FWC Law Enforcement Report

December 6, 2014

The Florida FWC Division of Law Enforcement reported the following activity during the weekly period ending  December 4 in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties.

ESCAMBIA COUNTY

Investigator Wilkenson’s court case against an individual charged for storing/processing yard trash debris without a facility permit was adjudicated guilty of a first degree misdemeanor.  The court assessed $535 in fines.  This individual has been charged twice for the same violation. The first violation occurred in 2013.

Investigator Goley was patrolling in Perdido River WMA when he observed a vehicle parked at the Muscogee Cemetery after hours.  Investigator Goley approached the vehicle and spoke to the occupants.  He immediately noticed the odor of burning marijuana and questioned the driver about the smell.  The driver admitted to smoking marijuana and that he threw it out the window.  Investigator Goley located the evidence and seized less than 20 grams of marijuana and issued a notice to appear citation for the violation.  A citation for possession of alcohol was also given to the passenger in the vehicle.

Officer Webb checked a fisherman as he was coming off the Bob Sikes Bridge.  Officer Webb spoke to the individual and asked if he had caught anything.  The individual admitted he caught a red drum but was unsure of its size.  Officer Webb measured the fish, which measured 35 inches.  The legal size for red drum is 18 to 27 inches.  After further questioning, the subject admitted having a second red drum in the trunk of his car.  That fish measured 36 inches.  Officer Webb seized the fish and issued a notice to appear citation to the individual for the violation.

While on patrol, Lieutenant Lambert observed an individual drive into a cultivated corn field in an attempt to shine deer with the vehicle’s headlights.  Lieutenant Lambert stopped the vehicle as it exited the field.  The driver had a 20 gauge shotgun lying next to him on the front seat.  The subject admitted he was looking for deer and would have shot a big buck.  The subject’s gun was seized and was issued a notice to appear citation for the violation.

SANTA ROSA COUNTY

Officers working Blackwater Wildlife Management during the opening of gun season responded to a gunshot near the closed area of Krul Lake.  The officers located a vehicle near this area and waited on the hunter to return.  Officers Barnard, Hutchinson and Hoomes stopped the subject and asked if he shot earlier.  The subject admitted to shooting two deer and advised he left his gun in the woods after seeing the officers in the area.  The subject did not have a hunting license. When the officers went to the area, they observed corn on the ground around the area the subject was hunting.  The officers also located a 7‑point buck that the subject shot.  The subject’s rifle was located in the woods near this area.  It was determined that the subject shot at the same deer twice and thought there was a second deer.  The subject was issued citations for taking deer on a WMA where food or grain has been distributed and for not having a hunting license.  The subject was issued four warnings for other license violations.

Officer Miller was patrolling Eglin WMA working a hunting detail during the first phase of rifle season.  He received a complaint that a hunter, who had shot a deer in the daily closed area, was currently tracking it.  Upon arrival at the boundary of the closed area where the subject was allegedly last seen, a truck pulled up.  Upon inspection of this truck, Officer Miller found a dead doe deer in the bed.  The subject was cited for possession of a doe deer during a closed season. The deer was seized and donated.

During the four day general gun season, Investigator Schafer and Officers Jones and Miller conducted an enforcement detail on the western portion of the Eglin Reservation and WMA.  The officers worked a total of 103 hours, contacted 162 users, issued 2 citations (including 1 for the killing of a doe deer out of season), and issued 1 warning.  The officers responded to13 calls for service.

Officer Lewis and K-9 Officer Pineda worked a detail in the Blackwater WMA targeting illegal hunting.  The officers located a vehicle parked in an area where they had information about a baited site.  The officers deployed K-9 Kane who tracked into the woods and located a hunter who had exited her stand.  A brief search of the area revealed that the hunter was in fact hunting over bait.  The hunter was issued a citation for hunting over bait within a WMA.

K9 Officer Pineda was patrolling Eglin WMA following a lead of someone being on the area after legal hours.  He observed vehicle headlights at the end of a trail. The vehicle then suddenly swerved into the woods and shut its headlights off. Officer Pineda located the vehicle in the woods and made contact with five people in the vehicle. The driver stated his vehicle was giving him problems and caused him to drive into the woods and shut his lights off. All the occupants were aware of the Eglin rules and that they were in violation. They later admitted they were in the wrong and had tried to hide from the officer.  Officer Jones arrived to assist.  The subjects were cited for being on Eglin after hours established by the commander and for driving off of named and numbered roads.  They were then released and told to exit the management area. Fifteen minutes later, the same driver was observed going around a closed section gate and into the closed area. The driver was stopped and cited for a closed area violation. Later that night, the officers made contact with another individual who had called Range Patrol stating he had been biking through Eglin and got lost. After further investigation, it was determined that he had been dishonest and had actually been in the vehicle that was stopped earlier. He stated that he bailed out of the vehicle before the officer made contact because he was underage and was in possession of alcohol (two whiskey jugs) and got scared. The officers went back to the scene of the original vehicle stop and deployed the K-9.  The K-9 located two jugs of whiskey hidden in the woods. The subject stated that was his whiskey. He was charged with littering, underage possession of alcohol and being on Eglin after hours established by the commander.

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. Information provided by FWC.


Comments

One Response to “FWC Law Enforcement Report”

  1. Bob's Brother on December 9th, 2014 1:11 pm

    Thanks, NE.com for publishing this report. 90% or more hunters are dedicated and conservation minded sportsment. These reports serve to warn the 10%+- of
    those who think the enforcement of laws isn’t being done. Also, my hat is off to these officers. They’re dealing with people who are knowingly breaking the law and are in many cases, armed.

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