FWC Division of Law Enforcement Weekly Report 12/0817 – 12/14/17
December 22, 2017
Cases:
Escambia County
Officer Allgood worked fisheries enforcement in the Pensacola Bay area and identified several individuals in violation. He issued notice to appear citations for possession of red snapper in a closed season and possession of undersized scamp and mangrove snapper. Officer Allgood also documented license and boating safety violations.
Officer Allgood entered a hunt camp and noticed the remains of a doe deer hanging on a skinning rack. The deer had already been cleaned and appeared to be an antlerless deer. Antlerless deer season is not open and to take an antlerless deer legally it must be tagged before moving it from the field. When the two hunters noticed Officer Allgood, they attempted to tag the antlerless deer. The deer was killed several hours prior and had not been tagged. Officer Allgood issued a citation for failing to tag an antlerless deer.
Federal Waters
Officers Cushing, Land and Wilkenson were on water patrol in federal waters aboard the offshore patrol vessel NW Fincat. While patrolling approximately 30 miles south of Perdido Key in the Gulf of Mexico, they approached a large charter vessel and observed items being thrown overboard. Once onboard, Officers Land and Wilkenson discovered several violations inside the cooking grill located on deck and in the freezer. Officer Land found cooked gray triggerfish fillets (closed season) and red snapper fillets inside the grill. They also discovered a gray triggerfish in whole condition in a catch basket on deck as well as two one-gallon bags of fresh red snapper fillets (not frozen) in the freezer. In addition, the captain did not possess a current federal charter permit. Officer Land issued a federal citation for the violations.
Gulf County
Lieutenant Allen and Officer Hellett were working a net detail and observed a truck that was stuck in the sand near their location. The subject approached the officers and asked if the officers could pull him out. Officers stated they were not permitted and the subject stated that he will just wait for another truck to come by to pull him out. The officers asked what he was doing in the area and the subject stated that he was checking his trail cameras. The officers then proceeded on with their net detail. Being an avid hunter, Officer Hellett thought it unusual that the subject was checking trail cameras that early in the morning. Later that morning, the officers returned to the area where the subject’s truck had been stuck and noticed fresh blood on the ground. An investigation revealed that the subject was suspected of trespassing on another hunting lease and of stealing trail cameras and poaching deer. During an interview, the subject confessed to killing a deer at night and stealing trail cameras. They recovered a buck deer head, flashlight, rifle, two SD cards and a trail camera from the subject’s truck. Lieutenant Allen also recovered a deer carcass, with a missing head, in the woods near the location where the subject’s truck was stuck. The subject decided to hand over three other trail cameras that he had stolen from another hunting lease. Appropriate charges will be filed with the State Attorney’s Office.
Okaloosa County
The Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) and Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office (OCSO) requested assistance regarding a manhunt. FHP attempted to stop a vehicle for excessive speed, but the driver sped off to elude the trooper. In a short distance, the driver lost control of the vehicle and crashed at General Bond and Highway 85. The driver exited the vehicle and retreated into Eglin’s reservation. Due to geographical knowledge of the area, having trucks with 4-wheel drive and aviation, officers aided in the search of the fleeing felon. OCSO, Eglin security personnel and seven officers formed a triangle barrier around the thick wooded area where the subject entered. With the aid of the Department of Corrections (FDC) K-9 unit, the subject was apprehended 3½ hours later. During the search, the FDC K-9 unit found where the subject cut off his GPS monitoring ankle device. Furthermore, there were two firearms in the vehicle, along with burglary tools. The subject’s criminal history was lengthy and included violent acts.
Santa Rosa County
Officer Lewis located a food plot that had been planted on Blackwater River State Forest adjacent to a section of private property. When asked, a man hunting near the food plot admitted to planting it. The subject was issued multiple citations for planting the food plot on the management area.
Officer Lewis observed a pickup on the side of the road that appeared to be disabled and stopped to assist. While talking to the occupants, the officer learned that one of them had killed a doe deer, which was in a cooler in the bed of the pickup. Stories differed regarding the location where the deer was killed and the shooter could not remember where it was taken. The subject that killed the deer claimed he killed it in Alabama but had not checked it in as required by Alabama regulations. Officer Lewis contacted an Alabama game warden, and met him at the state line. The suspect showed the officers the deer carcass in Alabama, but claimed that he could not remember where it was taken. The Alabama officer charged the subject for not filling out his harvest report.
Officer Land was on the Escambia River when he observed three subjects on a boat heading under power toward a flock of coots. When the boat flushed the coots, one of the hunters fired at them before the boat stopped moving. Officer Land contacted Lieutenant Hahr who located the hunters as they were leaving a nearby boat ramp. The subjects admitted to trying to shoot the coots from the moving boat. Upon inspection, the officers found that the subject observed shooting was using lead shot and a shotgun capable of holding more than three shells. The one subject was issued a citation for attempting to take waterfowl from a vessel under power and with lead shot.
Lieutenant Berryman was patrolling the Escribano Point Wildlife Management Area (WMA) when he encountered four individuals camping at the Bayou Campground. While speaking with these individuals, he learned that they did not possess a camping permit for the campground and observed several beer cans that had been discarded on the ground and open containers of beer within their vehicles. Additionally, it was found that none of the four individuals possessed a valid driver’s license and that one of the vehicle’s registration tag was expired and was ordered by the court to be seized. All four subjects appeared to be nervous and were acting very suspiciously. Officer Land arrived to assist and requested a K-9 unit from the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office. The sheriff’s deputy arrived and worked his police canine around the vehicles and the subjects’ tent that had been set up in a non-designated camping area. The canine showed a positive alert on both vehicles and the tent for narcotics. A search of both vehicles revealed marijuana, methamphetamines and drug paraphernalia. The owners of both vehicles and the tent were placed under arrest by Officer Land and transported to the county jail. Both vehicles were towed and the tent was seized for safe keeping until a search warrant could be obtained to search it and its contents. The other two individuals were given a ride to a local motel.
Wakulla County
During duck season, Officer Nelson and Federal Refuge Officer Lord received information that several subjects were hunting in the portion of the St. Marks Wildlife Refuge closed to hunting. Officers Lord and Nelson launched a vessel and located the individuals who had harvested several redhead ducks inside the closed area. The subjects were issued the appropriate citations for hunting in the closed area.
Searches:
Santa Rosa County
Officers responded to a distress call from three hunters who swamped their boat while preparing to duck hunt in Escambia Bay. The three young hunters ran out of gas about four miles from the boat ramp and drifted away from the shoreline. They had a friend bring them gas, but they were unable to start the motor once they filled the tank. By this time, they had drifted out into the bay and strong north winds had created a stiff chop. They attempted to anchor the boat using a heavy lead anchor, but improperly tied the rope off to the stern. The boat quickly took on water and swamped. Luckily, the three young adults donned their life jackets and began to swim to shore in the freezing air temperature. One of them had a waterproof case on his phone and called 911 while swimming. Avalon Fire Rescue located the hunters and pulled them from the water. Officers located the boat and recovered it along with the hunters’ shotguns and most of their belongings. The hunters were treated at the hospital for hypothermia and released.
Walton County
Officer Corbin and Investigator Armstrong responded to a search and rescue in the Choctawhatchee River area near Smokehouse Landing in Freeport. The report stated a 70-year-old man was operating his 18-foot vessel in a slough off the river when the boat became stuck on a log. The operator was by himself with no cellular phone service. The operator provided GPS coordinates to dispatch. The officers launched a vessel and, with the GPS coordinates, located the man quickly. The officers freed the man’s vessel from the log and ensured his safe arrival back to the boat ramp.
Community Oriented Policing:
Okaloosa County
Officers J. Rockwell, Brooks and P. Rockwell attended an outreach event at Crestview High School. The officers addressed approximately 60 students and spoke about the job of an officer and how they use different vehicles and vessels to patrol their areas. The officers brought for display two marked patrol vessels, one 26-foot and the other 16-foot, and an ATV used to patrol rough terrain.
Santa Rosa County
Officers teamed up with staff from the Division of Habitat and Species Conservation to work the Blackwater Family Hunt. The hunt was an enormous success as the hunters enjoyed beautiful weather and saw lots of deer movement. The hunters harvested 18 deer over the weekend and used 43 of the issued permits. Several of the young hunters won donated door prizes including two firearms and a double ladder stand. It was a wonderful experience for all that participated.