FWC Law Enforcement Report

December 19, 2015

The Florida FWC Division of Law Enforcement reported the following activity during the weekly period ending December 17 in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties.

ESCAMBIA COUNTY

Officers Manning, Barnard and Pettey worked information they received about an individual trespassing and hunting on private property. After several days of working the information, they discovered the suspect’s car in the area.  The officers staged around the area and Officer Manning stopped the individual as he was leaving.  Officer Manning spoke to the individual and he claimed to have permission to hunt on an adjacent property.

Officer Manning discovered the subject had an active warrant for his arrest and that he was driving on a suspended license.  While speaking to the subject, he admitted to being a convicted felon.  He said that he knew he wasn’t supposed to possess firearms but just could not help it because he liked to hunt too much.

Officer Manning confirmed the subject was a convicted felon and seized the three firearms in his possession. Officer Manning arrested and transported the subject to the Escambia County Jail.  In addition to the active warrant, the subject was charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, knowingly driving on a suspended license and hunting without a license.

SANTA ROSA  COUNTY

Santa Rosa County officers conducted a detail in conjunction with the Aviation Section targeting illegal night hunting. Aviation personnel contacted Officer P. Rockwell when they spotted a vehicle shining a light in an open field in a manner capable of disclosing the presence of deer. The aviation personnel provided Officer Rockwell the necessary coordinates to intersect and stop the vehicle. During the stop, a loaded shotgun with a chambered round and a spotlight were discovered. The driver and passenger were issued a citation for attempting to take deer at night with a gun and light.

During the fall dog training season on the Eglin Reservation Wildlife Management Area (WMA), Officer Jones received a complaint from a citizen stating that an individual stole his hunting dog. An investigation conducted by Officers Jones and Tolbert indicated the following events. The complainant and his companions encountered an individual who had a dog in his vehicle that appeared to be a dog owned by the complainant. At about the same time, they saw the individual throw something into the woods and then drive away. They went to the location and found a dog identification collar belonging to the complainant. The complainant followed and confronted the individual and retrieved the dog. Later in the day, a radio tracking collar that had been used on the same dog was found in the woods at the same location as the identification collar. The collars had been cut. Several witnesses were interviewed and gave sworn statements including the suspect. An arrest warrant was obtained charging the suspect with grand theft.

Officer Jones was on foot patrol in the Eglin Reservation WMA near the Okaloosa/Santa Rosa County line. He made contact with a hunter in a tree stand who was hunting with archery gear. Officer Jones also found feed distributed on the ground near the stand. There was no open hunting season on Eglin at that time. Officer Jones charged the hunter with hunting during closed season, hunting over bait and possession of marijuana. The hunter’s hunting equipment was seized as evidence. Eglin Range Patrol rescinded his Eglin privileges.

Multiple officers from Escambia and Santa Rosa County focused on the opening of the second phase of waterfowl season. Officers utilized Division aircraft and vessels to locate hunters. During the detail, multiple violations were addressed to include taking migratory birds with the use of an unplugged gun, no hunting license, no federal duck stamp and other permit violations.

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.

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Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News