FWC Law Enforcement Report
From FWCThis report represents some events the FWC handled Oct. 6-12 in the Northwest Region. (There were no cases reported for Wakulla County.)
CALHOUN COUNTY
• Officer J. Coker was on patrol checking dove hunters. Upon inspecting a field he found it was baited with cracked corn. The hunters were cited for hunting dove over bait.
• Officer Coker saw a female sitting on the side of the road who appeared to be in distress. Two witnesses were on the scene. The female stated she had been riding in a car with another female, they got into a physical altercation and the driver left her on the side of the road. The witnesses stated the driver was intoxicated and provided a vehicle description. Officer Carr was nearby and was able to locate the suspect’s vehicle, which was being driven in an erratic manner. He initiated a traffic stop. As he spoke to the driver, he noticed her speech was slow and slurred. He could also smell a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from the driver. He conducted standardized field sobriety tasks and based on the results the driver was arrested for driving under the influence. She was transported to the Calhoun County Jail.
OKALOOSA COUNTY
• Officers Bower and Phillips were on patrol and observed a subject fishing for crabs using a dip net. Upon inspection, the subject had multiple blue crabs and two stone crab claws inside the cooler. The subject was unaware of the regulations and seasons for stone crabs. The officers issued the subject a notice to appear citation for possessing stone crab claws out of season.
• Officers Mursch and Oliver were on patrol conducting boating safety inspections. Both officers noticed a pontoon vessel violating an idle speed/no wake zone and operating in circles. A vessel stop was conducted to address the violation and perform a boating safety inspection. Throughout the inspection, Officer Oliver noticed the operator was exhibiting signs of impairment. The operator agreed to perform standardized field sobriety tasks and stated he had consumed a couple of beers. The subject performed poorly on the tasks and was placed under arrest for boating under the influence. The subject was booked into jail and issued a citation for violating the idle speed zone.
SANTA ROSA COUNTY
• Officers Mullins and Phillips were on patrol in the Blackwater Wildlife Management Area, performing resource and camp inspections. The officers observed a willful wanton waste game fish violation. They contacted a subject nearby and learned he was involved. They observed he had alcohol, litter, and his dog off leash. The subject refused to provide his identification arguing there were no violations. The officers explained there were multiple violations, and they needed his identification. The subject continued arguing and refused to comply with direction. The subject was placed under arrest and later identified. It was discovered he had an active warrant out of Bay County for trafficking meth over 200 grams, drug paraphernalia and trespassing. The subject was booked into the Okaloosa County Jail and charged with resisting arrest without violence. Additionally, he was issued a trespass, cited for alcohol, litter, and dog off leash. Officer J. Brooks assisted with the case.