FWC Law Enforcement Report

June 1, 2016

The Florida FWC Division of Law Enforcement reported the following activity during the weekly period ending May 26 in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties.

ESCAMBIA COUNTY

FWC Officers Barnard and Cushing responded to a disturbance aboard a broken down vessel on the Escambia River. A nearby concerned citizen called in the disturbance after hearing threats from one of the subjects onboard this vessel that were directed towards several other subjects also onboard the vessel. The situation escalated and a second report was called in stating that the person making the threats was now armed. Officers Barnard and Cushing located the vessel and removed the suspect. An Escambia County deputy arrived and the suspect and the incident was turned over to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office for further investigation.

SANTA ROSA COUNTY

While patrolling Blackwater State Forest, Officer Hutchinson and Investigator Hughes inspected several primitive campsites. During these inspections, they observed alcohol and illegal drug violations. They made several arrests for possession of illegal drugs, including a felony arrest for possession of methamphetamine, and issued citations for possession of alcoholic beverages in posted areas. The officers also made contact with and identified a subject who had multiple warrants for his arrest from Escambia County. They subject was placed under arrest and booked into the Santa Rosa County Jail.

While off duty, Officer Hutchinson observed a woman parked near a creek and retrieve a large plastic box from the trunk of her car and walk towards the water’s edge. He observed the woman then dump several large goldfish into the creek. As she left the area, the officer was able to get her vehicle’s tag information. He walked to the creek and discovered six goldfish swimming in the creek where the woman had dumped them. The goldfish were approximately 8 to 10 inches in length and had large sores on them. He was able to catch one of the goldfish but was unable to catch the other five. The following day, Officer Hutchinson made contact with the woman and interviewed her. She admitted to dumping the goldfish into the creek because she didn’t want them anymore. He contacted Captive Wildlife Investigator Wilkerson who helped him properly identify the fish as comet goldfish which are not native to Florida. The female subject was issued a citation for releasing a non-native species into Florida waters without a permit.

Lieutenant Keen and Officer Brady were conducting offshore patrols when they checked a vessel that had eleven red snapper onboard. Initially, the captain said he didn’t realize he was in federal waters (15 miles offshore), but later admitted to knowing his location. The captain of the vessel was cited for the violation.

Officer Gore was contacted by Officer Goodwin concerning an oyster vessel that he was surveilling returning to a dock located behind a residence. Officer Gore went to the location and observed a subject sitting in the “doghouse” of the vessel smoking something out of a glass pipe. As Officer Gore approached, the subject quickly tried to hide the pipe. When asked for the pipe, the subject threw it overboard. The subject was handcuffed and the pipe recovered. Officers Alsobrooks and Hellet arrived to assist. Follow-up found an empty baggie containing residue that field tested positive for methamphetamine located on the deck of the boat where the subject was sitting and also a pipe with cannabis residue. The subject was booked into the Bay County Jail for possession of drug paraphernalia and resisting arrest without violence.

Officer Price conducted successful offshore patrols over the weekend. As he pulled up to one vessel, one subject was de-hooking a legal red snapper and returning it to the waters. A check of the cooler found four red snapper inside. During another stop, he found four red snapper onboard a vessel. And yet another inspection yielded twelve red snapper. Federal citations were issued for possession of red snapper during closed season. Another inspection found a filleted greater amberjack and several short grey triggerfish. When the captain was asked where the filets of the amberjack were, he said that he had eaten them. The amberjack was found to be undersized and a citation was issued.

Officer Price investigated a boating accident involving two personal watercraft (PWC) that were part of a Jet Ski tour group. As the group approached Grand Lagoon’s idle speed zone, one of the PWC ran into the back of another PWC causing one passenger to be injured. A citation was issued after the investigation was concluded.

While patrolling in Blackwater State Forest, Officer Hutchinson and Investigator Hughes located a gopher tortoise digging a burrow in the middle of a heavily traveled dirt road. It appeared that the tortoise was preparing to lay her eggs in the hole. They relocated the tortoise to a different area where the chance of her and her eggs’ survival were greater.

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