FWC Law Enforcement Report

August 15, 2016

The Florida FWC Division of Law Enforcement reported the following activity during the weekly period ending August 11 in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties.

ESCAMBIA COUNTY

Lieutenant Hahr was patrolling in the Perdido River Wildlife Management Area (WMA) when he observed four adults smoking a cannabis cigarette. A search of their belongings revealed a bag of cannabis and a cannabis roach. They were each charged with possession of not more than 20 grams of cannabis.

SANTA ROSA COUNTY

Officer Lewis was on forest patrol in Blackwater River State Forest at a primitive campsite when he observed a man and a woman sitting in a creek sharing what appeared to be a cannabis cigarette. Officer Lewis also observed them drinking beer from glass bottles. Alcoholic beverages and glass containers are prohibited in the area they were in. Officer Lewis observed the adult male toss what they were smoking into the water and immediately approached the subjects. He explained to them that alcoholic beverages and glass bottles were prohibited in the area they were in. He also explained to them that they appeared to be smoking cannabis. The female subject said that the male subject passed her a cigarette to smoke. Officer Lewis thought that was odd because she was almost finished smoking a cigarette as he spoke with her. He asked where the female’s cigarettes were and she retrieved a small bag from a larger bag. She gave Officer Lewis permission to search the bag and he found two smoked cannabis cigarettes. Officer Lewis searched the large bag the small bag was in and found various paraphernalia items containing methamphetamine. The female subject voluntarily stated all the illegal drugs belonged to her. Officer Lewis arrested the female subject and booked her into the Sarasota County Jail for possession of a controlled substance without a prescription, possession of cannabis not more than 20 grams, and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Officer Lewis received a complaint in Blackwater River State Forest in reference to dumped garbage on a forest road. Officer Lewis met the complainant at the dump site and the complainant gave him an article with a name and address on it that was found in the garbage. Officer Lewis was able to ascertain who dumped the garbage, and cited them for littering not more than 15 pounds.

Officer Lewis received a complaint about two Jeeps tearing up the road in the Hutton Unit WMA. Officer Lewis entered the WMA and was met by two Jeeps fitting the description of the complaint. Officer Lewis stopped the Jeeps, and explained to the drivers that there was a complaint about Jeeps tearing up the roads in the area. One of the drivers said that they were doing donuts because they did not think it would be a problem. The driver showed Officer Lewis where they were tearing up the roadway. The complainant identified the drivers of the Jeeps and gave Officer Lewis a written statement. Officer Lewis charged the drivers with destruction of public lands by motor vehicles.

Lieutenant Hahr checked a fisherman returning from fishing with six largemouth bass. The man admitted to catching all of them and was charged with taking over the bag limit of bass.

Officer Land witnessed an individual fishing by himself at the Oriole Beach Boat Ramp during an evening patrol in Gulf Breeze, and approached the individual to inspect his catch. There were multiple fishing poles with lines in the water, a crab net, and a five-gallon bucket. Officer Land asked the man if he had caught anything, and he replied that he had not. The officer then looked into the bucket beside the fisherman, and saw blue crab and stone crab in whole condition. The man stated that the crabs were not his and he was not fishing. The illegal stone crab was photographed and the man was issued a notice to appear. After signing for his citation, the man loaded the fishing poles, crab net, and bucket into his vehicle and left the area. The stone crab was still alive and released back to the water.

While on patrol in Blackwater Bay, Officers Land and Lewis conducted a fisheries inspection of a vessel they saw actively fishing. There were two men on board and when asked about their catch, the captain of the vessel said they had caught some mullet and a sandbar shark. Upon inspection, the officers located the head of a small bull shark. All sharks must be landed in whole condition, and bull sharks must measure at least 54 inches to the fork of their tail. The captain of the vessel was issued a notice to appear for the violation.

Officers Jones, Roberson, and Hughes responded to a complaint from Eglin Air Force Base (AFB) officials of a group who were in possession of large sacks of palmetto berries. The officers arrived to find six males in a pickup truck loaded with freshly picked palmetto berries. They had no permit to harvest and no required permits to be on Eglin AFB lands. All claimed they did not speak English and only the driver produced identification. An investigation ensued which included assistance from a trooper who spoke Spanish and a trooper with rapid identification capability. One individual, the driver and apparent head of the group, was charged with removing vegetation from the Eglin WMA and for having no permit to be on Eglin AFB lands. One member of the group was arrested on an outstanding warrant and transported to Santa Rosa County Jail.

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