MILTON — The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission filed these cases between Dec. 30 and Jan. 5 in Santa Rosa County:
JUVENILE DETAINED
Officer Hutchinson was on patrol during a severe storm when he saw a female standing in the rain at an intersection. He turned around, contacted her and discovered that she was a juvenile. He also learned that she had walked several miles from her Florida residence and was headed for Alabama.
She refused to provide Officer Hutchinson with her parents’ contact information. Concerned for her safety, Hutchinson detained her and FWC dispatch contacted the girl’s parents.
The Escambia County Sheriff's Office interviewed the juvenile, and she was released back to her parents’ custody.
SHOOTING FROM THE ROADWAY
Officer Hutchinson was patrolling the Blackwater State Forest and saw a vehicle parked in the middle of a paved road.
As he approached, he saw two men sitting in the vehicle with the passenger pointing a hunting rifle out of the passenger-side window. Another rifle was next to the driver. Both men were wearing camouflage clothing without the required hunter-safety orange.
When asked what they were doing, the driver said, “We saw a deer cross the road and we were trying to shoot it.” After further questioning, both men admitted to trying to shoot a deer from the roadway.
The passenger did not have a valid hunting license, a management area permit or a deer permit. Both men received a notice-to-appear citation for hunting from a right of way on a prohibited road. The passenger received a written warning for the hunting license violation.
HUNTING IN A CLOSED AREA
Officer Hutchison was patrolling along a highway within the Blackwater Forest when he saw someone riding a horse next to the field trial area. He recognized the person from previous encounters and knew he had been caught illegally hunting within the field trial area from his horse.
After passing the man, he concealed his vehicle and waited to see if the man would enter the field trial area. After a few minutes, he drove back toward the area and saw fresh horse tracks leading into the field trial area. He followed the tracks into a wooded area and saw the man holding a pump shotgun while riding his horse through the trees as if he were trying to jump a deer.
When he shouted the man’s name, the suspect spun his horse around and attempted to conceal his firearm by dropping it on the ground. The man denied possessing a firearm until Officer Hutchinson walked into the woods and located the shotgun lying on the ground.
Hutchison issued the man a notice-to-appear citation for hunting in a closed area and hunting license violations.
LITTERING IN FRESH WATER
Officer Hutchinson received a call about someone illegally dumping deer carcasses from a bridge into a creek. He received a description of the vehicle, but no license plate number.
He remembered seeing a vehicle matching the description at the home of someone with whom he had previous encounters. Later that evening, he parked the vehicle in the suspect’s yard. Fresh deer blood, hair and meat were in the bed of the vehicle.
The suspect admitted to illegally dumping the carcasses into the creek and received a notice-to-appear citation for littering in a freshwater creek.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Hunting license violations among FWC incidents