NORTHWEST REGION
ESCAMBIACOUNTY
Officer Cushing was on enhanced patrol in the Perdido Wildlife Management Area when he noticed a vehicle parked near a closed gate. He observed a plastic bow case laying across the front seat. Officer Cushing concealed his vehicle and waited for someone to return. Approximately an hour later, two male subjects returned to the vehicle from the management area. Both were wearing camouflage, one was carrying a compound bow and the other had a crossbow. Officer Cushing made contact with the subjects. They stated that they were hog hunting and scouting for the upcoming archery season. Officer Cushing explained to them that they could not hunt hog at this time. It was also discovered that they had placed a tree stand and other hunting equipment in the management area. Neither men had a quota permit or management area permit. Officer Cushing escorted the men back to the stand and had it removed. Both subjects were cited for hunting during a closed season and were issued several other warnings.
OKALOOSACOUNTY
Officer Corbin was on vessel patrol in the DestinHarbor when a dock attendant at a marina advised him a subject had jumped into the water off the dock and was possibly intoxicated. Officer Corbin arrived at the dock and found the subject still in the water. Officer Corbin assisted the subject with securing his vessel to the dock and getting back onto the dock. While speaking with the subject, Officer Corbin observed signs of impairment. Officer Corbin advised the subject not to operate the vessel and to find another way home multiple times. The subject agreed and walked away. Approximately ten minutes later, the subject boarded his vessel and left the dock. Officer Corbin conducted a vessel stop and the subject agreed to perform field sobriety tasks. The subject displayed strong indicators of impairment and was placed under arrest for BUI. Implied consent was read and the subject agreed to provide a breath sample resulting in 0.137 and 0.127. The subject was transported to the Okaloosa County Jail where the intake process was completed.
Officers Molnar and Nichols were on vessel patrol in Santa Rosa Sound conducting boating safety inspections when they were dispatched to a disturbance between a commercial tow boat company and an individual on a sailboat. The officers made contact with the employee/complainant who stated the individual was irate and using profanity when he refused to tow the sailboat closer to a local boat ramp. Upon contact with the operator, Officer Molnar observed signs of impairment to the point where it would be very likely he would fall overboard. While observing the operator, Officer Molnar noticed he was unsteady on his feet, had slurred speech and had bloodshot eyes. Once Officer Molnar was face to face with the operator, he could smell a strong odor of an unknown alcoholic beverage coming from his breath. The operator agreed to perform field sobriety tasks (FSTs). The operator had strong indicators of impairment from all the FSTs performed and he was placed under arrest for BUI. While Officer Molnar attempted to handcuff the operator, he became verbally abusive and pulled away from the officer. Implied consent was read to the operator and he refused to provide a sample of his breath. Officer Molnar completed the required paperwork and the operator was transported to the Okaloosa County Jail, where he was cited for BUI, refusal to provide a breath sample, and resisting an officer without violence.
SANTA ROSACOUNTY
Officer Hutchinson was patrolling along the EscambiaRiver when he checked a fisherman returning to the dock. Upon checking him, he discovered five undersized bass. He charged the man with possession of undersized black bass.
COMMUNITY ORIENTED POLICING
OKALOOSACOUNTY
Officers Jarvis and Rockwell created and presented a PowerPoint presentation to teach Boy Scouts about different types of search and rescue techniques. The Boy Scouts were also exposed to some of the equipment used by FWC Officers, such as a marked patrol vessel that we use in search and rescues.
Officer Webb spoke to approximately 40 middle school students at the NavarreBeachMarineScienceCenter. He discussed and answered questions about boating safety and conservation issues.
NORTHEAST REGION
MARIONCOUNTY
Officer Simpson was on his way home from his shift when an oncoming vehicle rounding the corner crossed into his lane, running him off the road. As Officer Simpson made a U-turn to perform a traffic stop on the vehicle, he observed the vehicle stop at a red and then turn left through the red light onto a four lane divided highway. Officer Simpson performed a traffic stop and determined signs of impairment. The operator was arrested for driving under the influence.
SEMINOLECOUNTY
A woman swimming in the WekivaRiver near WekivaSpringsState park was attacked by an alligator. Canoers nearby witnessed the attack and came to the woman’s rescue. They were able to run the alligator off by striking it with an oar and bring the woman to shore. The woman’s arm was missing just above the elbow and she had wounds to her abdomen. Seminole County Deputies working nearby began first aid immediately. Officers arrived and remained on scene with trappers until just after midnight when they successfully captured the 9’8” gator and recovered the missing limb.
BREVARDCOUNTY
Officers J. Humphrey and M. Humphrey were on water patrol when they approached a derelict vessel to check its status. There were two men onboard actively stripping the vessel of its hardware and other miscellaneous items. The men admitted that the vessel did not belong to them and that they were stealing the items. The men were arrested and charged with burglary of an unoccupied conveyance.
Officer Lightsey received a wildlife alert tip while off-duty that two subjects were entering into the Upper St. John’s Wildlife Management area from the Tom Lawton walk in area caring rifles. Lieutenant Urban and Officer Horst responded to the area to attempt to locate the subjects. With assistance from a Brevard County Sherriff’s Ag/Marine Deputy, the subjects were located and were indeed armed with two rifles and a pistol. The subjects admitted to attempting to hunt wild hog on the management area. They were transported back to the parking area and each issued a citation for hunting out of season. Warnings were also issued for not having a management area permit and hunting on a prohibited levee. The subjects were released from the scene.
Lieutenant Bonds and Officer Hadwin observed two individuals fishing from a vessel north of the NASARailRoadBridge. Officer Hadwin pulled alongside of the vessel to conduct a resource inspection. During the inspection, Officer Hadwin discovered 7 undersized spotted sea trout and 4 undersized mangrove (grey) snapper inside of a white cooler. The operator admitted to not knowing the size limit for either species and he did not have a measuring device on board his vessel. The operator was issued in a criminal citation.
NORTH CENTRAL REGION
UNIONCOUNTY
Officer Jenkins received information that two subjects were seen carrying a dead alligator into their yard from a local creek. The witness also reported that the subjects cut the tail off the alligator and placed the cleaned meat inside a cooler. Officer Jenkins responded to the area and made contact with both subjects. While interviewing the subjects, Officer Jenkins found fresh pieces of alligator meat next to a cleaning station. Both subjects admitted to killing the alligator and showed Officer Jenkins where they had hidden the cleaned alligator and meat in the woods close to their house. A .22 caliber rifle was used to kill the alligator. Both subjects were charged with illegal taking of an alligator. The carcass, meat and rifle were seized as evidence.
SOUTHWEST REGION
CHARLOTTECOUNTY
Officers Cohl, Scinta, Price, Stasko and Lieutenant Ruggiero responded to a report of a car that was found in WebbLake. The officers observed a car that was in the water just off of a boat ramp. The Sheriff’s office dive team and fire and rescue responded to determine if there was anyone inside the car. The vehicle was identified as being stolen from Miami and the dive team determined that nobody was inside. A tow truck was called to the scene and the vehicle was recovered from the lake.
HIGHLANDSCOUNTY
Lieutenants Fugate, Brooks and Investigator Ervin assisted in the execution of an arrest warrant in HighlandsCounty. The subject had seven outstanding warrants from a statewide resource investigation. The subject was arrested and transported to the Highlands County Jail.
LEECOUNTY
Officer Raczek was on land patrol when he observed several people trespassing on private property. As he got his patrol vehicle turned around, the people had jumped into their vehicle and were attempting to drive away. Officer Raczek was able to stop them before they got away and he began to notice several bags of palmetto berries. After interviewing the men, they all admitted to trespassing and taking the berries from the private property. The men were all issued misdemeanor charges for trespassing.
PINELLASCOUNTY
Officer Burks responded to a call for cast netters possessing snook out of season in a trespassing zone. Officer Burks located two males trespassing on a railway trestle and observed the males fishing a cast net for approximately 20 minutes. The suspects packed up and were walking back to their vehicle when Officer Burks approached and initiated a fisheries inspection. The inspection revealed the suspects were in possession of 12 illegal snook and 11 illegal sheepshead. The 12 snook were harvested out of season, by illegal method, over the possession limit, and 11 of the 12 were undersized. The 11 sheepshead were undersized as well. Officer Burks cited both individuals for possession of snook out of season and filed for major violations totaling $1200 in extra fines and issued warnings for the other fisheries violations and for trespassing.
Officer Messman and Caldwell responded to a boating accident that occurred in the Treasure Island area. The accident involved a collision with two personal watercrafts. One personal watercraft operator was injured and transported to BayfrontMedicalCenter for treatment.
While on land patrol at the Pass-a-Grille Pier, Officer Bibeau conducted a fisheries inspection on an individual that was preparing to leave the area. At the conclusion of the inspection, Officer Bibeau found the individual to be in possession of a 15 inch red drum. The individual told the Officer that the fish was going to die so he decided to keep it. Officer Bibeau wrote the individual a misdemeanor citation for possession of an undersized red drum.
While on land patrol at the FortDesotoBridge, Officer Michael Bibeau conducted a fisheries inspection on an individual that was actively fishing. At the conclusion of the inspection, Officer Bibeau found the individual to be in possession of 15 undersized mangrove snapper, 6 undersized spanish mackerel and 1 undersized spotted seatrout. Officer Bibeau wrote the individual a misdemeanor citation for possession of undersized and over the bag limit mangrove snapper and two warnings for the other fisheries violations.
POLKCOUNTY
Officer Alvis and Demeter responded to a trespassing and theft complaint from a land owner in PolkCounty. Upon their arrival the subject was observed picking palmetto berries on private property. The subject then fled from the officer’s on foot. Polk County Sheriff’s Office assisted in locating and arresting the subject from the air and by land. The subject was arrested for trespassing, fleeing and eluding, and burglary. Charges for theft will be direct filed.
SUMTERCOUNTY
Sumter County 911 received a call from an individual who had become lost while riding a bike in the Green Swamp Wildlife Management Area (WMA). FWC officers responded and assisted Sumter County Sheriff’s Office and Fire Rescue with search efforts. After several hours the lost individual was located in Richloam WMA.
SOUTH REGION A
BROWARDCOUNTY
FWC responded to a 911 call involving a boating incident in Wilton Manors, FL. A 13 foot Boston Whaler with 6 juvenile occupants onboard collided with a bridge. There were 5 males and 1 female onboard. FWC was assisted on scene by Wilton Manors PD, Fort Lauderdale PD and Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue. This single vessel crash resulted in one fatality, 5 people transported to the hospital: 3 critically injured and 2 with minor injuries. FWC will be leading this investigation and has taken custody of the vessel.
Officer Albert was on patrol in the Port Everglades area with a US Border Patrol Agent onboard his patrol vessel. He conducted a stop on a vessel inbound from offshore for a boating safety and a marine fisheries inspection. With information gathered, one individual on the vessel was placed into custody by the Border Patrol Agent for Immigration violations. The Border Patrol Agent transported him to US Customs holding facility.
Officer Vacin and Investigator Bingham participated in the quarterly meeting of SEFCRI (Southeast Florida Coral Reef Initiative). This is a think tank that meets do discuss various items that affect our very fragile coral reef system.
GLADESCOUNTY
Officer Teal was on night patrol in Glades County near Fisheating Creek when he was passed by a truck traveling at a very high rate of speed and swerving all over the road. He conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle and immediately smelled a strong odor of alcohol coming from inside the vehicle. Two male occupants were in the front of the vehicle and a female occupant was passed out on the back seat. Officer Teal asked the subject to submit to field sobriety tasks to which he refused. The subject became irritated when ordered to place his hands behind his back and began to brace and tense but Officer Teal was able to get the individual handcuffed without incident. The individual was placed under arrest and transported to Glades County Jail where he refused to submit to a breath test as well. The subject was booked for DUI, refusal to submit breath sample and issued a citation for failure to maintain lane.
HENDRYCOUNTY
Officer Greene was dispatched to a stolen vehicle in Ok Slough Wildlife Management Area (WMA) in HendryCounty. When he arrived on scene, he met Off-duty FWC Officer McLendon. Officer McLendon stated that he found the stolen vehicle a few miles down from the campground where it was stolen and a Hendry County Deputy was with the vehicle. Officer Greene met with the Deputy and verified that it was the stolen vehicle. Officer Greene picked up the owner who was camped out in Ok Slough for the WMA hunt. The truck was towed due to damage and the incident is still being investigated.
MARTINCOUNTY
Officer Doricchi inspected a vessel at the Palm City Boat Ramp. During the course of the boating safety inspection the two men on board advised they had only caught “a few catfish” and they had let them go. Officer Doricchi then asked the men if there were any fish on board and the captain said there was not. Officer Doricchi asked the captain to open the cooler on the deck, he complied and showed the officer only drinks in the cooler. Officer Doricchi then asked the captain to open the front hatch, he complied, and showed the officer no fish in that hatch. The officer then asked the captain if the seat in front of the console opened and the man became nervous, stated he just bought the boat and didn’t know if it opened. The man lifted the seat, revealing a live well and a small snook. The man was cited for possession of snook out of season. The snook was photographed and release alive.
Officer Doricchi was patrolling the area of Jimmy Ghrame Boat Ramp in MartinCounty. While at the ramp, Officer Doricchi heard a vessel approaching fast. As the vessel rounded the corner on plane in the slow speed manatee zone, the officer observed the vessel was not displaying any type of navigational lights. Officer Doricchi initiated a boating safety inspection once the operator docked at the boat ramp. The occupants of the vessel were 23 year old male, his girlfriend and their 14 month old baby. During the course of the inspection, the operator exhibited signs of impairment. Officer Doricchi also noted several empty beer cans/bottles littering the bottom of the boat. Officer Doricchi administered standardized field sobriety tasks and found the operator to be impaired. The man was arrested and booked into Martin County Jail.
Officer Rogers, Merizio, Webb and Carroll set up surveillance on a silver pickup truck parked off the side of state road 711 in MartinCounty. The officers watched the pickup truck for possible palmetto berry pickers. After an hour of surveillance, Officer Merizio noticed two men exiting the woods. The Officers then approached the two men for questioning. The subjects admitted to trespassing on private property for palmetto berry picking and revealed three bushels of berries they picked. The property owner did not want to press charges on the two subjects, just wanted them to leave his property. One of the subjects did not have any identification on his person and gave the officers an incorrect name and date of birth when asked. At this time the subject was checked through the rapid id system, resulting in an active warrant for his arrest. Officer Carroll confirmed the arrest warrant then placed the subject under arrest. Officer Rogers then transported the subject to the Martin County Jail where he was booked.
While on water patrol, Officers Willems and Aswall observed a Great Blue Heron swimming in the St. Lucie inlet. This is unusual behavior for a Great Blue Heron which is a wading bird. Upon closer examination, the heron was lethargic and was in distress. The heron was captured and it was discovered that it had a catfish spine through its foot. The Heron was transported to TreasureCoastWildlifeCenter where it is expected to make a full recovery.
PALMBEACHCOUNTY
Officer Cobo responded to a VHF radio distress call in reference to a vessel on fire behind Guanabanas restaurant in Jupiter. When he arrived on scene there was an un-occupied vessel smoldering and generating a lot of heat. Officer Cobo rerouted the heavy vessel traffic from the waterway and cleared one side of the restaurant as the vessel was beginning to make loud popping noises. Fire-Rescue also arrived on scene and kept the vessel from drifting towards the restaurant by shooting water across the waterway on to the vessel. A Good Samaritan had already pulled the four occupants to safety, as they had jumped in the water due to the heat and possible explosion. One of the occupants received burns to his legs and the vessel was a total loss. A boating accident investigation in being conducted.
ST. LUCIE COUNTY
K-9 Officer Payne checked a person fishing a canal in Ft.Pierce. When he asked for a freshwater fishing license, the subject could not produce one. The subject also could not produce identification. Officer Payne obtained the subjects name and date of birth with the month given as October. When Officer Payne conducted a check of the subject, no records were found. Officer Payne went back and talked with the subject and he stated that he would get a fishing license and that he just had a birthday in April. With this information, Officer Payne was able to locate a person within D.A.V.I.D. (Driver And Vehicle Information Database) that looked like the subject and had a date of birth in April. Officer Payne also learned that the person had 2 active warrants out of St. Lucie County. Officer Koch responded with a Rapid ID finger print scanner to identify the subject. After the subject was placed in handcuffs, he admitted that he had given a false name. The subject was booked into St. Lucie County Jail for providing a false name to law enforcement and for his two warrants.
Investigator Turner was provided with an internet tip taken from Facebook. During the two month long investigation, Investigator Turner with the assistance of Officer Fretwell was able to identify the crime scene and discover the remains of an alligator. The investigation revealed the subject sawed the alligator’s head off, because too many people would hear a gun shot. Due to Investigator Turner’s continued questioning of witnesses, he was given several photographs and developed probable cause to obtain two arrest warrants for the taking of an alligator out of season. Both subjects were taken into custody and booked into the St. Lucie County Jail.
Officers Shermetaro and Payne were dispatched reference an anonymous caller reporting two subjects harvesting undersized black bass. The complaint was at the Savannas Recreation area in St. Lucie County. Upon their arrival, they located the vehicle matching the description given along with the two subjects, one of which was fishing at the canal bank. Contact was made and the subjects indicated that they had caught fish but had kept none. An inspection of the area revealed a stringer of fish near the truck and subjects. Several black bass were recovered and a measurement confirmed that they were all undersized. One subject received a Notice to Appear (citation) for the violation.
SOUTH REGION B
COLLIERCOUNTY
Officer Despian was on land patrol performing resource inspections at JolleyBridge in MarcoIsland when he observed a subject fishing. The fisherman spotted him and threw something into the open trunk of a vehicle. Officer Despian approached the subject, who produced a valid fishing license. While speaking with the subject, Officer Despian noticed a strong distinct odor of cannabis that was emanating from the open trunk of the vehicle. The subject admitted that the vehicle was his and that there was cannabis in the vehicle. He led Officer Despian to where it was located and said that it all belonged to him. The subject was issued a citation for being in possession of less than 20 grams of cannabis as well as drug paraphernalia.
MIAMI-DADECOUNTY
Officers Washington and Perez were on water patrol near the Venetian Bridge when they noticed a 19‘ vessel with one person on board and one diver diving near the rocks. The officers instructed the diver to return to the boat. As the diver was swimming to the boat the officers noticed that he was holding a white mesh bag containing what appeared to be lobster. Once the diver was on board the vessel, the officers tied up to the suspect vessel and conducted a fisheries and a safety inspection. Once the officers counted the suspects catch it was determined that the two men were over the bag limit. They were sited accordingly.
Officers Delgado and Almagro were on water patrol in the area of Government Cut when they stopped a vessel occupied by four individuals to conduct a fisheries inspection. During the stop the officers asked the men if they had any fish on board and the men answered that they did not. Officer Almagro conducted a thorough search of the vessel and soon discovered a snook that had apparently been speared through the head. The captain of the vessel was charged with possession of a snook during the closed season and using other than the gear allowed to harvest the snook.
MONROECOUNTY
Officer Mattson was on patrol when he saw a male and a female fishing in the upper Keys. After conducting a fisheries inspection, Officer Mattson discovered that the couple were in possession of 10 undersized mangrove snapper. The two were cited for the violation.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: FWC Division of Law Enforcement Weekly Report