FWC Law Enforcement Weekly Reports: Jan. 26-Feb. 1

January 26, 2024 through February 1, 2024

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

Franklin County

• Officer Hartzog was patrolling Timber Island and observed a group of individuals fishing from the bridge over Postum Bayou. Officer Hartzog conducted a resource inspection and observed the subjects to be in possession of multiple undersized spotted seatrout. Also, none of the individuals possessed a valid fishing license. Officer L. McLeod arrived on scene to assist and the officers asked for identification from the individuals to address the violations. One of the individuals fled the area on foot and it was discovered that subject had an active warrant. Officer L. McLeod and Lieutenant Cook located the subject walking down U.S. Highway 98. He was arrested for providing a false name to law enforcement, interference of an FWC officer and resisting without violence. All additional resource and license violations were addressed accordingly. 

Okaloosa County

• Investigator Pifer was patrolling a management unit at Eglin AFB where two game cameras had been placed overlooking a baited area. Investigator Pifer found and identified a subject near the baited area and contacted him. After a short investigation and interview, he was able to link the subject to the cameras and bait. Investigator Pifer notified a federal officer with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service about the situation. The subject was issued a federal citation and a notice suspending his recreational privileges on Eglin AFB for three years for the violation. Investigator Pifer issued the subject a notice to appear for the violation.

CASES

Baker County

• Master Officer Burnsed received a report of two individuals harvesting an illegal deer in Osceola Wildlife Management Area. Officer Burnsed determined the identity of the individuals. An interview was conducted, and the two subjects admitted to killing the antlerless deer. Charges were filed with the Baker County State Attorney. 

Duval County

• Master Officer Lentz responded to a text message and photos from a landowner regarding two individuals trespassing on his property. One subject was carrying a gun case and both two subjects walked past a "No Trespassing" sign. Master Officer Lentz observed two individuals that matched the images from the camera get into a car. A vehicle stop revealed neither subject had identification and both subjects were under the age of 18 and possessed a learner’s permit only. Each subject was issued a notice to appear citation for trespassing. In addition, the driver was issued a citation for violations of the learner's permit.
• Officer Goodfellow and Officer Payne were conducting resource inspections at the Jacksonville Fishing Pier. They identified an individual fishing and conducted an inspection. The subject was in possession of four undersized bluefish that were in a backpack inside of a gallon bag. The subject was issued two citations for undersized and over the bag limit of bluefish. 
• Officer Goodfellow and Senior Officer Geib were on patrol in the St. Johns River near Blount Island when they identified several crab traps buoys in the water during closed season. The officers verified the endorsement numbers on the buoys and traps were the same and contacted the trap owner. The owner was issued two citations: One for use of traps during closed season, the second for conditions of buoys as several buoys were not easily legible. 
• Officer Moran was on patrol near Faye Road. She observed two individuals fishing and conducted a check that revealed a one of the subjects was under a court ordered (capias) warrant. The subject was arrested and transported to the Duval County Jail. 
• Officer Austin received a call about commercial blue crab traps being in the water in a closed area of the St. Johns River.  From Jan. 16, through Jan. 25, the use of traps to harvest blue crabs is prohibited in all waters of the St. Johns River, its associated lakes, and tributaries from west of the St. Johns River’s intersection with the Intracoastal. Officer Austin responded and found 35 commercial blue crab traps in the closed area. The commercial angler was contacted and issued citations for the violation.    

Nassau County

• Senior Officer Tucker conducted an inspection on two individuals fishing and found three red drum, two spotted seatrout and some unregulated species. Two of the red drum and one of the spotted seatrout were undersized and the angler did not possess a shoreline fishing license. Officer Tucker explained the size and bag limits for regulated fish. One of the anglers took responsibility and was issued citations for possession of undersized spotted seatrout, possession of undersized red drum and over the bag limit for red drum. 

Taylor County

• Officer Anderson was patrolling the coast and observed a shrimp boat shrimping with nets in the water. Anderson observed the shrimp boat was inside the Big Bend Nursery, which is illegal to harvest shrimp in. The vessel was stopped and the operator was issued a citation for the violation. 

Union County

• Senior Officer Gill was contacted by the Union County Sheriff’s Office to help locate an individual. Union County Sheriff’s Office deputies were in pursuit of a fleeing motorcycle when the operator crashed and ran on foot from the scene. Officer Gill arrived and deployed K-9 Camo who found the subject in an area of dense vegetation. 

CASES

Brevard County

• While off duty, Officer Hopkins received information that an angler appeared to be filleting undersized cobia at a local marina. Officer Hopkins notified Officer St. Martin who was on duty. Upon arriving on scene, Officer St. Martin identified the anglers at the fillet table and located an undersized cobia still in whole condition. While conducting his investigation, Officer St. Martin observed the angler who was in possession of the undersized cobia was operating as a charter captain without proper licensing. Both violations were documented accordingly.
• Officer Specialist Hallsten was conducting foot patrol on St. Johns River Water Management District property in an area posted “closed to hunting” when he contacted two subjects who were hunting. The subjects stated they did not know the area was closed to hunting. The subjects were taken back to their vessel where they had entered the property and a “closed to hunting sign” was posted 40 yards away. The subjects were issued citations accordingly.

Marion County

• Officer Specialist L. Dickson and Officer Lambert were patrolling at local boat ramps and checking duck hunters for compliance with regulations. During a resource inspection, they discovered a subject who had used an unplugged shotgun and was in possession of two out-of-season common gallinule (moorhen). Appropriate citations were issued.
• Officer Specialists D. Dickson and L. Dickson and Officer Lambert responded to a local lock and dam compound owned by the Florida Greenway in reference to a possible burglary in progress. Upon arrival, it was found that four subjects had climbed through holes in two separate fences to gain access and were fishing in the old lock structure. Three adult subjects were charged with trespass and a minor was issued a verbal warning for the same.

Orange County

• Officer Specialist Hallsten conducted a resource inspection on two subjects who had been fishing along a creek. The subjects attempted to flee on a motorcycle and tamper with evidence by throwing a concealed firearm into the creek. Upon the subject’s arrest, it was discovered the subject had several felony warrants out of Seminole County. The subject was a convicted felon in possession of a firearm and a stolen motorcycle and was driving on a suspended license and had no motorcycle endorsement. Additionally, he was in possession of methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia and a stolen credit card with over $8,000 in fraudulent charges. The other subject was in possession of methamphetamine, fentanyl, and drug paraphernalia.  Both subjects were booked into the Orange County Jail.

St. John’s County

• While conducting fisheries inspections at Vilano Beach Boat Ramp, Senior Officer Thomas stopped a vessel returning from fishing. During the inspection, she located an oversized red drum. The owner and operator was cited for the violation.

COMMUNITY ORIENTED POLICING

Brevard County

• Lieutenant Riley taught a hunter safety course at the American Police Hall of Fame & Museum in Titusville for about 18 students. Hunter safety courses are designed to help students become safe, responsible and knowledgeable hunters and learn about conservation. 

CASES

Hillsborough County

• Senior Officer Ferguson and Senior Lieutenant George Wells were on patrol when they encountered subjects who were stop netting Broad Creek. The subjects had a net strung across the creek during an outgoing tide while they were cast netting in the deeper water. During the interview, one subject admitted it was his net and he placed it across the creek to stop the fish from getting out while they cast netted them. A citation was issued with a court date for the stop netting and two written warnings were issued for no fishing licenses.
• While on patrol at the Courtney Campbell Causeway, Officer McCormack conducted a resource inspection of two anglers. They were found to be in possession of six undersized spotted seatrout. The appropriate law enforcement actions were taken. 

Lee County

• Officer Hardgrove was conducting resource inspections when he observed a vessel returning from fishing. During the inspection, Officer Hardgrove found an undersized mutton snapper and a greater amberjack that was undersized and out of season. One of the three subjects admitted to catching the fish and citations were issued to the subject for the violations. 

Pinellas County

• While on land patrol, Officer Hoppe observed an individual fishing with a cast net at a spillway. Officer Hoppe contacted the individual and conducted a fisheries inspection. At the conclusion of the inspection, he found the individual to be in possession of an out-of-season and undersized snook, which was illegally harvested with a cast net. Officer Hoppe issued the individual a citation for harvesting an undersized snook and warnings for illegal method of harvest and possession of an out-of-season snook.

CASES

Broward County

• Officers Beppel, Bouras, Dudas and Rigali conducted patrol at the Hillsboro Inlet and stopped a vessel for a resource inspection. The officers found two occupants to be in possession of about 12 gallons of shrimp. The bag limit for shrimp is five gallons per vessel. The officers issued both occupants notice to appear citations for possession of over the bag limit of shrimp. 
• Officers Giani and Bouras conducted patrol at the Hillsboro Inlet and stopped a vessel for a resource inspection. The inspection revealed three out-of-season red grouper, two of which were undersized. One subject was issued a notice to appear citation for the violations.
• Officers Favrot and Beppel conducted water patrol at the Port Everglades inlet and stopped a vessel for a fisheries inspection. Their inspection revealed two undersized yellowtail snapper. The officers issued one subject a notice to appear citation for the violation.
• Officer Bovee investigated a possible bird poisoning and found a pest control company improperly administered a bird control product. Officer Bovee issued a notice to appear citation for the violation.
• Officer Hammad conducted patrol at STA 2 Waterfowl Public Small Game Hunting Area and stopped a vehicle for a permit inspection. The officer’s inspection revealed the subject in possession of the permit was not the actual permit holder and the permit holder was not present in the vehicle. Hammad issued both the driver and passenger notice to appear citations for not having a quota permit. Additionally, the one subject was issued a notice to appear citation for interference with a FWC Officer (providing false information about being the permit holder). 
• FWC officers and special operations group members conducted a security detail at a ceremony celebrating the filling of the first cell of the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) Stormwater Treatment Area Restoration Project. 

Glades County

• Officers Dial and Bray were on patrol, conducting angler checks at the Indian Prairie Canal. The officers stopped a vessel with four subjects on board and observed they were over their legal bag limit of crappie. One subject was issued a notice to appear for being in possession of 15 crappie over his allowable limit. Another subject was issued a citation for no freshwater fishing license.
• Officer Hudson was on patrol at Harney Pond Boat Ramp when he observed several subjects fishing on a dock posted with a sign that indicated fishing was not allowed from the dock. As the officer approached the subjects, one of them threw a crappie into the water. The officer conducted a resource inspection and found the subject was in possession of three undersized black crappie and did not have a valid freshwater fishing license. Due to the numerous prior violations, the subject was issued a notice to appear for three counts of possessing black crappie under 10 inches. 

Hendry County

• Officer Hudson observed a subject set up with multiple coolers and a sign listing different types of seafood in Clewiston. He stopped and conducted a quality control inspection including asking for receipts for all the saltwater products. The vendor was unable to provide receipts for some of the fish and had partially thawed fish in a chest freezer that was not plugged in. There were also shucked oysters in unlabeled plastic containers with sell by date. The vendor had no record of where the oysters came from and did not have the warning label on the container. The oyster cooler and the containers were not cold. The subject was issued citations for the violations. 

Palm Beach County

• Officer Morgan inspected a vessel livery in Boynton Beach after receiving a call that personal watercraft were being rented to individuals without the proper boater education requirements. Upon contact with the livery owner and interviews with customers, it was determined the livery had rented PWCs to individuals who did not have valid boater education, failed to retain 90-day records for rentals, had no fire extinguishers on rented PWCs and did not have an FWC livery permit. Officer Morgan issued four citations to the rental company operator.

St. Lucie County

•  While on land patrol at a boat ramp, Officer Barghouty observed two people cast netting fish. One subject stated he was targeting mullet. A bucket near him contained snook, mangrove snapper, and sheepshead and all fish were undersized except for one.  The other subject said one mullet and other unregulated fish in the bucket were his. A license check was also conducted on both individuals. Multiple citations were issued for harvest of undersized fish, harvest of fish by an illegal method, and possession of snook during the closed season.  A fishing license citation was also issued along with several warnings.
• While on land patrol, Officer Barghouty observed a subject fishing from a bridge along the highway. As Officer Barghouty approached the subject, he observed a second subject, not on the bridge, attempt to grab a cooler to dump its contents back into the water. Once contact was made, the subjects’ cooler contained multiple mangrove snapper including 21 undersized fish. Several citations were issued, including harvest over the bag limit and harvest of undersized snapper.  
• Officers Bingham and Barghouty, along with members of the United States Coast Guard, conducted a joint nighttime enforcement operation targeting navigation light violations. Multiple vessels were inspected and six citations were issued for light violations and two citations were issued for expired registrations.

CASES

Collier County

• Officer Creel and Investigator Rubenstein responded to a person illegally camping in Marco Island. While Officer Creel was talking to the individual, he noticed a strong odor coming from behind the RV. Officer Creel noticed the vehicle was backed down at a decline with the valve to the sewage system open. The subject was cited for dumping sewage from a vehicle and his information was provided to Marco Island Police Department.
• Captive Wildlife Investigator Corteguera concluded an investigation regarding a video posted on social media showing an individual’s hand making contact with a tiger’s nose through its enclosure. Through interviews, he learned a facility employee allowed a family member to bypass the public safety barrier and to make the unauthorized contact. The employee was issued a citation for the violation. 

Monroe County

• Officers Rabold and Allen were on water patrol when they observed a commercial stone crab vessel.  The officers stopped the vessel to conduct a resource inspection. Upon seeing the patrol vessel, one of the occupants of the commercial vessel threw a small bucket overboard. The officers retrieved the bucket from the water and observed it contained 15 stone crab claws, 10 of which were under the legal-size limit. The individual was placed under arrest for possession of 10 undersized stone crab claws and interference with an FWC officer.  

COMMUNITY ORIENTED POLICING

Collier County

• Officers Foell, Richards, and Alvarez participated in a career day at the Basilica School of Saint Mary in Key West. During the event, the officers educated the students about conservation, the mission of the FWC and how law enforcement officers support that mission.

Statewide Summary of Boating Related Law Enforcement Activities

For January 1 - 31, 2024