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| SOUTHWEST REGION Weekly Violation
| |  | Posted on Saturday, November 15, 2008 @ 22:32:50 EST by blueoceaneyez |  | |
SOUTHWEST REGION
CHARLOTTE COUNTY
On November 7, Officer Jason Semeyn completed a derelict vessel operation with the assistance of Charlotte County Environmental Services and Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office. During the four-day operation, 36 vessels were located and marked for removal. The vessels will be removed with funds established through Charlotte County grants.
On November 9, Lieutenant Mike Frantz made contact with several persons who were fishing on a lake in Placida and observed several rifles in various vehicles. An active warrant check was conducted on the operator of a vehicle who had a rifle on the passenger’s side in plain view. Lieutenant Frantz discovered the subject was a convicted felon and was taken to Charlotte County jail.
On November 10, Lieutenant Darrin Riley and Officers Scott Kirsch, Adam Resnick, Brian Cazalot, Jason Cooke, and Justin Koble responded to search for a missing child who had disappeared in the woods behind Gator Wildness Boy Camp. After a three hour search, the child was found unharmed, approximately a quarter mile in the woods.
HERNANDO COUNTY
On November 8, Officer Israel Istre and K-9 Officer Joe Wolff located two subjects who had illegally entered the Croom Wildlife Management Area through a rest area near I-75. K-9 Mojo tracked the subjects to their hunting stands and the officers issued the appropriate citations.
On November 8, Lieutenant Kevin Grover was patrolling Croom Wildlife Management Area when he located three subjects camping in a non-designated area. When he approached the subjects, he observed a handgun in the waistband of one subject and a holster with a handgun that belonged to the other subject. After securing the subjects, they informed Lieutenant Grover they were openly carrying the firearms to intimidate anyone who might attempt to rob them or in case an animal should attack. Lieutenant Grover issued two of the subjects notices to appear for the open carry of a firearm and warned all three subjects for the illegal camping and for an illegal open fire.
On November 9, Lieutenant Kevin Grover responded to the Chassahowitzka Wildlife Management Area in search of two lost hunters. Through cell phone contact, Lieutenant Grover was able to direct the subjects out of the woods and to a main road. After locating the subjects, Lieutenant Grover warned them for not having a quota hunt permit.
HIGHLANDS COUNTY
On November 8, Officer Kristen Gavagni was on patrol near the Bluff Hammock Safety Zone in the Kissimmee River Public Use Area when she heard a gunshot in the safety zone, which is closed to hunting. Officer Gavagni apprehended two subjects hunting with shotguns in the closed area. Both subjects had felony convictions, making it illegal for them to possess a firearm. They were given notices to appear in court for hunting in the safety zone, and then released. Officer Gavagni will follow-up with the Highlands County State Attorneys’ Office concerning possible charges for the possession of firearms by convicted felons
On November 8, Lieutenant Joe Allen and Officer Joe Brooks received a complaint from a hunter in Hickory Hammock Wildlife Management Area (WMA) concerning two subjects entering the area with an airboat and hunting illegally. Both subjects were apprehended with center fire rifles, which are prohibited in the WMA. They were issued citations for the misdemeanor as well as citations for hunting without a quota hunt permit. A wild hog was seized and donated to Arnold’s Animal Rehab in Okeechobee.
On November 11, a 13-year-old boy was injured in a hunting accident in Highlands County. The accident occurred when the boy jumped from the rear of a pickup truck with his hand over the barrel of a loaded .410 gauge shotgun. The shotgun discharged when the gun butt struck the ground. The boy suffered serious injury to his left hand and was transported to Tampa General Hospital. Officer Jared Cloud conducted a preliminary investigation and Investigator Larry Jernstedt is conducting a follow-up investigation.
HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY
On November 9, Officers Alton Still and Brad Clayton were on patrol in south Hillsborough County when they observed a slow moving vehicle with a subject in the vehicle displaying a light. After conducting a traffic stop the officers found the subjects in possession of a .357 caliber pistol. The subjects were issued a notice to appear for displaying a light at night while in possession of a gun.
Later that evening, Officers Still and Clayton observed subjects in a vehicle shine a hand-held spotlight into the wooded areas of the Alafia State Park and the Mosaic Mines Property. The officers stopped the vehicle which was occupied by six subjects who were in possession of a firearm and an open container of alcohol. The vehicle had an expired license plate, and a restraining/ protection order between the driver and a passenger was also in affect. The officers issued the appropriate citations.
On November 11, Officers Brad Clayton and Alton Still were working an area that has had illegal hunting and trespass activity in the past. They observed a vehicle stop at a gate then all the vehicle lights shut off. The officers watched the vehicle for a while and as they approached, the driver started the vehicle and left the area at a high rate of speed. The officers stopped the vehicle which was occupied by two subjects who were in possession of a .22 caliber rifle. The driver was arrested after a check for wanted persons revealed the operator had an outstanding warrant from Hillsborough County.
LEE COUNTY
On November 6, Investigator Larry Jernstedt and Lieutenant Steve Mevers were inspecting records at a wholesale fish dealer when a pickup truck pulled into the parking lot with several coolers in the rear of the vehicle, then departed quickly. After a short period, the truck returned with only two small coolers, which were empty. The officers left the seafood dealer and waited a few miles away for the truck to leave the dealer. The truck was observed traveling down the highway with the rear of the truck full of coolers. The officers followed the truck until it parked at a duplex and made contact with the operator. The operator was a known commercial angler with a long history of resource violations. Officers discovered commercial quantities of seafood product and a scale used for retail sales. The angler first advised that he was transporting the product for a fish dealer and then changed his story advising that the product was for his personnel consumption. A records check revealed that he had failed to renew his wholesale and retail dealer’s license. Investigator Jernstedt issued the angler two citations for over the recreational bag limit of pompano and shrimp.
On November 11, Officers Adam Resnick, Brian Cazalot, Blake Hoelscher, and Justin Koble conducted a Marine Sanitation Device (MSD) inspection on the water at Matanzas Pass. The inspection resulted in four MSD violations and two uniform boating citations.
OSCEOLA COUNTY
On November 8, Officer Matt Ervin observed three hunters on two airboats attempting to take wildlife from moving vessels in Gardener Marsh, near Ike’s Hammock. He notified Lieutenant Joe Allen and Pilot Mike Wood who were patrolling by helicopter. Lieutenant Allen and Pilot Wood located both airboats and observed one of the subjects on foot enter into Ike’s Hammock, which is closed to hunting. Two subjects were charged with attempting to take wildlife from a moving vessel and one subject was charged with hunting in a closed area. The subjects charged with hunting from a moving vessel had been warned earlier that day by Officer Ervin.
On November 9, Office Dirk Williamson checked two subjects cast netting commercially for shiners in Lake Kissimmee. One of the men was charged with not having a commercial fishing license and the other had an outstanding warrant for petit theft and was transported to the county jail.
PASCO COUNTY
On November 8, Officer Donald Jones checked two small fishing vessels north of Port Hudson, in the Gulf. After a boating safety inspection, Officer Jones issued seven written warnings for boating violations. In addition, the three subjects involved were found to be in possession of an undersized redfish, measuring just over 14 inches. A wants and warrants check was conducted on each of the individuals and one of the subjects had an active warrant out of Hernando County for failure to pay child support. The subject was delivered to the county jail without further incident.
On November 9, Officer Donald Jones and Lieutenant Pamela Hoback responded to a vessel that was stranded off Sea Pines, in the Gulf. The operator of the vessel had hit a rock and could not get the vessel to shore. The operator said he had a breathing disorder and use of only one lung. He did not bring oxygen with him because he was only planning to watch the sun set. The operator and four passengers were safely taken to Hudson Ramp where they were met by a relative who brought oxygen. The vessel had no lights on it and the U.S. Coast Guard was notified so a “notice to mariners” could be issued.
PINELLAS COUNTY
On November 6, Officers Ed Chambers and Dieter Iten, David Salcido and a U.S. Coast Guard Officer conducted an offshore patrol into the Florida Middle Grounds. The crew of the “Fin Cat” boarded and checked ten long line and bandit fishing vessels. Their inspections led to one state case for possession of undersize vermillion snapper, and one federal case which was turned over to the National Marine Fisheries Service.
On November 7, Officer Ed Chambers, Lieutenants Mike Dunnigan, Ed Prouty, and Captain Roger Young, conducted an offshore patrol south of the Florida Middle Grounds. This crew on the “Fin Cat” boarded eight long line and bandit vessels. Their inspections led to multiple federal violations of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (M-SFCMA). The case was turned over to the National Marine Fisheries Service.
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