws, egg bearing females, and whole condition. The appropriate citations were issued.
• Officers Nelson and Young conducted a Dockside Federal Fishery Offload on a commercial bandit vessel. During the offload, Officer Nelson noticed several undersized grouper, snapper, and triggerfish. Upon measuring all the fish, it was determined the captain of the vessel was in possession of several undersized reef fish. The appropriate citations were issued.

Jackson County

• Officer H. Forehand was on patrol when he located an area that appeared to be baited for wild turkey. The area consisted of a blind with cracked corn scattered about 25 yards away. He observed two subjects with shotguns enter the blind and begin calling for turkeys. Officer Forehand approached the subjects and addressed the violations. While talking to the subjects, they stated two other people were hunting on the property. Officer Forehand then located a third hunter who was also turkey hunting over bait. Officer J. Carr responded to the area to assist. He was located the fourth hunter who was also hunting wild turkeys over bait. The officers charged all four hunters with hunting turkeys over bait. 

Santa Rosa County

• FWC Aviation Pilot Tolbert developed information on a vehicle and individuals who were repeatedly trespassing in a closed area on the Eglin Reservation and possibly committing theft. Officer J. Mullins and Reserve Officer H. Jones contacted the subject’s vehicle and two subjects in a closed area on Eglin. They were each charged with entering a closed area and having no Eglin permits. Eglin officials charged them both with theft of government property and their vehicle was seized. They were also issued administrative notices not to return to Eglin under penalty of law. One of the individuals had an active warrant and was transported to Okaloosa County Jail.
• Officer Corbin located an advertisement of personal watercraft for rent online in Navarre. Officer Corbin conducted a livery inspection at the residence/place of business. The livery did not display the proper boating safety signage, did not possess proper pre-ride/pre-rental forms, did not have a livery permit, and subjects had not taken the required boating safety course. The livery owner was issued notice to appear citations and warnings for various violations.
• Officer Corbin observed a sign advertising pontoon boats and paddleboards for rent in Milton. Officer’s Matechik and Corbin conducted a livery inspection at the residence/place of business. The livery did not display the proper boating safety signage, did not possess proper pre-ride/pre-rental forms, and did not have a livery permit. In addition, the rental vessel registration was not properly displayed and the address on the registration had not been updated. The livery owner was issued a notice to appear citation and several warnings for the violations.
• Officer Corbin was patrolling the Navarre Beach Causeway when he observed two subjects who had been fishing pack their gear in their vehicle and leave. One of the subjects was known to have a suspended/revoked fishing license and both subjects had suspended/revoked driver’s licenses. A traffic stop was conducted, and the driver was issued a notice to appear for driving on a suspended license. The other subject was cited for not having a fishing license and fishing on a suspended/revoked fishing license.
• Officer Corbin received a complaint of a derelict vessel near a dock in Gulf Breeze. The dock owner advised the vessel had sunk a few years ago at the dock and the weather caused the vessel to move to its current location, approximately 30 feet from the dock. The vessel and owner of the vessel were identified. The vessel owner acknowledged his vessel sank and he never removed it from the water. The owner was issued a notice to appear citation for storing a derelict vessel on state waters.

Walton County

• Officers Yates and Letcher completed an investigation involving felony trespass. Camera footage captured a subject in possession of a shotgun being dropped off and climbing over a fence to enter posted private property. The property land manager requested the subject be charged for trespassing. Both subjects were identified, and a warrant was issued for felony trespass for one of the subjects and the other was charged for conspiracy. Officer J. Brooks later met with the subject who had the active warrant and booked him into the Walton County Jail for the felony trespass violation.   
• Officer Tison received information about a subject hunting on Eglin Wildlife Management Area in November 2022. Due to a prior night hunting violation, the subject was suspended from hunting. Also, due to a protection order injunction, the subject is not allowed to possess a firearm. The complainant had a trail camera on Eglin WMA that captured multiple images of the subject carrying a gun and wearing camouflage. Officer Tison obtained the images from the complainant and was able to positively identify the subject from prior dealings. After monitoring the camera, a warrant was obtained for the subject for two counts of hunting with a suspended/revoked license, two counts of violation of a protection order injunction, and three counts of no Eglin WMA permit. The subject was arrested without incident.
• Officer Tison received a complaint of an alligator taken illegally from a lake. The subjects allegedly removed a large alligator from Lake Juniper Fish Management Area, and allegedly a third subject arrived at their location and used his pickup truck to remove the alligator. Officer Tison responded to the scene, and the subjects were no longer there, but had left their vessel grounded on the shore. After the subjects returned to retrieve their vessel, Officer Tison interviewed them, and they denied taking an alligator. No blood was found at the scene or in the truck. The following day an alligator was found tied up alive with its mouth taped shut in a wooded area next to a residence about a mile from the original complaint location. Officers Tison, Letcher, and Yates recovered the alligator and returned it to the wild. Further investigation uncovered video surveillance showing a pickup truck matching the truck driven by the subject entering and exiting the location of the bound alligator after the time in which the complaint was called in. Two eyewitness statements were obtained from individuals who saw the subject take the alligator. Officer Tison filed warrants on the three subjects for illegal take of alligator and for the two subjects who dumped the alligator, two felony counts of animal cruelty and failure to sign citation charges were filed. Two of the subjects were arrested without incident, one is still wanted.
• While on patrol, Lieutenant Hollinhead located a subject trespassing on private property turkey hunting on the boundary of Choctawhatchee Wildlife Management Area. Due to the property being well posted, the land manager requested the subject be charged for the trespassing violation.

Washington County

• Lieutenant Walsingham was on patrol in the Choctawhatchee River Wildlife Management Area, Gum Creek Unit, which is part of the Choctawhatchee North Spring Turkey Quota Hunt Area. He encountered two subjects who were turkey hunting and had accessed the area by vessel from the river. The lieutenant educated the subjects about the limited two-weekend season and quota permit requirement for the area since they were hunting during closed season for the area and did not have quota permits. Appropriate citations were issued for attempting to take turkey during closed season in the WMA, illegal method for attempting to take turkey with centerfire rifle, no hunting license, no management area permit, no turkey permit, and no quota permit.

CASES

Alachua County

• Senior Officer Stanley was observing a baited area on private property and saw two subjects enter the property and walk through the bait and set up to hunt wild turkey. The subjects put out two turkey decoys and sat down against a tree about 15 to 20 yards from the bait. One of them immediately started using his turkey calls to attract wild turkeys in the area. Senior Officer Stanley contacted the subjects and wrote a criminal citation for attempt to take wild turkey within 100 yards of bait. 

Baker County

•  Senior Officer Burnsed was working Osceola Wildlife Management Area when he checked a turkey hunter. Officer Burnsed located corn within 20 yards of the subject’s blind. The subject was charged with hunting over bait in a wildlife management area and hunting wild turkey within 100 yards of the baited area.

Citrus County

• Officer Specialist Reid was on water patrol in Crystal River when he observed four subjects fishing from a vessel. During a boating safety and resource inspection, the vessel captain stated there was a spotted sea trout in the cooler. Officer Reid observed fishing rods baited with cut up spotted sea trout on a hook. Officer Reid issued the vessel captain a citation for failure to land spotted sea trout in whole condition.
• Officer Specialist Browning was conducting boating safety and resource inspections at a local boat ramp in Ozello. Upon inspecting a vessel with two subjects who were returning from fishing, the officer located two red drum with one being under the minimum size requirement of 18 inches, and a black drum under the minimum size requirement of 14 inches. The captain of the vessel was issued a citation for undersized red drum and a warning for the undersized black drum.
• Officer Specialist Ulrich was conducting patrols in Citrus Wildlife Management Area during a spring turkey quota permit hunt. While verifying harvest records with the wildlife management area records, Officer Ulrich observed a hunter failed to check a wild turkey into the check station. Officer Ulrich met with the hunter and confirmed they harvested a wild turkey. The subject left the management area and processed their harvest prior to checking the turkey in at the check station. The subject was issued a citation for failing to check game in at the check station.
• Officer Sarmiento conducted a vessel stop on a canoe with two occupants to perform a resource inspection and discovered undersized trout. The two subjects were charged for the violations.
• Officer Jovanov conducted a vessel stop to perform a resource inspection and address the vessel registration, which had expired nearly a year ago. During the resource inspection, an undersized trout was discovered on board. The subject was charged for the violation and the vessel operator was given a warning for the expired registration.
• Officer Pietroburgo began an investigation concerning the take of over the bag limit of redfish by a charter guide angler. After interviewing the individual and obtaining a confession, Officer Pietroburgo issued a citation for the take and possession of over the vessel limit of redfish.

Clay County

• Officer Heath received information about multiple wild turkeys being harvested under the same quota permit in Jennings Forest Wildlife Management Area. The quota permit holder and guest must share the bag limit during a quota hunt. He conducted interviews with several subjects and determined the quota holder was over the bag limit for wild turkey. Citations were issued for over the bag limit for wild turkey and failure to complete a harvest report.

Dixie County

• Senior K-9 Officer Wiggins received information that a subject had trespassed and harvested a wild turkey from a property he did not have permission to hunt. The landowner had confronted the subject and taken a picture of the subject holding the harvested turkey and a shotgun. Officer Wiggins and Senior Officer Cooper, Officer Specialist Troiano, and Lieutenant Ward responded to the scene. The officers investigated and Senior K-9 Officer Wiggins used his K-9 partner to locate wild turkey feathers, shotgun wading, and a spent shotgun shell. The subject admitted to trespassing, but the harvested wild turkey was unable to be located. Senior K-9 Officer Wiggins will directly file an armed trespass charge with the State Attorney’s Office.

Levy County

• Officer Specialist Fox found several piles of illegally dumped livestock parts in Goethe Wildlife Management Area. After investigating, he identified a subject who lived nearby. Officer Fox interviewed the subject who confessed to dumping the livestock parts. Charges are pending with the State Attorney’s Office.

OFFSHORE PATROL

• Officer Suttles and Hughes were on water patrol aboard the Fincat Offshore Patrol Vessel off Citrus County. While on patrol, they observed several stone crab trap buoys with 20 to 30 feet of floating line across the water’s surface. Traps cannot exceed five feet of floating line on the surface of the water. The officers documented two different sets of traps having these violations. The owners of the traps were contacted and cited accordingly.

COMMUNITY ORIENTED POLICING

Duval County

• Officer Specialist Hausler represented the FWC at the Keiser University’s Criminal Justice Day and presented information about FWC’s core mission and the daily life of a conservation law enforcement officer. Additionally, he answered questions from prospective students interested in becoming an FWC officer, raised awareness for resource conservation and boating safety, and provided students and other interested parties with information about hunting and fishing regulations. The outreach event was successful in potential recruitment opportunities and strengthening community relations between the FWC and the local area.

Taylor County

• Officer Rowe participated in a “Touch-A-Truck” event in Perry with many other participants including Perry Police Department, Taylor County Sheriff’s Office, and Taylor County Fire and Rescue. Officer Rowe displayed her patrol truck and airboat for 100 youth who visited the FWC’s exhibit.

CASES

Sumter County

• Senior Officer Phillips was on foot patrol in the closed area of Richloam Wildlife Management Area when he heard someone using a turkey call from the edge of a cattle pasture. He worked his way towards the calls until he observed two hunters dressed in camouflage who were waving decoy fans to attract wild turkeys. Officer Phillips contacted the two subjects, and they gathered their hunting equipment and walked with him back to their vehicles. As they crossed the fence line, Officer Phillips pointed out the posted closed area sign for the property. The subjects admitted to hunting there in the past and harvesting wild turkey. Both subjects were cited appropriately.

Volusia County

• Officer Stoker was conducting water patrol around Mullet Creek within New Smyrna Beach. While navigating through the creek from the Intracoastal Waterway, Officer Stoker observed a vessel leave the sandbar and almost cause a collision with another vessel. Once the vessel cleared the congested area, Officer Stoker initiated a vessel stop and established reasonable suspicion the operator was under the influence of alcohol or drugs. The operator submitted to standardized Seated Field Sobriety Tasks and after administering the sobriety tasks, Officer Stoker placed the subject under arrest for boating under the influence. The subject was transported to New Smyrna Beach Police Department for a breath test. The results of the breath test were not conclusive because the operator failed to provide enough breath volume. The subject was transported to the Volusia County Branch Jail without further incident. The Violation of Navigational Rule 5 (risk of collision) was also addressed.
• Officer Quick was on vessel patrol in the St. Johns River when he observed a vessel violating the Manatee Slow Speed Zone. A vessel stop was conducted and a boating safety check was performed. Officer Quick observed several obvious signs of impairment from the operator during the vessel stop. An investigation was conducted, and the operator was found to be impaired. The operator was charged appropriately.

COMMUNITY ORIENTED POLICING

Lake County

• Lieutenant Chase attended the annual Lake Griffin State Park Fishing Clinic. Approximately 70 children attended the event. Lieutenant Chase was able to educate the youth about the FWC, our role in conserving Florida’s resources, and the partnership we have with our state parks. Lieutenant Chase also helped the youth who were new to fishing.

Marion County

• Officer Specialist Weber helped conduct an outreach event for approximately 75 attendees of AMP Camp at Camp Kiwanis, located in the Ocala National Forest. AMP Camp is for mobility-impaired children whose motto is "Never Say Never." The children were fascinated with FWC's patrol vessel and the small alligator Officer Specialist Weber brought.

Osceola County

• Officer Specialist Weber conducted an outreach event for approximately 65 members of The Rotary Club of Kissimmee Bay. Topics discussed included an overview of the FWC and the impacts of commercializing Florida's native wildlife. The Rotary Club enjoyed the presentation so much they made a charitable donation to the Red Backpack Program on behalf of Officer Weber. The Red Backpack Program provides weekend supplemental food for needy children at Partin Settlement Elementary School.

St. Johns County

• Officers Self and Chamberlain attended an outreach event at the Fish Bites Tackle Shop for a surf fishing tournament. The officers interacted with participants, local charter captains, YouTube fishing influencers, and tackle suppliers. Attendees appreciated the opportunity to ask the officers questions and get their feedback.

CASES

Charlotte County

• Officer Specialist Birchfield was patrolling the Port Charlotte Beach Fishing Pier at night during the first week of snook season and observed a subject catch a snook and place it in a bag. The subject then quickly packed up and left the fishing pier. Officer Specialist Birchfield contacted the subject at the end of the pier to conduct a fisheries inspection, which revealed the subject had caught and kept and undersized snook. The officer explained the violation and issued a citation for the illegal possession of the snook.

Desoto County

• Officer Stephens was working on a site baited with millet seed and cracked corn to attract wild turkey. He observed three subjects entering a ground blind within five yards of the baited area the next morning. Officer Stephens contacted the subjects and learned it was a guided hunt. After interviewing the subjects, Officer Stephens issued them a notice to appear for taking or attempting to take wild turkeys over bait. Charges are pending for simple trespass for retrieving a wild turkey from adjoining property.
• Officer Geeraerts and Officer Hazelwood were working a baited area and observed a subject enter a ground blind located near a feeder just before daylight. The subject placed decoys in front of the blind and began calling just after daylight. The officers announced their presence and contacted the individual for a resource inspection. The subject admitted to knowing the bait was there and that it was illegal to hunt over it. The subject was issued a notice to appear for the violation.
• Officer Geeraerts responded to a boating accident on the Peace River where a vessel struck a rock in the river, which caused it to sink with three people on board. Officer Geeraerts was able to make it to the scene and learned that two subjects walked to town to get help. She transported the third subject back to the ramp. The investigation is ongoing.

Lee County

• Officer Price was working enhanced patrol at a South Florida Water Management District property when he observed people fishing in a canal. He stopped to conduct a fisheries inspection, when he observed a subject driving a dirt bike on District property. As the dirt bike came in his direction, Officer Price motioned for the subject to stop, but the driver kept going and appeared to be trying to get away. Officer Price used his knowledge of the area and jumped on his patrol ATV and made his way around to the back of the property where he knew the dirt bike would eventually go. After a few minutes, he observed the dirt bike coming in his direction and when the two crossed paths, the man on the dirt bike came to a stop. During the stop, Officer Price learned he had stopped the man on two separate occasions in year’s past and issued him warnings for illegally operating a motor vehicle on District properties. The officer issued citations for operating a motor vehicle on District lands and warned about the severity of a potential arrest for fleeing to elude the police.   

Manatee County

• While performing resource inspections near the South Skyway Fishing Pier Relief Bridge, Officer Specialist Klobuchar found a subject in possession of three undersized mangrove snapper and one egg-bearing female stone crab in whole condition with undersized claws. He issued citations for the violations.

Pinellas County

• While on water patrol, Officer Hoppe observed individuals cleaning fish at a marina. He contacted the individuals and while conducting a fisheries inspection, he found the individuals to be in possession of an oversized redfish as well as being over the vessel limit of redfish. Officer Hoppe issued one of the individuals a citation for possession of an oversized redfish along with a warning for being over the vessel limit of redfish.
• Officer Hoppe conducted a boating safety inspection on a vessel that returned to a nearby ramp and observed a passenger showing signs of impairment. Officer Hoppe finished the boating safety inspection and as he was leaving, he witnessed the impaired passenger get behind the wheel of a vehicle and attempt to pull the vessel out of the water. Officer Hoppe observed the individual struggle with operating the vehicle and conducted a vehicle stop. He contacted the individual and asked them to conduct standardized field sobriety tasks. The individual refused and was transported to the Pinellas County jail for DUI and refusal to submit to a breath test.
• Lieutenant Bibeau observed a fishing vessel return to a nearby boat ramp and contacted the individuals onboard the vessel. During a fisheries inspection, Lieutenant Bibeau located one 13-inch red grouper along with an undersized and out of season gag grouper. He issued the operator of the vessel a warning for possession of an undersized gag grouper and two citations for possession of an undersized red grouper and an out of season gag grouper.

Polk County

• Lieutenant Karr was on patrol in Polk County Park when he observed two subjects actively cast netting from the bank of a small freshwater pond. He saw one subject wade into the water and throw the cast net several times. Each time the subject would throw the cast net, return to land, and the other subject standing nearby would help shake out the net, and place all the fish into a large cooler nearby. After observing the subjects, Lieutenant Karr contacted them. The subjects told him they were catching tilapia. He conducted a resource inspection and located one largemouth bass, one crappie, and two bluegills in the cooler. One subject said they caught all the fish with the cast net. The other subject did not have a valid freshwater license. Both subjects were cited accordingly. 
• Officer Fioramanti was on land based resource patrol in the area of Camp Mack Road when he observed two vehicles revving their engines, when he approached the vehicles, one fled the area and the other attempted to flee. Officer Fioramanti commanded the driver stop the vehicle and after it was stopped, two of the occupants fled on foot. When Officer Fioramanti re-established contact with the driver, he saw in plain view, one open container and another unopened alcohol beverage on the seat next to the driver. During the investigation, it was discovered the driver was a minor. Contact was made with the driver’s parents who responded to the scene. The driver was cited accordingly.

Sarasota County

• Officer Johnston conducted a resource inspection on a vessel at a boat ramp and discovered the individual on board had kept three undersized seatrout. Officer Johnston issued a citation for the underside fish.
• Officer Specialist Morrow and Officer Blyar were on water patrol near Venice Inlet. A vessel was returning from the Gulf of Mexico and had multiple fishing rods on board. A resource inspection was conducted and several undersized red groupers, a grey triggerfish, and a bag of fillets were discovered.  Several citations were issued for the violations.
• Officer Blyar and Officer Arthur Morrow were on uniformed boat patrol in the Venice Inlet when they observed a vessel with multiple fishing rods coming in from offshore. Officer Blyar conducted a fisheries inspection of the vessel and found one undersized red grouper that measured at 13 ¼ inches, one grey snapper that measured 9 5/8 inches, a bag of fish fillets from triggerfish, and the tail of a yellowtail snapper. The subject said he was using the yellowtail snapper as bait. The subject was written citations for not landing fish in whole condition and undersized red grouper. He was given warnings for using reef fish as bait and being in possession of an undersized grey snapper.
• Later that day Officers Blyar and Morrow stopped another vessel and conducted a fisheries inspection. During the inspection they found two undersized red grouper one measured at 10 ½ inches and the second measured at 19 7/8 inches. The subject was written one citation for undersized red grouper and a warning for the other undersized red grouper.

COMMUNITY ORIENTED POLICING

Charlotte County

• Officer Specialist Birchfield conducted a public outreach event at Riverside RV Park to discuss how residents can safely co-exist with alligators. Approximately 200 people were in attendance and many questions were answered during the Q&A. Educational brochures were provided along with additional literature for the park to display.

Sarasota County

• Officer Specialist Dalton visited the Haven South Aktion Club in Venice to give a presentation about the FWC’s mission and the duties and responsibilities of conservation law enforcement officers. After the presentation, Officer Specialist Dalton answered questions and provided FWC information and resources to the club members. The Haven South Aktion Club is a service club for adults with disabilities and the club members of Venice are the main participants in the Shark Tooth Fishing Tournament, which FWC and the Venice Police Department facilitate and participate in every year.

MAJOR WILDLIFE ASSISTANCE

Lee County

• Officer Perry received information about a sick manatee. After searching the area, he found the sick manatee in shallow waters. Officer Perry called the rescue team and the manatee was picked up by rescuers to be treated and released upon recovery. 

CASES

Broward County

• Captive Wildlife Investigator Wright received a complaint regarding an individual feeding a vervet monkey in the wild.  There is a wild population of this species in Broward County. A link was provided to YouTube showing the individual feeding the monkeys, and saying he needed help catching one. Investigator Wright identified the subject and contacted him via telephone to educate him about it being illegal to feed wildlife in the manner he was. The subject refused to speak with Investigator Wright, and instead provided contact information for his attorney. Several days later, Investigator Wright contacted the individual in person and issued him a citation for the illegal feeding of wildlife.
• Captive Wildlife Investigators Wright and Corteguera were inspecting a facility licensed for wildlife rehabilitation and observed a child playing with a squirrel. Animals being rehabilitated are required to be rehabbed in a manner that gives them the best chance of being released back into the wild. Playing with the animal in this manner is a violation, as prolonged exposure to humans will make it unable to be released. A citation was issued for the improper rehabilitation of wildlife, and the squirrel was transferred to a different facility. Several warnings were issued as well for other violations at the facility. 

CASES

Monroe County

• Investigator Chris Mattson was on federal water patrol near North Dry Rocks and observed a vessel displaying a dive flag idling around the area with free divers in the water. Investigator Mattson recognized the vessel from an earlier encounter. Further investigation revealed the subjects were spearfishing in the Key Largo Existing Management Area. Investigator Mattson conducted a resource and fisheries inspection on the vessel. Master name index check indicated the subjects had been cited for spearfishing at the reef known as the Elbow earlier this year. An inspection of their catch revealed six barracuda, four yellow jacks, three mutton snapper and a triggerfish. Both subjects were written federal citations for spearing in the Key Largo EMA and having more than five fish.
• Officer Daniel Marshall was on state land patrol north bound on U.S. 1 near the 59-mile marker when he observed a white Cadillac Sedan stopped in the lane of travel with the vehicle ahead of it being approximately 200 yards away. The vehicle did not move for approximately two minutes. Officer Marshall conducted a traffic stop and to address the violations. After approaching the vehicle in the roadway, he noticed the driver and occupant were asleep in the car. While requesting the individual’s driver’s license, vehicle registration, and proof of insurance. Officer Marshall observed the defendant having glassy, bloodshot eyes with droopy eyelids. The vehicle operator was arrested for DUI, possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia, and impeding traffic and the passenger was arrested for possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.
• Officer John Sturgeon and Captain David Dipre were looking for a flare spotted in the vicinity of Blackwater Sound. While asking boaters in the surrounding area, Captain Dipre observed a vessel with no navigational lights exiting the Reefhouse Boat Ramp traveling west. When asking if anyone on board had seen the flare, Captain Dipre observed signs of impairment from the vessel operator. Officer Sturgeon conducted a vessel safety inspection and standardized field sobriety tasks. The operator was arrested for boating under the influence and transported to the Plantation Key Jail without incident.
• Investigator Chris Mattson was on unmarked federal water patrol near Conch Reef Research Area off Tavernier. Conch Reef Research Area is closed to boat traffic unless the vessel has a permit to be there. Investigator Mattson watched as a Twin Vee vessel came into the no entry zone and tied up to one of the buoys. Investigator Mattson approached the vessel and discovered it was a commercial  charter vessel from the Islamorada area. The captain was issued a federal citation for being inside the no entry zone.
• Investigator Chris Mattson was on unmarked federal water patrol near Conch Reef when he observed a vessel moored and tied up to one of the yellow boundary "no fishing” buoys. The subjects indicated they didn’t know they couldn’t fish that area. One subject was cited for fishing in the sanctuary preservation area and two other subjects were cited for having expired saltwater fishing licenses.
• FWC Officers Josh Kampman and Alex Russell were on patrol near Channel 2 when they found subjects fishing under the bridge. As they approached the subjects, one of them stood up and began to carry a cooler toward the water’s edge. The officers directed the man to put the cooler down, which he did. They conducted a resource inspection and found several species of fish in the cooler, including three undersized mutton snapper. They issued the appropriate charges.
• Monroe County Sheriff’s Office requested assistance from FWC in locating individuals in Boot Key Harbor discharging firearms. FWC Officers Lt. John Martino, Daniel Jones, Matt Williams, and Paris Winter, as well as out-of-county FWC Officers Gabby Midolo, Robert Rivard, Josh Kampmann, Keaton Hazelwood, Alex Randall, Lt. Jason Dalton, Captain Guy Carpenter, and Joshua Little, responded to assist. The U.S. Coast Guard and Florida Highway Patrol also assisted with the search for the subjects on Boot Key. The first responding officers located and detained one of the subjects. FWC officers, two Coast Guardsmen, and MCSO deputies patrolled Boot Key Harbor, Sister's Creek, and Sombrero Beach for the second subject while others posted security around Boot key. The captain of a Two Conchs Charter boat located the second subject, who was clinging to a lobster buoy on the southwest side of Boot Key. Both subjects were arrested.

MAJOR WILDLIFE ASSISTANCE Officer Paris Winter and Officer Daniel Jones responded to an injured bird in Upper Sugarloaf Sound. A local tour guide informed the officers of the bird's location and they used a kayak to rescue it from inside the mangroves. The bird, identified as a great blue heron white morph, was taken to Key West Wildlife Center where it’s being treated for parasites and administered fluids with calories.