FWC Division of Law Enforcement Weekly Report 2/2/2018 – 2/8/2018
March 1, 2018
Escambia County
Officer Pettey received information that a group of subjects were catching what appeared to be several hundred pounds of Bonita on the Pensacola Beach Gulf Pier. State law prohibits an individual from keeping more than 100 pounds of Bonita unless they have a saltwater products license (SPL). Officers McHenry and Land arrived to assist. Together the officers found five subjects in possession of 1,145 pounds of Bonita without having the required SPL. The officers seized 645 pounds of Bonita from the subjects. The individuals were allowed to keep the remaining 500 pounds as part of their daily limit. The seized Bonita were donated to the Wildlife Sanctuary of Northwest Florida. Notice to appear citations were issued for the violations.
Okaloosa County
Officer Corbin received information from the U. S. Coast Guard (USCG) Destin regarding a 27-foot sailboat aground and blocking part of the channel into Sara Ann Bayou in Niceville. The last known registered owner stated the vessel was sold in October and provided a bill of sale. The new owner confirmed that he purchased the vessel and provided the title documentation. The new owner was aware the sailboat was aground and blocking part of the channel. A notice to appear citation was issued for failure to transfer vessel title into his name, which is required within 30 days of purchase.
Officers Jarvis and Bartlett received a complaint regarding a subject who killed two antlerless deer on Eglin Wildlife Management area. The officers contacted the subject and observed the antlerless deer. A notice to appear citation was issued for killing two antlerless deer.
Santa Rosa County
Officer Hutchinson with the use of a spotlight. A search of the truck revealed drug paraphernalia and illegal drugs. One subject was charged with night hunting and the drug and paraphernalia violations. The two other subjects were charged with night hunting and shooting from a paved public roadway. Both firearms, the spotlight, and the deer were seized. The deer was donated to the Waterfront Rescue Mission.
Officer Lewis located a subject in Blackwater Wildlife Management Area that was hunting over a food plot and scattered corn. The suspect had placed no trespassing signs up at the entrance to the area and had apparently been hunting the area for quite a while. He was charged with attempting to take deer over bait in a wildlife management area.
Officer Mullins received information regarding an illegal deer that had been taken in Blackwater Wildlife Management Area. Officer Mullins and Roberson met with and interviewed the subject involved, who admitted to taking the deer, but stated that it was legal. When asked to see the antlers from the deer, the suspect was evasive and the officers felt he was not being truthful. The officers asked to see the remains of the deer and the suspect showed them buried remains from the deer he claimed was legal. Laying a few feet from the remains, the officers noticed a small set of antlers that matched the antlers from the deer in question. After an investigation, it was determined that those small antlers belonged to the deer the subject had taken a few days before. Charges were filed for taking a deer that did not meet the antler restriction rule.
Wakulla County
Officer Korade responded to assist with a call for service off Forest Road 313 in the Apalachicola WMA. While in route to the area, along Whiddon Lake Road, he observed several vehicles parked along the roadway. The vehicles were occupied by several individuals wearing blaze orange and holding what appeared to be handheld GPS tracking units. Officer Korade made note of this and continued to the assigned call. After completing the call, he returned to the area where he had seen the subjects. Officer Korade was joined by Officers Hughes and Carr. The officers investigated and determined the individuals were allowing their dogs to pursue game on private lands without owner permission. Citations were issued to the individuals for Hunter Responsibility violations.
Walton County
Officer Bartlett received an anonymous complaint of two vehicles driving in an area closed to vehicle traffic in the Eglin Choctaw East Management Unit near Range Road 214. The complainant stated while he was exiting the area he observed where the vehicles had drove around a closed gate and pulled the post up to access the closed area by vehicle. When the officer arrived, he contacted both vehicles exiting the area on the same unnamed/unnumbered road they used to access the area. Both drivers acknowledged they drove their vehicles in the closed area and were issued citations for driving in a closed area.
Investigator Armstrong and Officers Brooks and Bartlett were on water patrol on the Choctawhatchee River when they observed a subject in a vessel returning from hunting. When the officers contacted the subject, they observed blood in his vessel. The subject said the blood was from a deer he had killed the day before but was unable to produce any sex identification of the deer – but stated some of the deer meat was at a friend’s house in Freeport. Lieutenant Hollinhead and Officer Letcher contacted a subject at the residence and confirmed a portion of a deer had been brought to him. An inspection of the meat did not support when the subject said the deer was killed due to the age of the meat. After several conflicting stories the subject in the vessel took the officers to a houseboat where a deer had been cleaned but there were also multiple deer carcasses that appeared to have been killed in the last several weeks. The antlers on two of the carcasses were less than ten inches. The subject was questioned again and provided a statement that he and his brother had killed one of the deer while night hunting on the river the night before the officers had stopped him. A firearm on the houseboat was identified as the one used to take the deer and was seized and placed into evidence storage. The subject was charged with taking a deer at night with a gun and light and taking a deer with antlers less than ten inches.
Community Oriented Policing
Walton County
Local FWC officers helped with the annual mobility impaired Wounded Warrior hunt on Eglin Wildlife Management Area. There were a total of 58 mobility impaired hunters and Wounded Warrior veterans that attended the hunt. The officers tracked/recovered deer for the hunters and responded to calls for service in other areas of Eglin. There were 270 applicants who submitted their requests to participate and 49 hunters wererandomly selected. There were 39 deer taken, along with 9 hogs. Also, there were 20 Panhandle Archery volunteers that helped clean deer and provided food for the event.
Santa Rosa County
Santa Rosa County officers teamed up with other FWC staff and numerous volunteers to work the Blackwater Hutton Unit Mobility Impaired Hunts. The hunts went off without any issues with several hunters harvesting deer. FWC staff and volunteers provided meals for the hunters and sponsors provided door prizes and giveaways for the hunters. Many hours of preparation from both FWC staff and volunteers go toward this hunt to make it what it is. Many in the community came together and made the hunt a great success.