FWC Field Operations Weekly Report

This report represents some events the FWC handled over the past week; however, it does not include all actions taken by the Division of Law Enforcement.

NORTHWEST REGION

ESCAMBIA COUNTY

Officer Keith Clark observed an individual selling silver trout and shrimp from a truck at an intersection in Pensacola.  The individual did not have a retail license to sell seafood and was issued a notice to appear citation for the violation.

Officers Keith Clark and Fred Rondeau checked a bank fisherman in the Bluff Springs area of the Escambia River.  The individual claimed that he had not caught any fish.  An inspection revealed that the individual was in possession of two undersize black bass.  He received a notice to appear citation for the violation.

Officers Keith Clark and Fred Rondeau observed two underage individuals drinking alcohol at the Bluffs Park along Scenic Highway in Pensacola. A third individual was also drinking alcohol but was over 21 years old.

Two citations were issued for underage drinking and one citation was issued for providing alcohol to a person under 21 years old.

SANTA ROSA COUNTY

Officers assigned to Escambia, Santa Rosa and Okaloosa Counties worked a detail targeting the use of illegal gear by shrimping vessels in Escambia and Pensacola Bays.  During the detail, a recreational vessel was stopped and a subject on board was found to be in possession of an oversize red drum.  This subject also had an outstanding warrant for violation of probation for an auto theft arrest.  He was arrested and booked into Escambia County Jail.

Officer Gary Ridaught responded to a boating accident near Quietwater Beach.  Two men on personal watercraft (PWCs) were riding separately when they collided.  One subject was airlifted to the hospital, but was later determined to have non-life threatening injuries.  He was treated for a broken nose, facial lacerations and a concussion.  Charges are pending against the other operator for violation of a navigational rule.

Officer Gary Ridaught was working an off-duty job for a road construction company on I-110 in Pensacola when he observed a vehicle drive through the cone barricades and head toward the construction workers.  He stopped the vehicle and immediately observed signs of impairment from the operator.  She performed poorly on field sobriety tasks indicating impairment.  Officer Ridaught arrested the driver for DUI and transported her to the jail where she provided a breath sample of .245.  She was booked for the DUI and issued a citation for failure to obey a traffic control device.

 Lt. Dan Hahr was on patrol in the Escambia River Wildlife Management Area when he observed five young subjects standing around a personal watercraft (PWC) on the bank.  As he approached, he noticed that one of them was lighting what appeared to be a cigarette.  The subject immediately placed his hand and the lit cigarette in his pocket.  As suspected, it was marijuana.  A further consent search revealed a small baggie of cannabis in a vehicle belonging to another subject and several items of paraphernalia including synthetic urine and bottled human urine.  The subject admitted to using the urine to pass drug tests at work.  Both subjects were issued notices to appear for possession of less than 20 grams of cannabis and paraphernalia.

While off-duty, Officer Kenneth Manning received information regarding a subject in possession of over-the-bag limit of red drum at the Bob Sikes Bridge.  Officer Manning relayed the information to Officers Andy Berrey and Gary Ridaught.  After making contact with the subject, Officers Berrey and Ridaught discovered one red drum in his possession and another hidden in a cooler in his vehicle with one of the fish oversize.

Officer Berrey issued a citation for over-the-bag limit and a written warning for the oversize red drum.

OKALOOSA COUNTY

Officer Matt Webb conducted a fishery inspection on a vessel in Destin Harbor.  The inspection revealed a bag limit violation of red snapper.

The vessel captain was cited for the violation.

Officer Steve Bartlett responded to the Bluewater Bay Marina to investigate a vessel fire.  A preliminary investigation determined the vessel had exploded while an occupant onboard connected battery terminals to a battery.  The explosion caused first degree burns to another occupant who was transported to a burn unit in Mobile, Alabama. The boating accident investigation is ongoing.

Officer Pete Rockwell completed a boating accident investigation and issued the operator a citation for careless operation.  The operator sustained internal injuries when his personal watercraft collided with Tom's Bayou Bridge in Valparaiso.

Officer Ryan Nelson conducted a fishery inspection in Destin Harbor revealing an undersize cobia.  The vessel captain was cited for the violation.

Lieutenants Mark Hollinhead and Dennis Welsh and Officer Van Barrow responded to a boating accident in Destin Harbor.  A vessel underway collided with a vessel that was on a lift at a dock.  The damage was minor and no one was injured.

WALTON COUNTY

FWC officers assigned to Okaloosa and Walton counties worked a crab trap detail to deter the unlawful taking of crabs from commercial traps.  Two subjects in a vessel were observed removing crabs from commercial traps.

Investigator Eddie Gatlin and Officer Darrell Johnson notified Lt. Mark Hollinhead and Officer Randall Brooks when they observed the subjects returning to the Choctawhatchee Bay Public Boat Ramp along Highway 20.

An inspection of the subject's vessel revealed a cooler full of blue crabs.  The subjects later identified the commercial traps they had taken the crabs from and admitted they knew it was illegal.  Both subjects were booked into the Walton County Jail and charged with unlawfully taking blue crabs from commercial traps.

BAY COUNTY

Officer Joe Chambers conducted a resource inspection on a fisher and found him to have two outstanding arrest warrants issued from Bay County for grand theft and failure to appear.  The subject was booked into the Bay County Jail.

Lt. Jay Chesser and Officer Mike Nobles worked the Econfina Wildlife Management Area along Econfina Creek and issued several citations for underage persons possessing alcohol, overloaded vessels, insufficient number of personal flotation devices onboard and for children not wearing the required personal flotation devices.

Officer Joe Chambers was patrolling the Econfina Wildlife Management Area when he checked two subjects exiting the Cat Creek swimming hole.

Officer Chambers smelled the aroma of cannabis and both subjects admitted to having just smoked a joint.  Further investigation found additional cannabis and rolling papers.  Citations were issued and the contraband seized.

Officer Mark Clements received a disposition on a subject that included a fine of $750.00 and incarceration in the county jail for 364 days.

The subject was observed late one night driving carelessly in the Cat Creek section of the Econfina Wildlife Management Area and found to have a suspended driver's license.  The subject had previously been cited by Officer Clements for the same charge.

Officer Dennis Palmer worked a boating accident involving a diver who was struck by a boat's propeller causing severe lacerations to his chest, neck and face.  The investigation is ongoing.

WASHINGTON COUNTY

Officer Larry Morris responded to transport Washington County Sheriff's Office deputies by 4-wheel drive truck to a secluded area near Caryville in response to the report of a drunk suspect threatening some campers and carelessly displaying his firearm.  The suspect did not resist and was arrested without further incident.

HOLMES COUNTY

Officer Larry Morris responded to assist the Holmes County Sheriff's Office at Wright's Creek just north of Bonifay on Highway 79.  The Sheriff's Office had stopped a 19-year-old Walton County resident with felony warrants.  The subject fled to the creek and refused to cooperate with Officer Morris and the deputies.  The local Department of Corrections K-9 Team responded and tracked him for three hours.  The suspect eluded the team after others picked him up in a vehicle.  The suspect was identified and additional criminal charges will be added to the existing warrants.

JEFFERSON COUNTY

Officers Stefanie Wilcox and Bucky Higman provided law enforcement support on the Wacissa River for a six-mile canoe race.  Race organizers requested our support due to some unfavorable encounters with powerboats prior to the weekend race.  Prior to the race, law enforcement officers and organizers teamed up to inform the general public and locals about the race and what to expect the day of the race.  The preplanning paid off with a successful race and an enjoyable day on the river for paddlers and power boaters.

LEON COUNTY

Officer Chris Jones was on patrol in Leon County near Eliza Drive when he observed five individuals fishing in a fenced area.  A fisheries inspection revealed the individuals were in possession of three undersize black bass.  Three of the subjects admitted to catching and keeping the fish.  They were cited for the violations.

Lt. Kent Harvey and Officer Chris Jones were on water patrol on Lake Talquin when they stopped a vessel pulling a person tubing.  A boating safety inspection revealed several safety equipment violations.  While issuing the operator a citation for insufficient number of life jackets, the officers noticed an open beer under the console of the boat and a marijuana cigarette in plain view.  The operator was only 19 years old.

Subsequently, field sobriety tasks were conducted and the operator was given a breath test on the Intoxilyzer 8000 at the boat ramp.  His breath alcohol concentration registered above .02.  The operator was charged with operating a vessel by a person under 21 years of age while consuming alcohol.  He was additionally charged with possession of less than 20 grams of cannabis.

Lt. Kent Harvey and Officers Matt Bell and Chris Jones were conducting boating inspections at Stoutamire Landing on Lake Talquin.  While officers were conducting a boating under the influence (BUI) investigation, Lieutenant Harvey observed a green Ford truck pull into the parking lot.  The tailgate of the truck was down and a small child was riding on the back of the tailgate with her feet dangling near the pavement.  Lieutenant Harvey and Officer Bell approached the individual to educate him on the proper seating procedures for children and to make him aware of the danger he had placed the child in.  While explaining this to the operator, the officers determined the operator's license was suspended for failing to pay traffic fines.  The individual was issued a citation for driving on a suspended license and the officers arranged for him and his daughter to get a ride home.