FWC Law Enforcement Weekly Report 01/23 - 01/29/2015

FWC

Division of Law Enforcement

 

Weekly Report

 

January 23rd thru January 29th, 2015

 

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

 

ESCAMBIA COUNTY

 

Officer Pettey received a call from a hunter who heard a shot near the boundary line of his hunting club in McDavid.  The hunter explained that he had heard several shots over the last several days and suspected the person might be shooting doe deer.  Officer Pettey responded to the area and observed a hunter exiting the woods.  The subject had harvested an illegal buck with approximately one inch antlers.  Officer Pettey seized the deer as evidence and issued a criminal citation for the violation.

 

Officer Livesay was working in Perdido River Wildlife Manage Area (WMA), when he observed an individual exit the woods wearing hunter orange and possessing a rifle.  The subject claimed he was not hunting and was just walking around.  Officer Livesay informed the subject that he was going to look for his stand.  The individual then admitted he was hunting and had a stand set up nearby.  Officer Livesay walked with the subject to his hunting stand and discovered he had recently scattered corn (bait) in the area.  After further questioning, the subject admitted to placing the corn on the ground as bait.  The subject was cited for the hunting over bait and no quota permit.

 

SANTA ROSA COUNTY

 

Officer Hutchinson was conducting land patrol in the Blackwater State Forest when he observed a vehicle parked in close proximity to a known baited location.  Officer Hutchinson trailed the suspect and observed him sitting in a tree stand overlooking the bait site.  Officer Hutchinson made contact with the hunter who admitted to placing the bait on the ground and hunting deer.  The subject’s hunting license was expired.  The hunter was issued the appropriate citations for hunting over bait and no hunting license.

 

OKALOOSA COUNTY

 

Officers Molnar, H. Rockwell, White, Brooks and Investigator Armstrong were working a detail targeting illegal road hunting within a closed area of Eglin WMA.  The officers had received multiple complaints about several individuals illegally road hunting from trucks.  From a concealed location, officers observed a vehicle driving slowly down the road consistent with road hunting. The truck stopped and immediately shot twice at a deer with a 12‑gauge shotgun.  Officers stopped the suspect for the violation.  The suspect was charged with road hunting.

 

While patrolling Eglin WMA, Officer Maltais conducted a traffic stop in the Sikes dog hunt unit.  The vehicle was in the management area approximately 30 minutes before the legal time.  The suspect had four beagles in dog boxes as well as a loaded 12‑gauge shotgun.  The suspect was issued a citation and later his Eglin permit was suspended for two weeks by Eglin Range Patrol.

 

Lieutenant Hollinhead was conducting surveillance for night hunting, when he observed a vehicle stop in the roadway and shine a field with a small spotlight in a manner capable of disclosing the presence of deer.  Several complaints of night hunting in the area have been received throughout hunting season. Lieutenant Hollinhead followed the vehicle and observed the occupants continue to shine looking for deer.  The vehicle was later observed leaving the roadway and carelessly traveling through a wooded area prior to being stopped.  The driver stated they were chasing a doe and did not have any firearms although a rifle was observed in plain view next to the passenger.  A small amount of cannabis was also observed on the center console of the vehicle. A bag of cannabis was later located in the possession of the driver.  Both subjects were cited for attempting to take deer at night with a gun and light.  One of the subjects was charged with possession of less than 20 grams of cannabis.  Two rifles were seized for evidence.

 

WALTON COUNTY

 

Lieutenant Hollinhead called for assistance from Officer Arnette after hearing rifle shots from property that is commonly hunted for deer. Officer Arnette was familiar with the area and knew where the hunters would exit the property.  An inspection at the gate later revealed three illegal deer, one of which was a small antlerless yearling.  Two of the subjects were cited for taking an antlerless deer and for not having a hunting license or deer permit.  One of the subjects was cited for possession of an antlerless deer.  Three rifles used to take the illegal deer were seized.

 

BAY COUNTY

 

Officer Wicker was on patrol near Crooked Island when he checked two vessels deploying nets.  He found both vessels to have black drum, ladyfish and mullet in their fish boxes. There was no ice on the fish or onboard the vessel.  None of the seines onboard the boats were marked as required by law.  Citations were issued.

 

Officer Gore was on patrol when he checked a commercial oysterman who failed to tag his bags of harvested oysters. A citation was issued and the oysters were returned to the waters.

 

Lieutenant Chesser watched three fishers in two vessels harvest fish in the closed waters of Warren Bayou for about 30 minutes before inspecting their catch.  The fishers were found to be harvesting grey snapper as well as over the legal bag limit.  Corrective actions were taken and the fish were returned to the waters alive.

 

Officers Hellett and Goodwin were working a detail at the Cooks Bayou Bridge and observed three subjects fishing from the rocks. The officers observed the subjects catching sheepshead and grey snapper. Each time they would catch an undersized fish, they would walk to a vehicle and place it in the trunk. The officers observed them until the fishermen ran out of bait and one of the subjects went to the vehicle to leave. The officers found the subjects to be in possession of three undersized sheephead and two undersized grey snapper. Two of the subjects were cited for possession of the undersized fish and one subject was cited for fishing without a non-resident saltwater fishing license.

 

Officers Hellett and Officer Gore received a complaint of a person keeping undersized red drum on the bay side of the Deer Point Dam. The officers responded to the area and watched a subject for several minutes and found him to be in possession of six-undersized red drum. The subject was issued a notice to appear for over the bag limit and undersized redfish.

 

 

NORTH CENTRAL REGION

 

CLAY COUNTY

 

Officer Justus was on land patrol in Clay County when he received a call from the Clay County Sheriff’s Office. A Clay County Sheriff’s Office deputy received a call from a complainant in reference to a duck hunter hunting at a local lake in Keystone Heights. The deputy arrived and observed the subject attempting to take waterfowl after the legal hunting hours. Officer Justus arrived on the scene and questioned the subject in which he admitted to shooting at waterfowls after the legal hours. Officer Justus will be filing charges with the state attorney’s office.

 

Lieutenant Glover and Officer Justus were on water patrol in Black Creek in the vicinity of the US 17 Bridge, when the officers noticed a group of individuals parked on shore and fishing underneath the bridge. The officers made contact with the subjects and noticed that one of them attempted to conceal what appeared to be a cannabis pipe. After searching the subjects the officers found one of the subjects to be in possession of a cannabis pipe and another with less than twenty grams of cannabis. Both subjects were also in possession of alcohol under the legal age. The two subjects were issued notices to appear in court for the violations.

 

Lieutenant Glover and Officer Heath received a call from a FWC investigator in reference to a man who is believed to be living in Green Cove Springs. The individual has an active warrant out of Flagler County for dumping over five hundred pounds of trash. The officers located the subject’s truck at a family member’s residence in Green Cove Springs but there was no one at home.   After talking with the neighbors the officers received a description of the vehicle the subject may be riding in. The officers located the vehicle and the subject inside. The subject was placed under arrest and transported to the Clay County Jail.

 

TAYLOR COUNTY

 

On the last weekend of general Gun Season, Investigator McMillan put together a detail targeting illegal taking of antlerless deer. The detail was arranged from information Investigator McMillan gathered throughout the hunting season. Lieutenant Lee, Investigator McMillan, Officers Bailey, Deweese, Korade and Brookes searched local camp sites and hunting clubs looking for violations. Officer Korade and Investigator McMillan located what appeared to be quartered deer meat in the bottom of a cooler under hog meat. Investigator McMillan interviewed the subject who owned the cooler and he stated that someone in his hunting party accidentally shot a doe. Officer Korade charged the individual who killed the doe with taking antlerless deer during closed season.

 

COMMUNITY ORIENTED POLICING

 

Officers Acevedo and Mims assisted Florida Park Services at Paynes Prairie State Park during their annual Star Gazing Event. The officers assisted with directing traffic, parking and crowd control. Approximately 1700 people were in attendance at the event throughout the evening.

 

Investigator Bembry, Officers Troiano and Stanley attended the annual Newberry Criminal Justice event. Several hundred people including students throughout Alachua County attended the event to see and speak with different agency personnel throughout the county. Each agency displayed specialized equipment and discussed agency responsibilities.

 

Officer Carey participated in the annual “Boost for Safety” event in Columbia County sponsored by the Florida Highway Patrol. The event was geared toward safety, not only on the roadways, but the woods and waterways as well. Several local, county and state agencies participated in the event. Officer Carey brought a boat and trailer and answered numerous questions related to boating safety. Approximately 1,500 people were in attendance.

 

 

NORTHEAST REGION

 

BREVARD COUNTY

 

Officer Land was on patrol in the Sebastian Inlet State Park conducting resource inspections on the north jetty, when he noticed a cooler with large fish tails hanging out near the end of the pier. Officer Land observed two fishermen near the cooler and began to approach them. As Officer Land got closer one of the individuals removed an oversized red drum from the cooler. The fisherman began walking to the pier railing with the fish. Officer Land told the individual several times not to throw the fish, but he did anyway. He later admitted the red drum was oversized. A second oversized red drum was located in his cooler. The individual was placed under arrest for interfering with an FWC resource inspection, possession of over the bag limit of red drum and possession of oversized red drum.

 

Officer Boyer was on patrol at a local boat ramp on the Upper St. Johns WMA when he observed a vessel returning to the ramp. Officer Boyer made contact with two individuals on the boat who said they were returning from hunting. The hunters told Officer Boyer that they had shot one deer and had it in the boat. Upon further inspection, the deer was determined to be an antlerless (doe) deer. The taking of antlerless deer outside of the designated antlerless weekend was prohibited. The hunter was cited appropriately for taking the doe. The deer was donated to the Life for Youth camp.

 

VOLUSIA COUNTY

 

Lieutenant Eason was on patrol within Blue Springs State Park.  While at the boat ramp, he observed a female returning to her vehicle on foot from the shoreline of the St. John’s River.  Lieutenant Eason noticed her gate was unsteady.  The female subject then got into her vehicle and proceeded east along French Avenue.  After observing a bizarre driving pattern, Eason conducted a traffic stop concerned the subject was impaired or lost.  Upon contact Eason developed reasonable suspicion to conduct sobriety tasks.  The results of the tasks resulted in an arrest for driving under the influence (DUI).  The subject was also found to be in possession of marijuana (less than 20 grams), drug paraphernalia and a can of Mike’s hard lemonade.  Investigator Kees and Officer Nichols assisted with the arrest and transport.

 

FLAGLER COUNTY

 

Officer Meade received information from the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office regarding possible night hunting violations by a group of poachers. Investigators Dack and Crews assisted with the investigation and were able to identify and interview several suspects. The information gleaned from the interviews led to confessions and evidence recovery. The group had actually illegally taking deer from along the road in the area off Seminole Woods Parkway. Officer Meade charged the violators with three counts of attempting to take deer by use of gun and light and one count for attempting to take wildlife from road right of way.

 

 

SOUTHWEST REGION

 

PASCO COUNTY

 

Officer Angelis, Jones, Pulaski, Investigator Tsongranis and Lieutenant Parisoe participated in a joint enforcement detail with the members of the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office. This detail focused on boating safety and commercial fishery inspections. In all, 13 vessels were inspected for compliance. During these inspections Officer Pulaski made contact with a vessel operator that was showing signs of impairment. A Field Sobriety Tasks was conducted and the operator was subsequently arrested for Boating Under the Influence.

 

PINELLAS COUNTY

 

While on land patrol, Officer Bibeau and Bibler received a call from dispatch advising them of an individual catching and keeping a large amount of mangrove snapper in Tarpon Springs. The Officers arrived on scene and made contact with an individual that matched the description that was given to them from dispatch.  At the conclusion of the fisheries inspection the Officers located 25 mangrove snapper, 24 of which were undersized.  Officer Bibeau wrote the individual a misdemeanor citation for the violations.

 

 

SOUTH REGION A

 

BROWARD COUNTY

 

Officers Ryan and Mirabel were offshore checking vessels about one mile east of Port Everglades.  While approaching a vessel, they witnessed one of the subjects on board throw a bag into the water.  The bag was retrieved and had contained undersized yellowtail snapper.  A marine fisheries and boating safety inspection were conducted.  More undersized yellowtail snapper were found on board.  Two subjects were issued citations, one for Interference with an FWC Officer and possession of undersized yellowtail snapper, and the other subject for possession of undersized yellowtail snapper.  Seven undersized snapper were seized.

 

While on vessel patrol in Broward County, Officer Mirabel and Reserve Officer Gabon stopped a vessel ¼ mile east of the Dania Beach Pier and conducted a marine fisheries and boating safety inspection. A records check of the vessel’s occupants reveled that one person had a warrant for a felony violation of probation and a misdemeanor warrant for driving while his license was suspended. The subject taken into custody without incident and was transported to Broward County Jail for processing.

 

Officers Strader and Vacin were dispatched to a complaint regarding a deceased brown pelican at Waterfront Condominiums in Ft. Lauderdale. Upon the Officer’s arrival, the condominium security guard informed Officers Strader and Vacin; the brown pelican had been captured and harassed by several juveniles in the early morning hours. The Officers were also informed the harassment and capture of the pelican had been captured on surveillance camera footage. With this information, the Officers and security guard investigated further and were able to identify one of the perpetrators as a condominium resident. The officers contacted the juvenile’s father to obtain permission to interrogate the juvenile. The officers met with two juveniles and a parent to discuss the harassment of the brown pelican. In the course of the interrogation, Officers Strader and Vacin obtained the name of the individual who had been the primary perpetrator in the capture and harassment of the brown pelican. Officer Strader contacted the primary perpetrator of the harassment and his father in order to arrange a meeting to discuss charges against the individual for capture and harassment of a brown pelican, leading to its demise.  The bird’s species was confirmed by FWC scientists as a brown pelican, which is protected by state and federal law under the Migratory Bird Treaty of 1916 and as a Species of Special Concern. Officers Strader and Vacin met with the subject and issued him a criminal notice to appear for violations of the Migratory Bird Treaty as adopted in Florida Administrative Code and a warning for taking a bird listed as a Species of Special Concern.

 

GLADES COUNTY

 

Officer Nasworth was on airboat patrol on Lake Okeechobee. Officer Nasworth was contacted by dispatch regarding an elderly duck hunter that got lost in the area of the Monkey Box. Dispatch provided Officer Nasworth with the GPS coordinates at which time he responded to the area and located the hunter. The hunter was fine and Officer Nasworth guided him back to the safety of Harney Pond boat ramp.

 

HENDRY COUNTY

 

Officers Teal and Greene were contacted by Lieutenant Steelman about a black bear at a private ranch in southern Hendry County. Upon arrival at the ranch, the officers were told by the landowner that the bear was near the horse stables. The officers located the bear in a small pasture near the residence. The bear was severely malnourished and was acting very lethargic. Officer Greene advised the FWC bear biologist of the bear’s behavior and they instructed the Officers to euthanize the bear. The bear’s carcass was turned over to the biologist at Dinner Island Ranch WMA for data collection.

 

K-9 Officer Lilley was contacted by the Hendry County Sheriff’s Office and was advised that they had just had a robbery at a local gas station.  The Sheriff’s Office requested that Officer Lilley bring out his K-9 Roscoe to run a track on the subject in an attempt to locate him. Officer Lilley waited for the Hendry County Sheriff’s Office K-9 handler to arrive where they both deployed their K-9’s and K-9 Roscoe worked the track while the Sheriff’s K-9 ran security.  K-9 Roscoe took a track and crossed a highway into a small neighborhood where he worked down the street and located a foot print in the dirt in a rain gutter.  He then crossed the street and worked through a large vacant flea market lot all the way to a set of fresh car tire tracks where K-9 Roscoe showed indicators that the track had ended.  The fresh tire tracks showed that the vehicle had pulled into the lot and then backed out and went towards SR 80. The Sheriff’s Office is handling the investigation.    

 

 

SOUTH REGION B

 

COLLIER COUNTY

 

COMMUNITY ORIENTED POLICING

 

Lieutenant Shea and Officer Reith took twenty cadets and ten adults from the Naples High School Army JROTC program out into the Big Cypress National Preserve for a twenty-four hour survival hike.  The cadets hiked seven miles into the preserve along the Florida Trail and came across a Big Cypress fox squirrel, which is an imperiled species.  Along their route the cadets encountered a scenario where each of their three teams had to perform first aid on a teammate and carry them on an improvised stretcher one mile for a timed competition.  Once at their campsites, the cadets built improvised shelters for the night, took written tests on snake/reptile identification and first aid. They built improvised fishing gear, fires by primitive methods and completed a land navigation course, where at the end they found their dinner.  Lieutenant Shea provided live freshwater crayfish for their evening meal. The next morning the cadets hiked the seven miles out of the preserves.

 

Officers Lugg and Reams responded to a vessel taking on water in rough seas outside of Big Marco Pass.  Marco Island Fire and Rescue also responded to the scene.  The victims included two adult men, a 7 year old girl and their dog, who were recovered and safely taken to shore aboard the fire rescue vessel and were met by Officer Barringer.  Officers Lugg and Reams were able to secure the vessel prior to it completely sinking, returning it to the owner.  The Officers are investigating the boating accident.  If not for the preparedness of the boaters and quick response by first responders, this situation could have ended much differently. 

 

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY

 

Area officers responded to a nighttime vessel accident that occurred near Venetian Causeway.  Ten (10) people were on board a 23’ foot boat that struck a channel marker head-on.  One person was transported to a local hospital for medical treatment while the owner/operator was arrested for boating under the influence and cited for several boating infractions including insufficient number of life jackets on board.