Field operations weekly report, 2011 November 27-December 3

Department of Natural Resources
Wildlife Resources Division Law Enforcement Section
Field Operations
Weekly Report November 27- December 3, 2011
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)
CHEROKEE COUNTY On December 4th, Region I Law Enforcement activated its Critical Action Team. The CAT Team activation, at 2143 hours, was in response to a missing 7 year-old female child. The child, Jorelys Rivera, had been missing since Friday evening. The team included: Capt. Carroll Chastain, Sgt. Brian Keener, Cpl. Shawn Elmore, Cpl. Casey Jones, Cpl. James Keener, Cpl. Byron Young, RFC Brooks Varnell w/K-9 Rock, RFC James Psillis, RFC Cody Jones, RFC Ben Cunningham, and Ranger Zach Hardy. The team was to report the next morning at 0700 hours to the Command Post, located at 5 Reinhardt Parkway, Canton, Georgia. The DNR CAT Team was immediately task with searching the apartment complex were Jorelys resided and from where she disappeared. During the morning hours rangers meticulously searched the complex and found several items of interest, which were secured until the GBI Evidence Technicians could log and collect the items. The team also assisted with securing the area including a large trash compactor. The compactor was full and the trash had been compacted tightly. The decision was made to move the compactor to an adjacent location, dumped on the ground, and searched. The body of Jorelys was found in the trash compactor. The area was secured until the GBI could photograph and remove the body. Immediately following the removal of the body the DNR CAT Team was asked to assist the GBI with the tedious job of locating any additional evidence among the large amount of trash. During the search of the trash several items of interest were located and placed into evidence.
WHITFIELD COUNTY On December 7th, Capt. Carroll Chastain and Wildlife Technician Larry Ethridge participated in the Supermarket's of Veterans Benefits held at the Northwest Georgia Trade and Convention Center in Dalton, GA. The Georgia Department of Veterans Service and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, in cooperation with thirty-five state and federal agencies, which includes the Georgia Dept. of Natural Resources, Wildlife Resources Division, sponsor the Supermarket's of Veterans Benefits.

Region II- Gainesville (Northeast)
HART COUNTY On November 28th, Cpl. Craig Fulghum received a call about a picture on a trail camera of a trespasser. He and RFC Josh Chambers recognized the man. They printed a picture of the man from the camera and went to see him. The two rangers have had issues with this subject in the past for trespassing. He met the rangers at the Hart County jail with his attorney to be interviewed about the picture. He admitted that he was there. He was charged with hunting without orange and hunting without permission.
On December 3rd, RFC Josh Chambers was working in an area where several complaints about a burgundy vehicle shining and shooting had been received. Complaints started in September about this vehicle. About 11 p. m. the burgundy vehicle came by RFC Chamber's location and shined. He stopped the vehicle and found two loaded rifles and a light inside. The man also had his girlfriend and two young sons inside. He was arrested and charged for hunting deer at night, hunting from a public road, and hunting from a motor vehicle.
STEPHENS COUNTY On December 3rd, Sgt. Stan Elrod patrolled some property owned by the Stephens County School system for trespassers. One subject was caught and charged for hunting without permission.
DAWSON COUNTY On November 29th, Cpl. Freddie Hays was patrolling Dawson Forest WMA on a complaint of driving/damaging the food plots. Cpl. Hays encountered a vehicle that was doing donuts in the food plot. A citation was issued for driving in the food plots.
On December 2nd, Sgt. Lee Brown and RFC Mitchell Crump were working night hunting on an on-going complaint. Sgt. Brown observed a vehicle enter the field that he was watching. Sgt. Brown made contact with the vehicle and the occupants. It was determined that they were raccoon hunting on Dawson Forest WMA and were looking for their dog. Citations and warnings were issued for hunting on a closed WMA, hunting without a license, hunting without a WMA license and hunting without hunter education.
FORSYTH COUNTY On November 27th, Sgt. Lee Brown was patrolling for deer hunters and encountered a subject not wearing the required fluorescent orange. A written warning was issued for this offense.
GWINNETT COUNTY On December 2nd, Cpl. Eddie Tompkins working with Sgt. Chad Welch issued a subject a citation for buying/selling of deer meat and a citation for driving without a license.
On December 3rd, Cpl. Eddie Tompkins was patrolling a without permission complaint when he encountered two subjects hunting on the property. A written warning was

issued for hunting deer without wearing the required fluorescent orange and verbal guidance was given for hunting without permission.
RABUN COUNTY On Saturday December 3rd Corporal Derek Dillard and Sergeant Steve Seitz were checking deer hunters in the area of Willis Knob Road and saw a subject dragging a 4 point buck out of the woods that he had killed with a muzzle loading rifle. The subject had not recorded the deer on his harvest record. Furthermore, the subject was a convicted felon. The firearm was seized for further investigation and the subject was written a citation for failure to record deer harvest.
Region III- Thomson (East Central)
GREENE COUNTY On November 27th, DNR and GSP set up a road check in Greene County to check for game and fish violations, licenses, drugs, and traffic issues. Among the DNR officers checking vehicles were Sgt. John Harwell, Cpl. Derrell Worth, Cpl. David Allen, RFC Larry Mills, RFC Richard Tanner, and RFC Niki Spencer. Several license violations were cited, along with failure to record deer harvest, drug charges, and traffic violations. On December 2nd, while on routine patrol on the Oconee River, Cpl. Derrell Worth cited several fishermen for license violations.
COLUMBIA COUNTY On December 3rd, Cpl. Brian Hobbins handled a complaint of baiting deer off of Moon Town Road in Appling. Two subjects were cited for hunting big game over bait.
TALIAFERRO COUNTY On December 3rd, RFC Leroy Ficklin apprehended two subjects for hunting big game over bait.
ELBERT COUNTY On Saturday December 3rd, Cpl. Julian Wilkins responded to a complaint about illegal hunting on Heardmont WMA in Elbert County. Cpl. Wilkins arrived and found several subjects from Virginia. They were not hunting but had driven on a closed road and down to the edge of Lake Russell. The vehicle had broken down and they were trying to get it back onto the road. The subjects were issued a ticket for driving on a closed road on a WMA and one subject was arrested for driving with a suspended license.
WILKES COUNTY On Saturday December 3rd, Sgt. Brian Carter and Wildlife Tech Mark Patterson caught two subjects hunting deer over bait. Later that night they caught a subject hunting hogs from the road. He was issued a citation for hunting from a public road and warned for hunting from a motor vehicle.

Region IV- Macon (West Central)
JASPER COUNTY On the morning of December 2nd RFC Billy Bryant received a call in reference to a hunter trespassing on city property. RFC Bryant responded to the area and located a vehicle. Bryant tracked the hunter from his vehicle with K-9 Drake and located him a short time later. After a brief investigation, Bryant learned the hunter had permission to hunt an adjacent piece of property and did not realize that the City of Monticello had a narrow strip of property that was not marked. The hunter was issued a warning for hunting without permission.
LAMAR COUNTY
rd
On December 3 , while checking a bait complaint, RFC Keith Page and Sgt. Tim Kendrick located a hunter who was hunting deer over bait. Page and Kendrick also noticed that the man was not wearing any fluorescent orange while hunting. Kendrick located a feeder in front of the man's deer stand that was about half full of corn as well as a large pile of acorns that had been dumped in the middle of his food plot. Further investigation proved that the man did not possess a valid hunting license, a big game license, or a deer harvest record. RFC Page charged the man with hunting big game over bait, hunting without wearing fluorescent orange and hunting without a license. He was issued a warning for hunting without a big game license.
MERIWETHER COUNTY On November 27th Cpl. Keith Waddell, Cpl. Mitch Oliver, Cpl, Jeremy Bolen and Sgt. Brent Railey assisted the Meriwether County Sheriff's Office with serving a search warrant in relation to commercial gambling. The area raided was a farm that had been converted to a racetrack for horses; an investigation had been going on for some time on this racetrack. The sheriff's office seized a large amount of cash, approximately ten trucks and horse trailers, several other vehicles, a dozen horses, and a large amount of alcohol that was being illegally sold at the track. About a dozen people were arrested.
MONROE COUNTY On the morning of November 27th Cpl. Tony Wynne was assisting Sgt. Tim Kendrick with checking a hunting club where Kendrick had previously found deer bait . While Wynne checked one side of the hunting club, Kendrick checked the other side. They found only two people hunting, one of which Kendrick found was hunting over bait and not wearing the required fluorescent orange clothing. That hunter was charged with hunting big game over bait and not wearing fluorescent orange. Kendrick assisted the other hunter by printing out a deer harvest record to go with the big game license he had.
On December 3rd Sgt. Tim Kendrick received a phone call from the landowner stating there were hunters on the same property where the hunter was cited for hunting deer over bait on November 27th. Kendrick and Cpl. Susan Morris checked the property and located four hunters. Two of the hunters were hunting deer over bait and only one of the four hunters was wearing fluorescent orange. The hunters were charged with hunting big game over bait and not wearing fluorescent orange.

MUSCOGEE COUNTY On November 27th, Cpl. Mitch Oliver and Cpl. Jeremy Bolen were checking an inprogress night hunting complaint wherein there had been a shot fired earlier that evening. While doing so, officers noticed a truck pull over to the side of the road and shine the headlights two separate times into a field. The officers stopped the truck and discovered two passengers and a .270 caliber rifle between them. After speaking with both of the subjects, it was determined that they were hunting deer at night. Both of the subjects were issued citations for hunting deer at night, hunting from a public road, and hunting from a motor vehicle.
TALBOT COUNTY On November 30th, Cpl. Jeremy Bolen was notified of an in-progress road hunting complaint. A witness had heard a shot from her residence and noticed a vehicle driving up the road. The witness drove toward where the shot came from and located a deer that had just been killed. After a few minutes, the same vehicle came past her location again. At this time she was able to get the tag number from the vehicle. Cpl. Bolen went to interview the subject. At first the subject denied any involvement in the incident. The next day the subject contacted Cpl. Bolen and admitted to killing the deer. The subject was issued citations for hunting without permission, hunting from a motor vehicle, and hunting from a public road.
TROUP COUNTY On November 27th Sgt Jim Bradfield and Ranger Russell Epps responded to an in progress complaint about goose hunters in a Corps of Engineers Campground. Upon arrival the Rangers located four goose hunters set up about 100 yards from a campground that was closed for the winter. It was determined that two of the four hunters did not have the required permit from the Corps of Engineers to hunt the property on West Point lake. These two hunters were issued citations for hunting without permission. One of the hunters was given a verbal warning for not having registration on his boat and was provided with information on how to obtain the registration. A Corps of Engineers Ranger was called to handle the issue of hunting too close to a campground.
On December 1st Sgt Jim Bradfield went to Holiday Campground on West Point Lake to check on the progress of the Hunters for Christ handicap deer hunt. This hunt is sponsored by Baptist Tabernacle of LaGrange and the Corps of Engineers allows the use of this closed campground for the hunt. There were about 15 hunters participating in this two day deer hunt.
Region V- Albany (Southwest)
DECATUR COUNTY On December 2nd, RFC Tony Cox conducted a patrol of boat landings on the Flint River to check for commercial fishing violations. While on patrol, he investigated a citizen complaint of fishermen keeping game fish that were caught in gill nets. He encountered

the three suspects, who were cited for illegal netting of fish, and for possession of game fish taken with commercial gear. Twenty-two fish were confiscated in this incident.
GRADY COUNTY On December 2nd, Sgt. Rick Sellars was working a citizen complaint of night deer hunting when he observed the occupants of a vehicle hunt several fields in the complaint area. The vehicle was stopped and found to be occupied by 5 individuals with two rifles. The subjects were transported to the Sheriff's Office, where they were interviewed by RFC Tony Cox. The subjects were cited for hunting deer at night, hunting from a vehicle, and hunting from a public road.
BAKER COUNTY On December 3rd, RFC Tony Cox received information from Decatur County 911 of an overdue boater on the Flint River near the Decatur/Mitchell County line. RFC Cox, Cpl. Randy Davis, and Sgt. Rick Sellars responded to the scene, where they were met by several Decatur County Deputies and GSP Troopers. Cox and Davis launched a boat to begin a vessel search as a GSP helicopter with FLIR capabilities was also called in to search for the subject. The helicopter crew spotted the overturned kayak about 5 miles north of the landing, but were unable to locate the missing boater. As Cox and Davis worked their way to the kayak, which was swamped in a shoal, Sgt. Sellars and the other officers made their way along hunting trails that were close to the river. The missing boater was located at the bottom of a steep bank after officers heard the emergency whistle he was blowing. RFC Cox reached the subject by boat and transported the boater to the landing where he was checked by EMS, and released.
CRISP COUNTY On December 2nd, Cpl. Tommy Lawrence completed an investigation of a hunting without permission complaint which originated from a November 22nd, incident. A citation was issued for hunting without permission and an illegally harvested 10 point buck was confiscated.
THOMAS COUNTY On November 27th, RFC David Brady received a call after a motorist traveling a rural road, observed two men carrying guns hastily jump into a convertible car. A deer hunter on nearby property heard two gunshots come from the public road. Both witness, without knowledge of the other, reported the same incident to RFC Brady. Armed with a description of the suspects, the car, and the tag number, RFC Brady and RFC Jon Penuel quickly located the suspect vehicle and the two men involved. When confronted by officers with the details of the incident, the two men admitted to riding around county roads and shooting small game animals from the convertible. Both subjects were charged with hunting from a vehicle, hunting from public road, and hunting without permission.
On November 28th, RFC David Brady received a complaint that a deer may have been shot from the road moments before. Brady drove to the scene and met with the property manager who described hearing shots and seeing a suspect vehicle and driver leaving from the area where the shots were fired. A quick search of the area revealed a six-point

buck that the suspect had covered with leaves and hid near the road. Interestingly, in an attempt to hide the deer only the white areas of the deer's body had been covered with leaves. While discussing the incident with the manager, the suspect vehicle came by and Brady stopped the driver and a second suspect following closely behind. RFC Jon Penuel arrived to assist Brady with the investigation and interviews of the men. Evidence was recovered and both subjects were charged with hunting from a public road, hunting from a vehicle, and hunting without permission.
Thomas County Road Hunting
Region VI- Metter (Southeast)
EFFINGHAM COUNTY On December 3rd, RFC Brandon Pierce responded to a complaint in reference to several caught deer dogs on private property. Officer Pierce arrived at the scene and picked up four dogs. The owners were called and met with. A total of four violations were documented and the dogs were returned. The violations consisted of failure to keep hunting dogs on permitted property and hunting deer with unmarked dogs. One of the subjects was found to be in violation on a previous investigation by Officer Pierce in November. A total of two violations were documented. The violations consisted of failure to keep hunting dogs on permitted property and hunting deer with unmarked dogs.
LANIER COUNTY On December 3rd, at around 9:30 p.m., RFC Tim Hutto and K9 "Gauge" responded to a night deer hunting call in Lanier County. RFC Hutto searched the area and found that the suspects had already fled. At around 1:30 a.m. on December 4th, RFC Hutto noticed a spotlight being shined from a pickup truck in the complaint area. RFC Hutto followed the vehicle and observed several of the occupants shine a spotlight into agricultural fields. RFC Hutto initiated a traffic stop on the vehicle and discovered a loaded .22 caliber rifle and a spotlight in the front seat. A further check revealed another suspect in the back of the pickup with a loaded .22 caliber revolver and a Remington .300 Magnum rifle. Six adult males were taken to the Lanier County Sheriff's Office and charged with hunting

deer at night, hunting from a vehicle, and hunting big game from a public road. All weapons were seized as evidence.
ATKINSON COUNTY On November 26th, RFC Tim Hutto and Cpl. Morty Wood concluded a two-year investigation into hunting without permission on the Gopher Plantation in Axson. The investigation involved three subjects hunting without permission and killing trophy white-tailed deer out of a high fence enclosure on the plantation. On the morning of November 24th, RFC Hutto and K9 "Gauge" were called to locate suspects on the plantation after they had killed a trophy whitetail buck inside the enclosure. K9 "Gauge" flushed one of the suspects out to Minchew Road where he was apprehended by a Sergeant with the Georgia State Patrol. The other two suspects were apprehended later that evening. The suspects confessed to killing several trophy bucks on the plantation, both in and out of the high fence. A search warrant was issued and executed on one of the suspect's phones, which revealed an eight-point buck that had been killed inside of the high fence enclosure that had already been mounted. A trail camera was also found that had been stolen off of the plantation. The suspects were arrested on seventeen warrants for interference with the performance of rangers duties, hunting without permission, and theft by taking. The officers also issued twelve citations for possession of illegally taken wildlife and hunting deer without fluorescent orange clothing. One whitetail doe, one feral hog, and four whitetail bucks were confiscated, including one mounted eight point.
BERRIEN COUNTY On Monday, November 28th, at 4:30 A.M., Cpl. Tommy Daughtrey received a complaint of a shot being fired near a residence in Berrien County. Cpl. Daughtrey responded to the complainant's residence where he found where a deer had been shot and drug down the dirt road. Cpl. Daughtrey found where the deer was loaded onto an ATV. The complainant advised Cpl. Daughtrey that the ATV went to a residence across the field. Cpl. Daughtrey could see lights on in the back yard of the residence where the ATV had gone. Cpl. Daughtrey went to the residence. Upon walking into the back yard of the residence, Cpl. Daughtrey observed three subjects in the process of cleaning a deer. Cpl. Daughtrey also saw an 8 point buck and a yearling deer on the ground beside the skinning rack. Further investigation found three deer carcasses in the back of a truck that had already been cleaned. Cpl. Daughtrey called Cpl. Morty Wood for assistance. The three subjects were arrested and taken to the Berrien County Jail. All were charged with: hunting deer at night, hunting from the road, hunting from a vehicle, poss. of illegally taken wildlife and hunting without permission. The subjects had killed 5 deer during the night.
CLINCH COUNTY On December 3rd, RFC Jason Shipes was patrolling the area of Hwy 94 south of Fargo for deer dogging activity. RFC Shipes observed a vehicle on the shoulder of the roadway with an individual standing in the rear on a dog box. As RFC Shipes approached the subject he noticed that he had a high-powered rifle in hand. Upon further inspection RFC Shipes found that the hunter was not licensed at the time. RFC Shipes issued citations for

hunting big game from a public road, hunting without a license, hunting without a big game license.
ECHOLS COUNTY On November 28th, at 11:00 PM, Echols' Sheriff Randy Courson requested assistance from Sgt. Patrick Dupree to help locate an individual that had threatened suicide earlier in the day. The subject told family members he was going to his logging job site near Suwannoochee Creek to take his life. He said he was going to tape a hose to his truck's exhaust and run it into the window. Echols 911 Dispatch provided officers with GPS coordinates from the subject's cell phone pings. The coordinates indicated the phone was in an area near Suwannoochee Creek south of Fruitland. The owner of the logging company arrived and provided exact directions to the logging site. The officers located the semi-conscious subject at 12:30 AM inside the truck with the engine running. A hose was attached to the exhaust and placed into the truck's window as he had described. The officers immediately removed him from the vehicle and after a few minutes he was coherent and able to stand. He stated that he had been there since 8:00 PM and was almost asleep. He was taken into custody and transported to a waiting ambulance at GA Highway 187.
JEFF DAVIS COUNTY On Sunday, December 4th, Cpl. Barry Britt worked a hunting without permission complaint. Cpl. Britt caught a male subject dragging a young buck back to his truck. The man was charged with hunting without fluorescent orange clothing, hunting without permission, and possession of illegally taken wildlife. The confiscated deer was given to a family in Jeff Davis County.
EVANS COUNTY On November 29th, RFC Debbie Brannen checked a deer hunter resulting in documentation of violations for hunting without a license and hunting without fluorescent orange clothing.
APPLING COUNTY On the night of the 26th RFC Altman was assisting Region VII in a night hunting detail. Two ATV's were stopped along with one vehicle that night. One warning for blinding wildlife, one hunting deer at night, one hunting from a vehicle, and one warning for hunting from a public road were issued by RFC Altman.
Region VII- Brunswick (Coastal)
BRANTLEY COUNTY On 12/2/2011, Cpl. Billy Reed responded to an in progress hunting without permission complaint on the White Ford Bridge Road. He cited one subject for hunting without a license, hunting from a vehicle, and hunting big game from a public road. The landowner did not want to prosecute the suspect for hunting without permission.

On 12/3/2011, Cpl. Billy Reed responded to an in progress deer hunting complaint on the Britt Still Road. He observed one hunter standing in the middle of the county road with a shotgun. He cited the suspect for deer dog hunting on non-permitted property, hunting big game from a public road, hunting without a license, and hunting without a fluorescent orange vest.
BRYAN COUNTY On Nov. 27th, RFC Jack Thain cited a boater at the old Bryan Fisherman's Co-op dock for not having any life jackets in his boat.
On Nov. 27th, Cpl. Phillip Scott investigated a hunting accident in northern Bryan County, where a 21 year old man was hunting squirrels with a .22 cal. rifle and shot himself in the foot while wearing flip-flops.
On Nov. 28th, Cpl. Phillip Scott presented two boating safety programs to 5th graders with the Bryan County Elementary "Champs" program.
GLYNN COUNTY On December 3, 2011, Cpl. Wil Smith and Sgt. Chris Hodge investigate complaints of deer dogging activity on Pennick Rd. The complaints were that the hunters were hunting from the road and driving very fast on the road. The Rangers find several violations and issued citations for Hunting from a Public Road and Hunting without a License. One subject was arrested for warrants from Dooly County.
CAMDEN COUNTY On December 4, 2011, Cpl. Wil Smith and Sgt. Chris Hodge responded to a hunting incident on Haynor Rd. A deer dog hunter was shot by another hunter while hunting deer. The victim was struck in the right thigh by one buckshot pellet, barely missing his femoral artery. Cpl. Smith investigated and reconstructed the incident as a Critical Incident Reconstruction Team investigator. The victim was treated and released from the hospital.
MCINTOSH COUNTY On December 1, Cpl Jimmy Finn responded to Blackbeard Nation Wildlife Refuge in response to a hunter having a heart attack. Cpl Finn coordinated and transported emergency responses to the island. He assisted US Fish and Wildlife agents in transporting the victim to a helicopter landing zone. Due to the remote location and helicopter response, the victim did not survive the incident.