FWC Law Enforcement Report

July 5, 2016

The Florida FWC Division of Law Enforcement reported the following activity during the weekly period ending June 30 in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties.

ESCAMBIA COUNTY

Lieutenant Hahr was patrolling the Perdido River Wildlife Management Area (WMA) when a girl came running up to tell him about a man assaulting a woman in the parking lot. After running back to the parking lot, Lieutenant Hahr was directed to a truck where the man was about to leave with his family. After a short investigation, he determined that the man had been drinking and was upset with his son and daughter for getting ahead of him and his wife on their float trip. He had thrown his 14‑year‑old daughter around by her hair and violently grabbed his 17‑year‑old son by his throat and hair. The man was arrested for two counts of domestic violence battery.

Officer Clark was on patrol in Opal Beach Federal Park and observed a vehicle exceeding the speed limit. He initiated a traffic stop, approached the driver and asked for his driver license. The driver stated he left it at the office. Officer Clark could smell an odor of cannabis emanating from the vehicle. He asked the driver if he had anything illegal in the vehicle. The driver stated he had a pipe in his backpack. Officer Clark informed the driver he was going to search the bag and the driver stated that there was also cannabis in the bag. On the passenger seat, a metal grinder was in plain view. All items were seized and the driver was identified through FWC Dispatch with no valid license and as a habitual traffic offender with five previous suspensions. Officer Clark placed the driver into custody and charged him with felony driving with license suspended, possession of cannabis under 20 grams and possession of paraphernalia.

Officers Hutchinson and Clark were patrolling at Whiting Park on Blackwater River. The officers were inside the office when an anonymous complainant informed them that an extremely intoxicated person just returned from operating a vessel. He advised that the individual almost fell down when exiting the vessel. While they were standing in the office, the complainant pointed at a white male in a blue truck and advised that he was the person he was talking about. Officers Hutchinson and Clark left the office and while getting in their patrol vehicle, the truck had already started to drive off. The officers followed for a short distance observing the vehicle swerving out of the lane several times. They stopped the vehicle and approached the driver. The driver spontaneously stated that he was going to let someone else drive. He said he had been drinking and that he was not safe to drive. While talking with the driver, Officer Clark could smell a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage. Officer Clark requested the driver to participate in some field alcohol tests and he agreed. The driver performed poorly on all tests and was arrested and transported to Santa Rosa County Jail for DUI. The driver provided a breath sample of .125.

Officer McHenry was on vessel patrol in Big Lagoon State Park and stopped a vessel that did not have a registration decal displayed. While speaking with the vessel’s operator, he noticed several signs of impairment. The operator agreed to perform several field alcohol tests, performed poorly and was arrested and transported to the Escambia County Jail for BUI. The breath sample provided resulted in a blood alcohol content of .224.

Officer McHenry was patrolling the area in the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) in front of Big Lagoon State Park. He stopped a vessel displaying Alabama registration numbers but no registration decal. Because of the time and the amount of boat traffic in the area, Officer McHenry had the suspect operate the vessel at idle speed to the state park in calmer waters with less boat traffic. While conducting the boating safety inspection, he noticed a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from the suspect’s breath. The suspect also had red, glassy blood-shot eyes and slurred speech. The suspect voluntarily performed field alcohol tests, performed poorly and was charged with BUI and failure to register his vessel.

SANTA ROSA COUNTY — No information submitted.

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

4 Responses to “FWC Law Enforcement Report”

  1. wally on July 5th, 2016 2:38 pm

    If you get a DUI or BUI it is to late to study. Admit it, that is just stupid. You see how many arrested had already lost their licenses. I think they ought to pick up trash on the highways or work off their fines in some other public manner. Maybe they would think twice before doing something that is stupid again. Your life or the life of one of your family members could depend on it.

  2. Dennis on July 5th, 2016 9:05 am

    Might want to practice not drinking alcohol before and during operating a boat, etc in water??????

  3. Willis on July 5th, 2016 7:44 am

    @niknak50,

    Sounds like they had been studying pretty hard.

    Apparently just slow learners !

  4. Niknak50 on July 5th, 2016 7:02 am

    Re: field sobriety tests. Practice, practice, practice people, your performance on these tests is embarassing to the whole state. You know the test are coming, you should be studying hard. Failure is not an option.