FWC Law Enforcement Report

July 25, 2019

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

ESCAMBIA COUNTY

Officers Cushing, Land and Matechik were working Gulf State Waters aboard the offshore patrol vessel NW Fincat, Officer Cushing conducted a marine fisheries inspection of a 25-foot recreational fishing vessel and discovered a bag of fillets in a plastic bag. The captain stated that his wife caught her first “amberjack” and wanted to keep it. He admitted to filleting the fish and putting it in the bag. The appropriate action was taken reference the violations.

Officers Cushing and Land were on water patrol near Big Lagoon State park and saw an eastbound vessel plowing through the idle speed zone. Officers stopped the vessel to address the violation and instructed the operator to place his vessel engine in neutral. He had difficulty placing it in neutral, switching from forward to reverse multiple times. Officers then instructed him to turn the engine off. Officer Land saw a bucket full of empty beer cans in the vessel. The operator’s breath smelled of alcoholic beverage and Standardized Field Sobriety Tasks were administered. The operator was arrested and taken to Escambia County Jail.

Officers Clark and Long were on water patrol in the Quiet Water portion of the Santa Rosa Sound when they saw a vessel displaying partial registration numbers. They conducted a vessel stop and saw the operator showing indicators of impairment. Standardized field sobriety tasks were administered, and the operator was placed under arrest for boating under the influence. The subject provided a breath sample of 0.133 blood alcohol content and 0.122 blood alcohol content. The operator was cited for BUI and transported to the Escambia County Jail.

Officer Long and Investigator Livesay were patrolling Pensacola Bay and identified a vessel that was adrift with no navigation lights illuminated. A vessel stop was conducted to address the safety violation, and the owner/operator exhibited numerous signs of impairment. The operator was asked to perform Standard Field Sobriety Tasks and was placed under arrest and transported to the Escambia County Jail for operating a vessel while normal faculties were impaired.

Officer Allgood stopped a vessel near Fort McRee after noticing the registration was improperly displayed. The operator of the vessel saw Officer Allgood and switched places with another occupant. While speaking with the operator, Officer Allgood noticed several signs of impairment, including a very strong odor of alcohol. Officer Allgood requested the operator perform several field sobriety tasks. The operator refused to perform any of the tasks. Based on his observation Officer Allgood, arrested the operator for BUI. After being transported to the Escambia County Jail, the operator declined to give a breath sample but admitted to drinking 10-15 beers earlier that day.

Officer Allgood performed a safety check on a personal water craft (PWC) near Big Lagoon State Park. He found the operator was an employee of a nearby livery and he did not have a boating safety card as required. This prompted a livery inspection. Two PWC’s were rented out at the time and when they returned to the livery it was found that one of the operators did not have a boating safety card. The owner of the livery was cited for renting a PWC to a person that did not possess a required boating safety card. The employee was also cited for the violation.

SANTA ROSA COUNTY

Officer Land was conducting resource inspections at the Shoreline Park Boat Ramp. He saw a large vessel with multiple people on board return to the ramp and contacted the operator of the vessel to conduct a marine fisheries inspection. During the inspection Officer Land located an undersized cobia. The operator was cited for the violation.

Officer Ramos was on vessel patrol in the Santa Rosa sound and conducted a boating safety inspection on a pontoon boat with a family onboard. The inspection revealed that the pontoon did not have all required safety equipment even though it was rented from a nearby livery. Officer Ramos visited the livery and contacted the manager. The manager stated that the business does not use a check-off sheet to visually ensure all required safety equipment is on-board prior to each rental boat’s departure. He was issued a notice to appear citation for renting a vessel without the required safety equipment.

An FWC investigator saw two subjects steal a license plate off a vehicle near the Navarre Beach boat ramp. When the investigator identified himself to the suspects, one of the subjects fled in what later was identified as a stolen vehicle. The subject crashed into a vessel trailer parked at the Navarre Beach boat ramp while fleeing from law enforcement. FWC officers located the stolen vehicle a short-time later, and with the assistance of the Santa Rosa County Sherriff’s Office, located the subject swimming with a crowd on Navarre Beach in an effort to remain undetected. The subject was placed under arrest for multiple felony and misdemeanor charges.

This report represents some events the FWC handled during the time period; however, it does not include all actions taken by the Division of Law Enforcement. Information provided by FWC.

NorthEscambia.com photo.

Comments

4 Responses to “FWC Law Enforcement Report”

  1. Dale Schofield on July 28th, 2019 9:27 am

    Great job everyone! You have been busy and I appreciate you keeping our waters safe and making sure everyone follows the law.

  2. Frank Rauletson on July 26th, 2019 10:09 pm

    At least you cant be vcd arrested for drinking at home

  3. Niknak50 on July 25th, 2019 8:39 am

    When will people realize the only place they can be “impaired” any more is at home with car keys in possession of a responsible person.

  4. Don Neese on July 25th, 2019 6:50 am

    Wow! You guys have been busy. Thanks, officers.

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News