Posted: 8/27/10

NORTHEAST REGION

BREVARD COUNTY
Officer Vann Streety was presented the prestigious Brevard County Valor Award from the Melbourne Area Chamber of Commerce for the shooting incident from which he sustained severe injuries. He was presented a sculpture and certificate and was honored by other public safety officials during the ceremony. He also received a standing ovation from those in attendance. Officer Streety was accompanied by Captain Steve Wayne and Lieutenant Rob Rowe.
MARION COUNTY
Officer Steve Adam was checking alligator hunters at Heagy Bury boat ramp on Orange Lake. From a concealed location he watched as an airboat was pulled out of the lake with two dead alligators on the bow. As the truck, trailer and airboat started to leave, Officer Adam made his presence known. A passenger quickly exited the truck and attempted to secure a CITES tag on one of the alligators, but was advised to stop. The hunter was cited for failing to immediately secure / tag the alligator.
ORANGE COUNTY
Officers Brian Baine and Naomii Tye taught a “Basic Boating for Law Enforcement” seminar to four members of Belle Isle Police Department, a suburb of Orlando. The course included simple towing, launching and docking techniques and an abbreviated version of basic boating enforcement to include boating under the influence and first responder to boating accidents. Another seminar will be conducted in the coming weeks for the balance of the patrol officers.
PUTNAM COUNTY
Officer Troy Starling received a complaint from a hunt club member stating his tree stand, game camera and feeder had been stolen the day prior. Officer Starling went to scene and found foot tracks he followed to a nearby residence. He interviewed a suspect who admitted he and his friend stole the items. Officer Starling recovered the tree stand, game camera and feeder and returned them to the owner. At the complainant’s request both suspects received warnings for trespass and theft.
Lieutenant Ben Allen, Officers Ryan Haney and Staring completed a lengthy boating accident investigation that occurred on July 25. The vessel crashed into a tree on the bank of Murphy’s Creek off the St. Johns River. The impact of the crash broke an occupant’s ankle requiring the insertion of a metal plate and ten screws. The investigation showed the operator’s wife called 911 and claimed that she was the vessel operator. She also called her father who responded to the crash site with a jet ski. When he arrived, the operator and his wife left the scene on the jet ski, well before emergency medical personnel arrived. The officers served an arrest warrant this week
for the vessel operator for failure to render aid in a boating accident and reckless operation.
During phase one of the statewide alligator hunt, Lieutenant George Pottorf and Officer Haney observed a subject participating in the hunt. After an inspection of the subject, the officers found the man to be in possession of a five foot alligator, untagged. The subject was cited.
Lieutenant Pottorf and Officer Mark Tharp observed a subject working several trot lines in the St Johns River. An inspection found the fisherman had over 400 hooks on his line but did not have a freshwater commercial fishing license, nor were the two trot lines marked with identification as required by law. The subject was cited for the two charges.
ST JOHNS COUNTY
Officers Eric Meade and Mike Pedonti were checking shrimpers at Riverdale boat ramp on the St. Johns River. The last vessel they checked was in excess of the daily bag limit of shrimp. Two suspects were charged with taking over the daily bag limit of shrimp.
Officer Lee Lawshe was traveling down Highway 206 at midnight when a car passed him at a high rate of speed. The car drifted into the opposite lane causing an oncoming car to run onto the shoulder of the road. Officer Lawshe conducted a traffic stop and found the driver was talking on his cell phone. The driver stated he drifted into the oncoming lane because the phone was ringing and he was trying to find it. The driver was knowingly driving on a suspended license. He was booked in jail for driving while license suspended/revoked.
Officers Lawshe and Corey Birdwell were heading home late at night from working shrimpers when they saw several vehicles on the shoulder of the road with their hazard lights flashing. The officers stopped to investigate. When they pulled over, a person exited his vehicle telling the officers one of the vehicles had a flat tire. The officers immediately smelled a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage and noticed the subject’s speech was slurred. They ordered the driver to stay there while they checked on the other vehicles. The driver jumped into his truck and left; however, the officers stopped him a mile down the road. The driver refused to perform field sobriety tasks. He also had an active felony arrest warrant. In addition to the felony warrant, the driver was booked in jail for driving under the influence, driving while license suspended/revoked and altering his tag.
VOLUSIA COUNTY
Officers Don Meurlot and Clay McDonough were on patrol in the Oak Hill area when they encountered a man and woman harvesting clams in an area that is conditionally restricted to shellfish harvest. Both were found to be in possession of clams in this
closed area. The man is a licensed commercial harvester and he was issued a notice to appear for the misdemeanor charge. The clams were seized and returned to the water in another closed area.
Officers Adam and Wilke were working alligator hunters in Lake and Volusia counties near Lake George and observed some hunters hunting out of their assigned hunt area. The hunters were cited accordingly.