Bait, road hunters cited

File Photo

MILTON — The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission filed these cases between Jan. 6 and Jan. 12 in Santa Rosa County:

FAILURE TO WEAR ORANGE

Officers Lewis and Ramos were on patrol when they received information from Officer Hutchinson about a baited area in Blackwater Wildlife Management Area.

They checked the area and found a man hunting over scattered corn concealed behind a blind made of freshly cut vegetation. The suspect admitted to cutting various trees in the area to make a shooting lane and a blind. He was also hunting deer without wearing any hunter orange protective clothing.

The suspect was charged with hunting over bait in a WMA, failure to wear hunter orange, and cutting vegetation within a WMA.

ROAD HUNTING INTERRUPTED

Officer Lewis saw someone in the Blackwater WMA standing beside a pickup truck parked on a paved right-of-way. He watched as the suspect walked to the front of the truck carrying a rifle.

Lewis explained to the suspect that he could not take wildlife with a gun from the right-of-way. The man initially stated that he was unaware of the road-hunting rule, but finally admitted that he knew the law.

He admitted to hunting deer and stated that he would have shot from the roadway if he saw a deer cross the road. Lewis cited the man accordingly. 

This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Bait, road hunters cited