FWC Law Enforcement Weekly Reports: March 22-28

March 22, 2024 through March 28, 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

Walton County

• Officers Yates, Letcher, and Lieutenant Tison received information about a subject killing an antlered deer a week after deer season had ended. The tip led the officers to a taxidermy shop where they discovered 41 violations ranging from improper tagging, no harvest report confirmation for any harvested deer, and two alligator skulls without the required CITES tags. Upon further investigation, the officers learned the subject had taken the deer killed out-of-season to the taxidermy shop and had dropped off a second antlered deer believed to come from Alabama. The officers interviewed the subject and he admitted to killing the antlered deer out of season and dropping off a second deer at the taxidermist that had been killed in Alabama by his friend. The friend of the subject admitted to killing an antlered deer in Alabama and importing into Florida the head of the deer containing soft tissue. The subjects were charged with taking deer out of season, failure to report in the deer harvest reporting system, and violating the CWD importation laws by possessing or importing deer, elk, moose or caribou carcasses or high-risk parts from anywhere outside of Florida. The officers also followed up with the taxidermy shop violations. 

CASES

Columbia County

• Senior Officers Davenport and Yates were working two wild turkey bait sites on the same property. At daybreak, they contacted the subjects who were hunting within 100 yards of bait. The officers will direct file charges with the State Attorney’s Office for hunting wild turkeys within 100 yards of bait and license violations. 

Madison County

• Officer Vazquez and Humphrey were on foot patrol targeting the illegal take of wild turkey when they encountered a subject calling wild turkeys from a ground blind. There was bait placed within 100 yards of the blind making the subject in violation. The subject was issued appropriate citations for the violation. 

Union County

• Officers located a wild turkey blind with a feeder dispensing corn 30 yards away in a local hunting club. Officer Fanelli saw a vehicle parked nearby in the afternoon and contacted a subject in the blind who was hunting wild turkeys. The subject advised Officer Fanelli he was unaware the feeder was active. But while he was inside the blind, he saw the feeder distribute corn. He continued to hunt the location after the corn was dispensed. The subject was charged with attempting to take wild turkey within 100 yards of an active feeding station. 

CASES

Orange County

• Officer Wild received information about an individual guiding wild turkey hunts within 100 yards of a game feeding station. Officers Wild and Hawks responded to the area with assistance from Officer McConnell. The officers observed three individuals and two of them were attempting to take wild turkey within 100 yards of a game feeding station while feed was present. The guide and subject attempting to take wild turkey were issued notice to appear citations for the violations.

Osceola County

• While on patrol, Officer Osborn observed a vehicle along the fence line of Three Lakes Wildlife Management Area. She observed two individuals going through the barbed wire fence to access the WMA to hunt wild turkeys at a nondesignated entrance. The violations were addressed accordingly.

Putnam County

• Officer Specialist D. Dickson and Officer Hayden were on patrol around Brown’s Landing when they conducted a traffic stop and resource inspection. Upon contacting the driver, he was found to be in possession of 106 blue crab, three bream and a black bass. The subject had no valid freshwater or saltwater fishing licenses. It was also determined the subject was driving with a suspended license, was a convicted felon in possession of ammunition and in possession of methamphetamines. Additional violations observed were tag unassigned and vessel registration unassigned. The subject was arrested and cited accordingly. 

Seminole County

• Officer Specialist Fahnestock organized a joint effort detail with FWC, Seminole County Sheriff’s Office and Brevard County Sheriff’s Office on the St. John’s River for an airboat event with many vessels. The joint effort detail involved conducting high visibility patrols via airboats for public safety. FWC officers issued 12 uniform boating citations and 31 boating warnings. The event remained safe with no boating accidents.

Volusia County

• Officers Sapp and Drake were patrolling hunt clubs when they located a property with a large amount of cracked corn spread across the property. Officers Sapp and Drake conducted surveillance and observed two individuals attempting to take wild turkeys over bait that was less than 100 yards away. The violations were addressed accordingly.

SEARCH AND RESCUE

Putnam County

• Officers from Putnam, Marion, Flagler, and St. Johns counties assisted Welaka Police Department and Putnam County Sheriff’s Office with a search on the St. Johns River in Welaka for a missing four-year-old. Officers searched by land, water, and air for several hours before the body of the boy was recovered from the St. Johns River.

Sumter County 

• K-9 Officer Wilkins responded to an ongoing search for a missing hunter in Green Swamp Wildlife Management Area. The subject was dropped off in the morning along a WMA road for a wild turkey hunt. The subject was reported missing at 2:30 p.m. after not returning to the designated meeting location. The FWC along with multiple other agencies, including K-9 Units from Sumter, Polk, and Department of Corrections, took part in the search. After searching all afternoon and night, the search was temporarily suspended until 7 a.m. the next morning. At that time, K-9 Officer Wilkins deployed K-9 Havoc and began to search the missing subject’s last known location. K-9 Havoc tracked for about a half mile and located the lost hunter sitting on a fallen tree. The subject, who spent over 24 hours in the woods, was transported to the check station where emergency medical service personnel were waiting to evaluate his condition.

CASES

Hernando County

• K-9 Officer Wilkins assisted Officer Clay Heitt with a wild turkey poaching case near Aripeka. Witnesses observed two individuals in a pickup truck shooting a wild turkey on private property from the roadway and then fleeing the scene. K-9 Havoc was deployed to search for evidence and located a wild turkey hidden in the brush about 15 yards from the roadway. The subjects have been identified and the case is ongoing with charges pending.

Lee County

• FWC Officers responded to a boating accident at a local boat ramp. The vessel crashed into the shoreline and one person on board was ejected from the vessel. Officers found the person had been thrown into a deep hole along the seawall, which was under construction due to hurricane recovery. First responders were able to extract the subject from the hole and take him for emergency medical treatment. An investigation is being completed. 

Manatee County

• Senior Officer Hinds organized a joint enforcement operation with Manatee County Sheriff’s Office and Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office to enforce the “move over” law for vessels. Between the agencies, 31 move-over violations were addressed and several boating safety violations were handled appropriately.  

CASES

Broward County

• Officer Favrot conducted water patrol near the Port Everglades inlet and conducted a resource inspection on a diver who was spearfishing. The diver had a dive flag with a fish bag with fish inside tied near the float. The officer asked the diver if he had any fish and he said no. The diver then dove below the surface and took the fish out of the bag and resurfaced. Shortly after, a red grouper floated up next to the diver. The diver admitted to harvesting and then trying to discard the red grouper. The officer issued the diver a notice to appear citation for out-of-season and undersized red grouper. In addition, the diver was charged with interference for attempting to discard the red grouper during the inspection. 
• Officers Favrot and Beppel conducted land patrol in the vicinity of A-1 FEB. There, they encountered two subjects who entered the property illegally. The subjects were fishing several miles into the closed/restricted area. The A-1 FEB west levee was posted as closed at multiple points as well as on MyFWC.com. The officers issued both subjects notice to appear citations for trespassing on state property and escorted them off the property. 

Glades County

• Senior Officer Polly and Officer Bray were conducting resource inspections on anglers at the Julian Keen, Jr. Lock and Dam in Moore Haven. During one inspection, the subject stated he did not have any fish but later admitted to having a snook on a stringer near where he was fishing. Officers discovered the snook was oversized and issued the subject a notice to appear for the violation. 

Palm Beach County

• Officer Sefe Wences was on land patrol in STA 1 West and observed several subjects walking inside a closed area. Officer Wences advised the subjects about the posted signs stating the area was closed to the public. One of the subjects had cast netted a largemouth bass. The subject was cited for entry into a closed area on South Florida Water Management District property and a warning was documented for the illegal method of catching game fish. 
• Officer Sefe Wences was conducting land patrol in STA 1 and observed several subjects fishing in a closed area near the check station. One of the subjects had been previously warned about posted signage and entry in closed areas by another FWC officer. Officer Wences cited the subject accordingly. 

St. Lucie County

• Officers Bingham and Delaney were on water patrol when they observed two personal watercrafts violating the manatee slow speed zone. Contact was made with both operators and they were issued two infraction citations for the violations. During the stop, it was also discovered the PWCs had been rented. The following day, the livery operator was located operating from a local waterfront park. After an investigation into his rental business, it was discovered that he was operating without a livery permit and did not have insurance. Citations were issued for the violations. 

Statewide Summary of Boating Related Law Enforcement Activities

For March 1 - 31, 2024