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FWC Law Enforcement Report: Night Hunting, Illegal Deer Harvests

The Florida FWC Division of Law Enforcement reported the following activity:

ESCAMBIA COUNTY

Officer Ramos was on patrol targeting night hunting violations. He observed a truck pass his location and intermittently shine a spotlight into fields and areas known to hold deer. After watching the truck shine various locations, Officer Ramos conducted a traffic stop and identified the three persons inside. The occupants stated they were just out shining for deer, and they were in possession of a rifle with ammunition. The passenger who was shining a light was confirmed to have an active warrant out of Santa Rosa County. Officer’s Allgood and Long arrived and assisted in the investigation and collection of evidence. The man with the warrant was arrested and transported to the county jail. He was also charged with attempting to take deer with gun and light, and possession of concealed weapon without a permit.

Officers with the Missouri Department of Conservation contacted FWC officers about a hunter that illegally harvested several deer and was heading home to Escambia County. Officer McHenry and Pettey were able to contact the subject and found him in possession of the three deer that were illegally harvested in Missouri. The officers also found that the individual had brought the deer heads across state lines that did not meet the requirements of laws pertaining to Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD). The subject was cited for the violations and the deer were seized.

Officer Allgood checked a hunter in Cantonment and found him in possession of a freshly cleaned deer. The hunter claimed it was a legal four-point but had no sex evidence to confirm it. The hunter also failed to log the deer on Harvest Report. Officer Allgood followed the hunter to where he cleaned the deer and found the buck antlers were under the legal-size requirement. The hunter was cited for the violation.

Area officers responded to the Pensacola Beach area in search of a missing boater. The boater left the beach in a kayak and was swept out into the gulf by the currents. After two hours, FWC was notified he was missing. FWC Pilot Tolbert was able to locate the missing boater six miles offshore. Officer Tolbert relayed the boater’s location to FWC Officers M. Cushing and M. Land, and Coast Guard units that were searching. The boater was rescued unharmed.

While on patrol working reported night hunting activity, Officer Specialist Cushing observed someone shining a light from a vehicle in an area with high numbers of deer. Officer Cushing stopped the vehicle and found the two occupants were in possession of two loaded rifles. After questioning both subjects, they admitted to attempting to take deer at night. Officer Cushing issued notice to appear citations to both individuals and seized the weapons involved.

Officer Allgood was on patrol and checked a hunter that was in possession of two freshly cleaned deer. The hunter had no sex identification attached to the deer and did not properly log the deer on Harvest Report. Officer Allgood requested to see the remains of deer. The hunter took Officer Allgood to where he had dumped the deer carcasses. Both deer were doe deer, which at the time they were harvested the season was closed. Officer Allgood issued a notice to appear citation to the hunter and seized his weapon. The deer meat was seized and later donated to a local charity.

Officer Allgood was on patrol and checked a hunter leaving private hunting land. He found him in possession of a freshly cleaned deer. The hunter did not have sex identification with the deer but claimed it was a buck. Officer Allgood requested to see the horns of the deer, but the hunter claimed he did not remember where he had disposed of the carcass. After further interviewing of the hunter and searching a large area for an extended period, he admitted killing a doe deer. Officer Allgood informed the hunter it was doe weekend, which allows a hunter to harvest doe on private land. After inspecting the doe carcass, Officer Allgood issued the hunter a citation for not having the proper sex identification attached to a deer carcass and for not logging the harvested deer.

Officer Allgood and Manning were on patrol and worked together near the state line checking hunters. They found two hunters in possession of deer that were harvested in Alabama. Officers found that the meat from both deer was not deboned as required due to Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD). The deer also were not checked or logged as required in Alabama. Officers Allgood and Manning contacted an Alabama Conservation Officer and advised him of the violations. After receiving warnings for the importation violations both hunters agreed to return to Alabama to properly debone the meat and to meet with the Alabama Conservation Officer. Both hunters were cited in Alabama for not properly tagging the deer they harvested

SANTA ROSA COUNTY

While on patrol Officer Mullins received information of four shots being fired near a field. Two all-terrain vehicles (ATV) were observed fleeing the area. Officer Mullins and Santa Rosa County deputies searched the area. Officer Mullins received more information that the same two ATVs returned, were shining, and trespassing in a farm field. Officer Mullins caught up to the ATVs which were shining and searching for a deer they previously shot. Officer Mullins stopped and detained three subjects on a side-by-side ATV, while a Sherriff Deputy assisted recovering an ATV and subject that was hiding in the woods. A loaded 9mm handgun was discovered on scene – the gun was thrown out by the subjects to conceal it. It was discovered that all four subjects were shining deer with the intent to shoot a deer. While shining they took turns driving the two ATVs and one subject fired four times at a doe standing near the road. The subjects were trespassed and issued misdemeanor citations to appear in court for night hunting and shooting from a county road. The handgun, ammunition, and a light were seized.

Following the initial stop, Officer Hutchinson and K-9 Zara searched the area for additional evidence. K-9 Zara located one live 9mm round, and four empty 9mm shell casings along the road where the subjects were night hunting. No deer or blood was located at the scene. Additional charges are pending for the case.

Lieutenant D. Berryman and Officer R. Bower were conducting a license and game check point in the Blackwater Wildlife Management Area (WMA), when they encountered two subjects exiting the area. While conducting the inspection, blood was observed in the bed of the truck. A brief investigation revealed that the subjects had shot a doe in the WMA the day before, loaded it up and took it home to be cleaned. Officers recovered the remains of one doe that had been dumped in the woods and retrieved the meat from one of the subjects’ homes. Both subjects were charged with taking and possession of antlerless deer with no quota hunt permit. Both subjects also received warnings for failure to log a Harvest Report, littering, and possession of alcohol by persons under 21.