FWC Law Enforcement Report

July 14, 2015

The Florida FWC Division of Law Enforcement reported the following activity during the weekly period ending July 9 in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties.

ESCAMBIA COUNTY

Officers Land and Cushing were on patrol on the FinCat in the Gulf of Mexico on the Fourth of July. Officer Land conducted 12 fisheries inspections. During one inspection, he asked the crew if they had any fish. They replied that they had one greater amberjack. Officer Land discovered a total of three greater amberjack, two of which were undersized. Federal citations will be issued for possession of greater amberjack during closed season and undersized greater amberjack. On another vessel, Officer Land discovered persons in possession of red snapper and gray triggerfish during closed season. Citations for the violations will be issued.

SANTA ROSA COUNTY

Officer Clark and Lieutenant Lambert were on vessel patrol when they noticed a vessel having trouble navigating in an idle speed zone. During a vessel safety stop, Officer Clark noticed several signs of impairment from the operator. He performed poorly on field sobriety exercises and was arrested for BUI. After providing a breath sample of .130 g/210L, the operator was transported to the Escambia County Jail.

Officer Hutchinson received information that several subjects had been illegally night hunting and had taken two bucks in velvet.  He and Lieutenant Hahr conducted an investigation and determined that four subjects had activated a deer depredation permit, but hunted three other fields that were not covered under the permit.  The officers located two velvet horned bucks that had been removed from the fields just long enough to pose for photos and to remove the back straps from one of the deer.  The deer had been dumped and left to rot.  The officers determined the bucks had been taken on the fields not covered under the permit and were taken from the county roads adjacent to the fields. They located nine empty rifle casings and blood on the roadways where the deer were shot.  Two subjects were charged with three counts of taking deer at night with a gun and light and taking wildlife from a public right of way.

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

5 Responses to “FWC Law Enforcement Report”

  1. Dennis on July 15th, 2015 4:38 pm

    Thanks for the good work.

  2. Jane on July 15th, 2015 5:46 am

    If you shoot it you should eat it. Killing animals just to kill them is wasteful and shows lack of common sense and consideration for hunting regulations. Hope they got a big fine! Thank you FWC!

  3. Tom on July 14th, 2015 9:52 am

    Great job guys, keep up the fine work !

  4. ET on July 14th, 2015 6:37 am

    Yes they do a good job. I would like to see them catch some of the illegal fishing on our local rivers. Such as shocking catfish which is raping our rivers. This is just as bad as night hunting for deer. If anyone see’s this activity going on please report it.

  5. Gman on July 14th, 2015 5:02 am

    Excellent job folks, I love reading about your activities.