FWC Law Enforcement Weekly Report 03/07 - 03/13/2014

FWC

Division of Law Enforcement

 

Weekly Report

March 7, 2014 - March 13, 2014

 

This report represents some events the FWC handled over the past week;

however, it does not include all actions taken by the Division of Law Enforcement.

 

Patrol, Protect, Preserve

 

 

  

NORTHWEST REGION

 

Bay County

 

Lieutenant Keen and Officers Goodwin, Letcher, Walker, N. Basford and Waring worked a spring break night detail at St. Andrews State Park. While on foot patrol in the campground, Officer Goodwin observed a bottle of alcohol on a picnic table at a campsite. All of the occupants of the campsite appeared to be under the legal drinking age of 21. As he observed the occupants, he heard one of the subjects talk about “packing a bowl.” He then approached the campsite and asked if anybody at the campsite was over the age of 21. None were of legal drinking age. He then told them that he heard them talk about “packing a bowl” and asked if they had any illegal drugs at the campsite. Five of the occupants produced multiple bags, containers and a smoking pipe with cannabis inside them. Lieutenant Keen and the other officers arrived to assist. The five subjects were charged with possession of cannabis under 20 grams and possession of drug paraphernalia.

 

Okaloosa County

 

Officer Nichols was dispatched to a complaint regarding a suspicious person in the Rocky Bayou State Park. When Officer Nichols arrived, a subject flagged him down and stated someone was after him.  The subject’s actions and statements were not making sense, so he was detained and found to be in possession of drug paraphernalia.  Officer Molnar arrived to help search the wooded area the subject had come from.  The subject’s companion was located and found to have an active warrant and was also in possession of drug paraphernalia.  An inventory of the vehicle revealed two spoons that the subjects used to melt down pills.  The subjects were booked into the Okaloosa County Jail on drug charges and the warrant.

 

COP (Community Oriented Policing)

 

Investigator Armstrong and Officer Molnar attended a public workshop meeting in Destin.  The requirement of a Gulf Offshore Recreational Permit was discussed.  This permit would allow for better collection of reef fish data. Approximately 35 citizens attended the meeting and provided input on the proposal.

 

Officers Maltais and Bartlett taught the law portion of the Hunters Safety Course at Okaloosa Correctional Institute.

 

 

NORTH CENTRAL REGION

 

ALACHUA COUNTY

 

Officer Lasher conducted resource inspections on turkey hunters in southwest Alachua County on a previously discovered bait site known for turkey hunting. Officer Lasher made contact with two hunters actively hunting turkeys within 40 yards of the bait. A citation was issued to the adult hunter for attempting to take turkey within 100 yards of bait.

 

Officers Bembry and Troiano worked an early morning detail conducting resource inspections on turkey hunters in northeast Alachua County. The officers were inspecting a property with a recently discovered bait site when they made contact with two hunters actively hunting within five yards of the bait site. A citation was issued to the adult hunter for attempting to take turkey within 100 yards of bait.

 

Officer Stanley was patrolling some private properties with trespass issues when he observed a pile of household garbage that was dumped and began looking through it. Officer Stanley found a name and local address in the garbage. Officer Stanley went to the address and made contact with one of the residents and received a sworn written statement from the individual admitting to the violations. Officer Stanley will file charges of simple trespass and littering of more than fifteen pounds with the Alachua County State Attorney’s office.

 

CLAY COUNTY

 

Officers Justus and Bryan conducted an “Operation Trashy Trail” detail on the Florida Greenways and Trails near Keystone Heights in response to numerous complaints of littering, drug usage and vehicles operating in a closed area. During the course of the detail, the officers encountered violations ranging from possession of less than 20 grams of marijuana to driving while license suspended/revoked, no license tag and open container of alcoholic beverage.

 

DUVAL COUNTY

 

The Jacksonville off-shore patrol vessel (OPV) crew, Lieutenant Givens, and Officers Bridwell and Geib worked with Port Canaveral OPV crew, Lieutenant Lee and Officer Luce who are in the Jacksonville area for three days this week working from the patrol vessel C.T. Randall and a mid-range vessel. During a patrol of the near shore waters off Jacksonville Beach, a commercial shrimp boat was observed actively trawling approximately one-half mile off the beach. The crew made contact with the fishing vessel and advised the captain that they were coming on board to conduct an inspection of their trawling gear. As the gear was being hauled back onto their fishing vessel, the OPV crew saw that the vessel was fishing with two trawls and a try net; only two nets can be fished at one time in near-shore and in-shore waters. The captain of the fishing vessel was issued a citation for the violation.

 

COP (Community Oriented Policing)

 

Lieutenant Lee, Investigator McMillan and Officer Deweese worked the Special Olympics Fishing Tournament at Keaton Beach. The officers weighed and measured fish from participants, conducted boating safety inspections and answered questions of over 200 people in attendance. All prizes were donated by local businesses and 100 percent of the proceeds went to local athletes.

 

 

NORTHEAST REGION

 

VOLUSIA COUNTY

 

Late one night, the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office helicopter noticed a truck in the woods near a cell tower in a local hunt club. When they illuminated the truck with their spotlight, the truck turned its lights out and attempted to hide. Suspecting copper thieves, the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office air unit followed the truck to a residence in Barberville and observed the occupants take something from the bed of the truck and place it under the truck. Shortly thereafter, ground units arrived and detained the two occupants. The object that was placed under the truck was a doe deer. Deputies observed two rifles in the cab of the truck and notified FWC. Officer Ransom arrived and took over the investigation. While interviewing the suspects, the two men said they were coyote hunting with a spotlight and shot the deer by mistake. Both men were booked into the Volusia County Jail for taking a deer at night with a gun and light during the closed season. The shooter was also charged with taking a deer with a rimfire rifle.

 

ST. JOHNS COUNTY

           

Officers Thornhill and Koble were conducting boating safety and resource inspections at the Faver Dykes State Park when they observed a vessel approach the dock with three individuals on board.  They began to quickly load the vessel onto a trailer.  The officers began to conduct a marine fisheries and resource inspection.  The owner of the vessel stated that they had not caught any fish.  A search revealed an empty beer carton containing several fish hidden on the vessel.  The carton contained six undersized red drum, six undersized sheepshead and one undersized black drum.  Two of the three individuals admitted to catching the fish and were issued appropriate citations and warnings.  The fish were returned to the water alive. 

 

COP (Community Oriented Policing)

 

Osceola County Officers Arendas and Trusley taught a Hunter Safety class to 6 youths and 12 adults on Adams Ranch.

 

 

SOUTHWEST REGION

 

CHARLOTTE COUNTY

 

Officers Shaw and Birchfield were traveling through town when they observed a suspicious vehicle.  The vehicle was traveling extremely slow down the road and was holding up traffic.  When they attempted to stop the vehicle, they noticed that the operator appeared to be unconscious.  Officer Shaw exited the patrol vehicle and ran alongside the vehicle attempting to awaken the driver.  In an effort to save the operator and oncoming traffic from an accident, Officer Shaw gained access to the vehicle through the passenger’s side window. Officer Shaw got the vehicle stopped and EMS and the Sheriff’s Office were called to the scene.  The operator refused treatment from EMS but was acting suspicious.  The officers got permission to search the vehicle and they found several needles which tested positive for illegal narcotics.  The operator was arrested for possession of illegal narcotics and paraphernalia.    

 

LEE COUNTY

 

Captain Carpenter and Lieutenant Ruggiero were on water patrol in Charlotte Harbor when they stopped a commercial fishing vessel to conduct a fisheries inspection.  A warrants check revealed that one of the men on board had an outstanding warrant.  The man was arrested and transported to the Matlacha Boat Ramp where Officer Bell transported him to the Lee County Jail for booking. Shortly afterwards, the officers were in Boca Grande Pass when they stopped a vessel returning from offshore.  A fisheries inspection revealed there were ten undersized red grouper on board among several other fish.  All of the men on board admitted to catching at least one of the red grouper and the operator admitted to knowing that the fish were too small to keep.  Six misdemeanor citations were issued for the violations.

 

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY

 

Officer Martinez cited two men on the South Skyway Fishing Pier for over the bag limit of Spanish mackerel. The two men were in possession of 57 fish, well over the 30 fish the two were legally allowed to possess as a group.  The men were criminally cited and given notices to appear in court for the violation. The fish were seized and photographed for evidence.

 

MANATEE COUNTY

 

Officers Thompson and Freemon, along with Lieutenants Wells and Burton, were on offshore patrol running radar, tracking fishing vessels entering and departing from the Tampa Bay Shipping Channel.  The officers used the radar’s mini automatic plotting aid (MARPA) and tracked a 70’ commercial shrimp vessel leaving the Tampa Bay Shipping Channel heading south. The vessel was stopped in state waters just before the natural resource boundary. The captain of the vessel advised the officers that he is from Texas, fished in Louisiana and stopped at the Tampa Shrimp Docks to get supplies.  During the fisheries inspection, the officers located multiple undersized king fish. The vessel also contained commercial quantities of shrimp without a valid saltwater products license.  The captain was issued appropriate citations and warnings.   

 

PINELLAS COUNTY

 

Investigator Rosas and Lieutenant Parisoe responded to a boating accident that occurred in the Intracoastal Waterway in the area of Indian Rocks Beach. The accident involved one vessel and resulted in injury to one individual. The injuries occurred when the individual inadvertently fell overboard and came in contact with the prop.

 

PASCO COUNTY

 

A joint-agency enforcement detail was conducted at Anclote Gulf Park in Holiday, Florida. Officers there have been fielding citizen complaints of ongoing “poaching” of all saltwater species from the fishing pier and adjacent waters of the Progress Energy Power Plant. Investigator Tsongranis worked alongside the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office Marine Unit members and formulated a plan to target these violations. Corporals Reese and LaRoche of the Pasco Sheriff’s Office surveyed the park in plainclothes the week prior and were able to catch two adult males illegally catching and keeping undersized mangrove grey snapper. With this information, Investigator Tsongranis put together a detail utilizing plainclothes officers, unmarked vehicles, uniformed officers and marked vehicles during a three-day enforcement detail. Within an hour of plainclothes surveillance on the pier, Lieutenant Mack and Corporals Reese and LaRoche observed two adult males catching 20 undersized mangrove grey snapper and placing them in a five-gallon bucket. No attempt was made to measure any of these fish. Corporal Reese and Lieutenant Mack waited until the suspects were leaving the pier and in the parking lot when they identified themselves and detained the individuals. The uniformed units, Investigator Tsongranis and Officer Fagan then moved into the park and were able to successfully arrest the individuals. Both individuals admitted to catching and keeping the fish in their possession. The undersized species were able to be released alive and placed back into the water after being properly processed as evidence.

 

COP (Community Oriented Policing)

 

Lieutenant Allen and Officer Adams participated in an outreach event hosted by the Division of Forestry in Frostproof. The officers spoke to members of two interest groups regarding FWC Law Enforcement’s role relating to wildlife management areas.

 

 

SOUTH REGION A

 

BROWARD COUNTY

 

Fort Lauderdale Police Department contacted FWC in regard to a subject who was boating under the influence (BUI). FWC Officers Brock and Carman responded to assist. Upon completion of their investigation and field sobriety exercises, the subject was arrested for BUI.

 

HENDRY COUNTY

 

Officer Nasworth and Lieutenant Brown were on state water patrol when they received a call reporting a dead panther. Officer Nasworth and Lieutenant Brown responded to the area of CR 833 and CR 846 where they located the deceased panther lying on the side of the road. Officer Nasworth and Lieutenant Brown took possession of the panther and delivered it to a panther biologist.

 

Officer McLendon responded to a search and rescue in Okaloacoochee Slough State Forest where two turkey hunters were left stranded due to road conditions. Officer McLendon along with a State Forest Service employee assisted the exhausted hunters and recovered their vehicle. The hunters were able to make it back to camp safely for the next day’s hunt.

 

PALM BEACH COUNTY

 

While Officer Nasworth was on land patrol, he received a phone call from a U.S. Sugar Corporation (USSC) farm manager about a subject trespassing on USSC property off Airport Road. Officer Nasworth responded and observed a subject on the property walking and holding a bucket. Officer Nasworth made contact with the subject and advised him that he was trespassing on USSC property. Officer Nasworth asked to look inside the bucket and discovered two freshwater turtles. Officer Nasworth asked the subject if he knew the regulations for freshwater turtles and the subject stated that he knew the daily bag limit is one turtle. Officer Nasworth issued the subject a citation and court date in Palm Beach County for trespassing and over the daily bag limit of freshwater turtles.

 

Officer Cobo was patrolling MacArthur Beach State Park and was informed by a park ranger that someone was lying naked on the beach and was also drinking alcohol. The subject was described as a white male, approximately 40 years old and was from out of state. After further investigation, the subject admitted to drinking four beers and then taking off his clothes to get some sun. The subject stated he had read on the internet it was illegal, but to just look out for the rangers. The subject was cited for alcohol possession in the park and written a warning for exposure of sexual organs in public. He was also issued a trespass warning from the park.

 

While on water patrol in the Lake Worth lagoon, Officer Cobo and Investigator Luher observed what appeared to be two commercial fisherman harvesting sand perch and "goats" by cast net. They conducted a saltwater fisheries inspection and found that the owner of the vessel had an individual commercial saltwater products license (SPL) but that his partner did not. They explained to both fishermen that either the owner of the vessel needs a vessel SPL or his partner would need an individual SPL in order to assist him in commercial harvesting. When asked if his partner was paid, he said he gives him a percentage of the profits. Both fishermen were educated regarding commercial licensing and a warning was given for not having finely divided ice on their catch.

 

 

SOUTH REGION B

 

COLLIER COUNTY

 

Officer Futch was recognized as the Regional Officer of the Year for the Naples Chapter of the Coastal Conservation Association. Since arriving, Officer Futch has honed his skills as a solid, all-around officer, and has excelled at protecting our valuable inshore saltwater fishery.   Officer Futch is currently assigned to our inland team and has used this ability to focus on the countless poachers who fish from land in saltwater. He has also assisted with details focusing on commercial net fishing from mullet to king mackerel, and Lobster Mini Season in Monroe County. During this past year, Officer Futch has a combined total of 2,242 hours of proactive enforcement on boating safety, freshwater fisheries, and marine fisheries.  This includes a total of 112 citations issued and 171 warnings issued for resource protection.

 

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY

 

While conducting a boating safety and fisheries inspection on a vessel at Blackpoint Marina, Officers Yanez and Martin found the captain to be in possession of 16 undersized mangrove snapper. He was cited for possession of the snapper as well as over the bag of limit of mangrove snapper.

 

Officers Yanez and Martin were patrolling Blackpoint Jetty when they observed one of three individuals hiding something in the mangroves as they approached. The officers conducted a fisheries inspection and retrieved the cooler they had hidden. The subjects were found to be in possession of undersized, over the bag limit mangrove snapper and a bonefish. They were cited for possession of the snapper and possession of bonefish out of season.

 

Lieutenant Pomares, Investigator Miranda and Officer Martin stopped a vessel for a boating safety inspection at the Key Biscayne Regatta. They found the men to be in possession of three speared spiny lobster. The lobsters and spear guns were seized as evidence and they were cited for illegal method of taking lobster.

 

MONROE COUNTY

 

Lieutenants Robison, Smith and Officer Munkelt responded to a boat accident at Duck Key near the Middle Keys.  A vessel struck a bridge, tearing the center console off of the deck of the vessel. The vessel swerved up onto the land and came to a rest with only the transom and motors left in the water. Miraculously, the two occupants on board walked away from the accident with only minor scratches and bruises.

Officer Munkelt observed a vessel with two people on board and a subject in the water with a mask and snorkel. No dive flag was present. Officer Munkelt conducted a stop on the vessel and inquired if there were any fish or lobster on board. The diver advised “no.” Officer Munkelt asked to see in the coolers and found undersized, wrung lobster tails. The diver advised that he had wrung the lobster under water and brought the tails up. Misdemeanor citations were issued to the diver. 

 

COP  (Community Oriented Policing)

 

Officer Collazo and K-9 Jasmine attended the Touch-A-Truck Day at the Golisano Children's Museum of Naples.  Jasmine and Officer Collazo performed a law enforcement K-9 demonstration to show the children how useful canines can be in critical situations.  The children were able to interact with Jasmine and view the special vehicle made for her.  Officer Collazo also discussed FWC’s inter-agency collaboration with federal law enforcement for the protection of marine species and provided state rules and regulation brochures.  There were approximately 140 people at the event.

 

Officers Dube and Burns participated in the Original Marathon Seafood Festival in the Middle Keys.  The officers shared a booth along with partners from Everglades National Park and the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.  All handed out current information and regulations on various topics to the approximately 900 people that stopped by the FWC booth.