Field operations weekly report, 2008 August 10-16

Department of Natural Resources
Wildlife Resources Division Law Enforcement Section
Field Operations
Weekly Report August 10-16, 2008
This report is a broad sampling of events that have taken place in the past week, but does not include all actions taken by the Law Enforcement Section.

Region I- Calhoun (Northwest)
BARTOW COUNTY On August 14th, and Aug. 16th, RFC Byron Young and RFC Bart Hendrix were working an ongoing complaint on Lake Allatoona of water skiing after dark. Although sundown was approximately 8:25 PM, they found 2 people still kneeboarding near Allatoona Landing at 9:00 PM. On Saturday, they were in the same area and had another skier stopped at 9:00 PM. While issuing a citation, another boat pulling a tuber went by. The rangers also stopped that boat, explained the dangers of skiing after dark, and issued citations.
CHEROKEE COUNTY On August 16th, RFC Bart Hendrix and RFC Byron Young responded to a call just before midnight of a stranded boat at Harbor Town. They arrived to find a Yamaha ski boat that had navigated between an island and shore. The boat had run aground. The boat could not be moved and the rangers assisted 3 adults and 3 children with transport back to their campsite. The water level in Allatoona is currently about 5 feet below full pool and is exposing some hazardous areas.
COBB COUNTY On August 10th, RFC Byron Young, RFC Bart Hendrix, and Ranger James Psillis responded to an emergency call of a boat on fire at the Blockhouse Boat Ramp on Lake Allatoona in Cobb Co. Upon arrival, they spoke with the owner who had swam ashore. The owner advised that he backed the boat into the water and turned the ignition key and flames came up from the engine area. He attempted to locate his fire extinguisher but the flames grew head high and he abandoned ship. The boat quickly burned down to the water line.
FULTON COUNTY On August 16th, Cpl. Eric Brown and Sgt. Mike Barr worked a hunter development program at the Governor's Mansion. They utilized the DNR laser shot and fishing simulators with both children and adults at an event sponsored by Governor Purdue. Participants were introduced to gun safety, hunter education, and simulated hunting and fishing situations. Governor Purdue showed his shooting skills with the shooting simulator.
Region II- Gainesville (Northeast)
FORSYTH COUNTY On August 14th, Sgt. Lee Brown, Sgt. Mike Burgamy, Cpl. Jason Roberson, RFC Mark Stephens, RFC Mitchell Crump and Ranger Pamela Garrison had a six hour Defensive Tactics refresher course. This took place at the Forsyth County Sheriff's Office training building with Forsyth County Deputies assisting Sgt. Burgamy with the instruction.

HALL COUNTY On August 10, Cpl. Eric Sanders and Cpl. Tim Vickery assisted Hall County Fire and Rescue with a drowning at Old Federal Park campground on Lake Lanier. Four adults were playing on a large piece of styrofoam and drifted too far from shore. They jumped off the styrofoam and started swimming back to shore. That's when one subject wasn't able to make it back to the shore and drown. The Hall County Dive Team recovered the subject later that evening.
On August 16th Cpl. Adam Loudermilk and RFC Mark Stephens were patrolling Don Carter State Park. Cpl. Loudermilk had received a complaint of loud music and parting on the park property. The rangers encountered several subjects and issued citations and warnings for various infractions.
GWINNETT COUNTY On August 16th RFC Mitchell Crump and Cpl. Jason Roberson were patrolling on Lake Lanier. The rangers saw a small boat with five men fishing. As they headed toward the boat it started moving to a new location. At this time the rangers stopped the boat. The boat operator was charged with insufficient personal floatation devices and warned for operating an overloaded vessel. Also another man on the boat was charged with cast netting game fish and warned for fishing without a license.
On August 16th Cpl. Eric Sanders and Cpl. Tim Vickery were patrolling the Chattahoochee River by boat. Above the Medlock Bridge boat ramp in the artificial only zone they checked a boat with three subjects in it. The subjects had a total of 68 trout (the limit is 8 per person.) The subjects were also fishing with illegal bait. Citations were issued for various fishing infraction and the 68 trout were confiscated.
On August 16th RFC Mark Stephens presented an Information and Education program on gun safety at the Bass Pro Shop in Lawrenceville. This program was conducted in conjunction with the Fall Classic that the Bass Pro Shops are conducting during the weekends in August.
RABUN COUNTY During the week of August 10th Rangers of Region II received several telephone calls of questions concerning the reported finding of BIG FOOT (Sasquatch). These telephone calls were general inquires referencing the validity of its existence.

Region III- Thomson (East Central)
WILKES COUNTY On August 11th, RFC Bob Holley was notified of a large dumpsite located in a wooded area adjacent to Goat Pasture Rd in Wilkes County. RFC Holley located the site and it appeared as if someone backed a truck into the wood line and dumped approx 8-10 bags of household garbage and other agricultural shop materials in a large pile. While investigating the site RFC Holley was able to find several items that led to the identity of the subject. Contact was made with this individual and during an interview the subject admitted to dumping the trash and other materials. The subject agreed to clean up the site and was cited for unlawful dumping.
JEFFERSON COUNTY On August 13th, RFC Grant Matherly held a Hunter Education Class In Louisville. He had four students attend and all passed. On August 16th, RFC Matherly held a Hunter Development program for a group of hunters in the Bostic Mill area, discussing the up coming dove season and regulations.
WARREN COUNTY On August 14th, Region III officers Capt. Thomas Barnard, Sgt. Doyte Chaffin, Sgt. Matt Garthright, Cpl. David Allen, Cpl. Ryan Swain, RFC's Brian Adams, Leroy Ficklin, Bobby Timmerman, Richard Tanner, Ricky Boles and Sgt. Mark Padgett assisted the GTF and the Warren County Sheriff's office in the eradication of 14 million dollars of marijuana plants in rural Warren County. Over 7000 plants of various sizes were collected and destroyed.
LAKE OCONEE-GREENE COUNTY On August 16th, Sgt. Matt Garthright and RFC Richard Tanner assisted Greene County Sheriff's Office with a gas drive off from Granite Shoals Marina. The complainant advised a PWC occupied by two suspects drove off without paying for $38.00 in gas. The Rangers made contact with the suspects at the Ritz Carlton and turned the case over to Sheriff's Office. The driver was cited for the gas drive off and made to pay the $38.00.
Region IV- Macon (West Central)
LAKE JACKSON On August 3rd, Ranger First Class Keith Page and Corporal Tony Wynne patrolled Lake Jackson by boat and corrected several boating violations including regulatory marker violations, operating jet skis after sunset, and one arrest for operating a vessel under the influence. The person was arrested for operating a jet ski with a blood/alcohol level of .085 grams.

On August 11th, RFC Keith Page and Sgt. Tim Kendrick patrolled Lake Jackson. While patrolling the lake that night, Page and Kendrick noticed a vessel being operated that was displaying improper lights. After stopping the vessel the operator was found to be under the influence of alcohol. The operator failed all field sobriety exercises and had a blood alcohol content of 0.113g. The operator was charged with operating a vessel under the influence of alcohol, operating a vessel at night with improper lights and because there were 2 children on board under the age of 14, he was also charged with child endangerment.
MONROE COUNTY On August 9th, Corporal Tony Wynne patrolled Lake Juliette by boat. He received word from several people that a boat was being operated on the lake with a motor that exceeded the 25 horsepower limitations imposed by regulation. During his patrol Cpl. Wynne found a pleasure boat occupied by two families (2 adult males, 2 adult females, and 4 children) who were fishing. The boat had a 150HP motor. Cpl. Wynne could see that the boat was a rental boat. After speaking with the operator and checking the safety equipment Cpl. Wynne could tell that the people aboard knew very little about boating and the laws pertaining to boating. He explained to them that they were in violation of several boating safety laws as well as violating the law by having operated the large motor on Lake Juliette. Cpl. Wynne explained that since the boat had no other means of power (i.e. trolling motor, etc) they would have to take the boat off of Lake Juliette. Cpl. Wynne wrote the operator a warning for operating the large motor, and verbally warned the operator for being short two adult wearable PFD's, as well as exceeding the boats capacity rating of 6 people. He escorted the boat to the boat ramp.
On August 11th, RFC Keith Page and Sgt. Tim Kendrick patrolled Lake Jackson. While patrolling the lake at night Page and Kendrick noticed a vessel being operated that was displaying improper lights. After stopping the vessel the operator was found to be under the influence of alcohol. The operator failed all field sobriety exercises and had a blood alcohol content of 0.113g. The operator was charged with operating a vessel under the influence of alcohol, operating a vessel at night with improper lights and because there were 2 children on board under the age of 14, he was also charged with child endangerment.
HENRY COUNTY On August 5th, Sgt. Russ Ramsey and RFC Kevin Godbee participated in the Law Enforcement National Night Out in Henry County. Numerous LE Agencies were represented with an overwhelming support from the public. Aided with four wheelers, 4X4 pick-up trucks, patrol boats and handouts the rangers were able to interact with the public concerning questions and information reference equipment used while performing their duties.

TROUP COUNTY On August 10th, Cpl. Jim Bradfield and Cpl. Brent Railey worked on West Point Lake checking boating activity. The boating traffic was very light that day and only a few boaters were checked.
Throughout the week of August 10th - 16th Cpl. Jim Bradfield made arrangements for an upcoming hunter education class in Troup County. The location for this class was changed due to a schedule conflict and the class participants were notified of this location change.
On August 16th, Cpl Jim Bradfield worked West Point Lake checking boating activity. There was a Poker Run event being held on the lake that day which finished at one of the marinas on the lake. Upon completion of this event, Cpl. Bradfield checked some of the participants finding one of these boaters under the influence of alcohol. This boater refused to take the evidential Intox 5000 test and was charged with boating under the influence of alcohol.
BALDWIN COUNTY On August 15th, at around 2:00 p.m., Cpl. Bubba Stanford received a call from the Baldwin County Sheriff's Office in reference to a boat exploding on Lake Sinclair with numerous people injured. Cpl. Stanford contacted Ranger Josh Copelan and Cpl. Bill Goodson for assistance. Ranger Copelan and Cpl. Goodson responded to the scene of the accident while Cpl. Stanford went to the Oconee Regional Medical Center to interview the injured victims. The victims received second and third degree burns to their legs and arms and were sent to the Augusta Burn Center for surgery. The incident is still under investigation.
HOUSTON COUNTY On August 15th, and 16th, Cpl. Susan Morris, RFC Josh Swain, Cpl. Robert Stillwell, and Sgt. Ezra Wyche presented a Hunter Education Course at the Buck-A-Rama in Perry, Georgia.
Region V- Albany (Southwest)
WORTH COUNTY On August 12th, Cpl. Robbie Griner responded to a call from an off duty Georgia State Patrol Trooper in reference to someone shooting turkeys out of season. After arriving at the scene, Cpl. Griner located the subject and interviewed him. During the interview the man confessed to shooting at several turkeys that were in a field. While discussing the incident with the violator, Cpl. Griner noticed he was impaired. After failing sobriety exercises the individual was charged with DUI, hunting out of season, expired tag, open container violation, and hunting under the influence. A check of the .22 rifle used to shoot at the turkeys revealed that it was stolen.

DOUGHERTY COUNTY On August 16th, RFC Ben Roberts was conducting a fishing license check along the Flint River when he came upon a woman and her son fishing without the required license. A check of their identification revealed that both had warrants issued for their arrest. They were transported to the Dougherty County jail and turned over to deputies for processing.
CRISP COUNTY On August 10th, Cpl. Tommy Lawrence, Cpl. John Harkins and RFC Clint Martin responded to a boating incident on Lake Blackshear. As a ski boat was pulling two people on a tube when the tube hit a large wake and launched the occupants into the air. The sudden impact resulted in one of the occupants breaking her jaw in two places. The injured boater was transported to the Crisp County Hospital for further treatment.
Region VI- Metter (Southeast)
DODGE COUNTY On August the 17th, Cpl. Johnny Ashe completed an investigation spanning over a month and a half, resulting in two subjects being charged with multiple counts of hunting deer at night, hunting from a vehicle, and hunting from a public road. The subjects were caught in the act of "shining" when they were stopped. The suspects had killed three deer on various other properties in Dodge County. Two of the deer killed were a large 7 pointer and a small 8-point buck in full velvet. The other deer was a doe and all of the deer were recovered. The subjects were also charged with hunting without permission and possession of illegally taken wildlife. The case is still under investigation and further charges may be sought.
WILCOX COUNTY On August 17th, Cpl. John Allen Stokes checked creeks and Ocmulgee River landings for fishermen. He found few people out and issued one warning.
IRWIN COUNTY On August 13th, Ranger Chase Altman and Sgt. David Reckley met with four non-game biologists and showed them the way into a landlocked piece of property. The biologists wanted to survey the unique sandhill community and were especially interested in finding striped newts around the sandhill ponds.
JENKINS COUNTY On August 10th, Cpl. Shaymus McNeely, RFC Clint Jarriel, and Cpl. Don Dasher worked a river landing detail on the Ogeechee River at the Scarboro Landing. Four citations were written for fishing for mussels without a fishing license.

LANIER COUNTY On August 13th, RFC Tim Hutto received a fishing without permission call from the Lanier County Sheriff's Office. Upon arriving on the scene and interviewing the eightyeight year old complainant, he discovered that the violators had engaged in a physical confrontation with the elderly landowner when he confronted them. The complainant furnished the tag number of the vehicle and a description of the two violators. Following a brief investigation, RFC Hutto was able to locate and arrest one of the subjects at a residence in Berrien County. He was transported back to Lanier County and charged with fishing without permission. The other subject has not been located. The case is still under investigation by DNR and Lanier S.O. and other charges are pending due to injuries sustained by the pond owner.
BULLOCH COUNTY On August 16th and 17th, Sgt. William Vickers, Cpl. Eddie Akins, and RFC Debbie Brannen patrolled Oliver Bridge WMA for illegal activity. No violations were detected.
EFFINGHAM COUNTY On August 16th, RFC Debbie Brannen was notified by SOC to contact the Effingham SO in reference to a response by the local fire department to a pile of burning debris behind a residence in the county. RFC Brannen and Sgt. William Vickers responded to the scene and made contact with the homeowner. He admitted burning a large pile of debris consisting of plastics, metal, wood, cardboard, and other materials. The homeowner was cited for unlawful burning of litter.
WARE COUNTY On August 15th, and 16th, RFC Brad Cox conducted a concentrated patrol along the Okefenokee Swamp perimeter. RFC Cox was checking for compliance among hunters while training their bear dogs for the upcoming southern zone bear season. RFC Cox checked 12 hunting licenses, fielded many questions and handed out 2008-2009 hunting regulation guides.
Region VII- Brunswick (Coastal)
BRYAN COUNTY On August 10th, RFC Isaac Strickland and Cpl. Cindy Miller were patrolling the St. Catherine's Sound area checking recreational fishermen. One individual was cited for possession of undersized fish.
LIBERTY COUNTY On August 11th, RFC Isaac Strickland and Cpl. Cindy Miller were patrolling the South Newport River area of Liberty County checking commercial crabbers. The Rangers checked several commercial crabbers and cited one individual for undersized crabs.

WAYNE COUNTY On August 16th, RFC Randy Aspinwall assisted the Wayne County Sheriff's office with the investigation of a 6-month-old baby's death. It occurred on a sandbar on the Altamaha River.
GLYNN COUNTY On August 16th, Sgt. Bob Lynn, Sgt. John Harwell, Sgt. Doug Lewis, Cpl. Jesse Cook, Cpl. Jimmy Finn, Cpl. Ron Harris, RFC Mark Carson, RFC Craig Smith, and Ranger Rebecca Fuller assisted the Georgia State Patrol on Jekyll Island during the 25th Annual Jekyll Island Beach Music Festival.