Field operations weekly report [Oct. 5-11, 2014]

Department of Natural Resources
Law Enforcement Division
Field Operations
Weekly Report October 5 October 11, 2014
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 Division.

Region I- Calhoun (Northwest)
BARTOW COUNTY On October 11th, Cpl. Byron Young attended the annual Fishing Day at Dellinger Park in Cartersville. The park lake was open for the day for the public to enjoy. The lake is stocked yearly with catfish by Georgia DNR Fisheries Division. Success is usually very high.
CHEROKEE COUNTY On October 5th, RFC Bart Hendrix received a call about illegal hunting in Ball Ground off Valley Falls Circle. RFC Hendrix and Intern Tucker Adams foot patrolled the area for approximately 3 hours and found evidence of a deer being shot with a firearm. The incident location was directly behind a residence. There was no one at home. On October 6th, RFC Hendrix and Cpl. Lee Burns went back to the residence and met with the owner. He told the Rangers that his nephew was hunting behind the house on the previous date. Ranger Hendrix met with the nephew and it was discovered that a buck deer was shot with a high powered rifle by a juvenile. The adult that took the juvenile hunting said he thought it was the youth deer season. The adult did not have a license the day of the incident. He was issued a citation for hunting without a license and hunting without a big game license and warned for hunting out of season. RFC Hendrix did not take any action against the juvenile and stressed the importance of teaching the young hunter about responsible and ethical hunting practices. COBB COUNTY On October 5th, Cpl. Lee Burns was on foot checking a baited area. Before arriving at the bait, he noticed a white male walking through the woods dressed in blue jeans and a tee shirt. Cpl. Burns stopped the subject and asked if he had been hunting. The hunter stated he was just scouting. After a few investigative questions it was determined the subject's buddy had called to warn him the Game Warden was parked near his vehicle. The hunter had hidden his bow and camouflage under some pine straw and was attempting to flee the area. After locating the subject's bow and camo, Cpl. Burns charged him with hunting big game over bait. Written warnings were issued for hunting without a license and hunting without permission.

Region II- Gainesville (Northeast)
BARROW COUNTY On October 5th, RFC Kevin Goss was dispatched to a home on Old Covered Bridge Road near Hoschton, to investigate a deer that had been shot earlier that day. When RFC Goss arrived at the complainant's home she told RFC Goss that her step-brother who lived in Hoschton had shot the deer. RFC Goss went to the suspect's home and interviewed the suspect. The suspect admitted to shooting the deer with a 30.06 earlier that day. RFC Goss charged the suspect with hunting with an illegal weapon.
HALL COUNTY On October 6th, RFC Kevin Goss made traffic stop on a Silver Honda Fit for texting and driving. During the stop the female driver showed signs of impairment and a further investigation was under taken. After a search of the car turned up drug paraphernalia and further signs of impairment were observed, RFC Goss placed the driver under arrest for DUI.
On October 11th, Cpl. Adam Loudermilk responded to a boating accident on Lake Lanier at approximately 7:00am. After an investigation it was determined that two people were fishing from a stationary vessel when it was struck from behind by another vessel. Substantial damage was done to both vessels, but no injuries were reported.
On October 8th, at approximately 1830 hours Ranger First Class Mark Stephens responded to a complaint in reference to hunting without permission in Hall County off Dawsonville Hwy. Officer Stephens located the hunter in the woods. After an investigation Officer Stephens cited the individual for hunting without a license. Officer Stephens wrote the individual warnings for hunting without a big game license and for hunting big game over bait.
Region III- Thomson (East Central)
HANCOCK COUNTY Cpl. Derrell Worth and Sgt. John Harwell cited two subjects for hunting without a nonresident hunting license, two without nonresident big game license, one big game over bait, and one hunting deer without wearing fluorescent orange.
On October 12, Sgt. John Harwell cited one hunter for hunting big game over bait, hunting without fluorescent orange and hunting without a big game license.
GREENE COUNTY Cpl. Derrell Worth cited one subject for operating a taxidermy business without a license.
MORGAN COUNTY On October 11, RFC Ricky Boles cited two hunters for hunting whitetail deer without wearing fluorescent orange.
WALTON COUNTY On the morning of October 5th SGT Brian Carter and RFC Tim Butler cited two archery hunters for hunting big game over bait. During the afternoon, RFC Butler observed two adults and a juvenile dragging a deer to the highway. RFC Butler determined one of the adults and the juvenile had been deer hunting over bait. The adult was cited for hunting big game over bait.

OCONEE COUNTY On October 6th RFC Phillip Nelson conducted a hunter safety class.
WILKES COUNTY On October 11th Cpl. Mark Patterson checked an area known to be baited. Two adults and one juvenile were found hunting deer from these stands. Both adults were charged with hunting big game over bait.
RICHMOND COUNTY On October 7 and 8, Cpl. Ben Payne and RFC Matherly conducted programs at Elanco and Standard Aero in Augusta. The Rangers answered questions about hunting, boating and fishing regulations. They also ran the Laser Shot. Over 300 people were involved in the programs.
On October 11, Cpl. Payne patrolled Richmond County checking without permission complaints and listening for dove shoots. He also checked Phinizy and Spirit Creek WMA's.
WASHINGTON COUNTY During the week of October 6-10, 2014, Corporal Micheal Crawley and K9 Storm completed 40 hours of inservice training for recertification. The training included scenarios based on fleeing felons, building searches, wildlife detection, evidence recovery, and obstacle course.
GLASCOCK COUNTY On Saturday October 11th, RFC Brian Adams and Sgt. Doyte Chaffin apprehended a subject for hunting big game over bait and violations of orange vest requirements. The subject was cited and released.
On Saturday October 11th, RFC Brian Adams apprehended two subjects for hunting without permission. This was the second time the two subjects had been caught hunting without permission on the same property. The two subjects were cited and released.
Region IV- Macon (West Central)
BALDWIN COUNTY On the evening of October 9th, Ranger Matt Johnson checked several fishermen at various boat ramps on Lake Sinclair and the Oconee River. One warning was issued for fishing without a license. On the morning of October 11th, Cpl. Lynn Stanford checked several dove hunters in south Baldwin County and no infractions were noted.
LAMAR COUNTY On October 4th, RFC Keith Page and K9 Drake patrolled Lamar County for deer hunting activity. Page and Drake located a man hunting deer over bait. K9 Drake was utilized to track the man from his truck to his deer stand. RFC Page charged issued the man a citation for hunting big game over bait.
MONROE COUNTY On the morning of October 11th, RFC Keith Page and Sgt. Tim Kendrick checked a hunting club where Kendrick had previously located numerous baited deer stands. The Rangers located four men that were hunting deer over bait. One of the men was hunting with a .270 caliber rifle during primitive weapons season. All four hunters were charged with hunting big game over bait. The hunter with the .270 caliber rifle was also charged with hunting with an illegal weapon during primitive weapons season.

Later that evening, Page and Kendrick located a vehicle pulled off of side of the roadway with four bags of corn and three bags of minerals in the back of the truck. Sgt. Kendrick, RFC Page and K9 Drake went into the woods and found two men who were hunting over bait. Both men were issued citations for hunting big game over bait.
Region V- Albany (Southwest)
No activity to report.
Region VI- Metter (Southeast)
JENKINS COUNTY On October 9, Cpl. Mike Wilcox responded to a night hunting complaint in Bulloch County in the area of Rough Rider Road. When Cpl. Wilcox arrived in the area of the complaint, he observed two males shining a spot light in the ditch and across the field. There was no vehicle in the area. When Cpl. Wilcox questioned them about what they were doing, they said they hit a deer with their truck and were looking for the deer. As they were standing in the road, a truck pulled up to their location. The truck was coming to pick up the two individuals that were on foot. The individuals stated that they were in a different truck when they hit the deer and went back to their residence and returned later to look for the deer. Cpl. Wilcox didn't believe the story they were telling him. He recorded the names and addresses of the three individuals who were juveniles. None of them had a driver's license with them. Cpl. Wilcox made contact with the parents and had them come to the area. Cpl. Wilcox followed them back to the house to examine the truck that the boys hit the deer with. When they arrived at the location of the truck they juveniles confessed to shooting at a deer from the road. Cpl. Wilcox explained the seriousness of the violations to the boys and released them to their parents.
CLINCH COUNTY On October 9th, Cpl. Jason Shipes was contacted by Sgt. King with the Homerville Police Department. Officers from the Homerville PD spotted blood on the tailgate of a truck during a traffic stop. Cpl. Jason Shipes was called to the scene to take a look at this freshly killed 8-point buck. After inspecting the deer and conducting a brief investigation, Cpl. Shipes was able to determine that the deer was killed with an illegal weapon (.30-06 rifle). The subject was charged with hunting with an illegal weapon, hunting without a license and hunting without a big game license. The deer was donated to a local family for consumption.
Illegally-killed buck in Clinch County.

BERRIEN COUNTY On October 5th, while performing a routine patrol at Paradise PFA, Cpl. Tommy Daughtrey checked several people fishing on the PFA. One subject was cited for fishing without a license. Two violations of fishing on a PFA w/o WMA license were documented.
ATKINSON COUNTY On October 3rd, Cpl. Tommy Daughtrey received a complaint from a land owner who had found a deer stand that someone had placed on his property. Cpl. Daughtrey checked the deer stand for the next two days morning and evening. On October 5th, Cpl. Daughtrey and RFC Keith McDonald found a subject hunting w/o permission in the deer stand. A violation of hunting w/o permission was documented.
BEN HILL COUNTY On October 11th Corporal John A. Stokes was patrolling for dove hunting activity and witnessed someone in a vehicle throw a plastic bag out of the passenger side on Highway 319. The bag had three sandwiches wrapped in plastic and two drink bottles. The vehicle was stopped and the passenger was issued a citation for littering.
IRWIN COUNTY On October 11th, Ranger First Class Allen Mills was contacted by Sergeant James Mclaughlin with information concerning illegal hunting from the Ranger Hotline. The anonymous tip stated the name of two suspects and the location of a deer that had been taken at night. Ranger Mills was also able to obtain a photo of the deer and one of the suspects from a social media site. Corporal Dan Stiles assisted officer Mills with the investigation and the two officers made several phone calls, gathering vital information, and drove to the address of one of the suspects. The two suspects agreed to meet with the officers on scene. After a thorough interview with each suspect, both admitted to shooting a nine point deer at 5:30 AM in a peanut field. Violations for hunting deer at night and hunting from a motor vehicle were documented. The head from the nine-point buck deer was confiscated from a freezer on site, and the meat was confiscated from a nearby deer processer. The meat was donated to a family in need.

Region VII- Brunswick (Coastal)
GLYNN COUNTY On October 4th, Region VII Law Enforcement Division assisted in parking and traffic control for the 20th anniversary of Coast Fest. Coast Fest is an annual event at the Brunswick office where all Divisions of DNR have free exhibits for the public. This event is sponsored by the Coastal Resources Division. Some of the exhibits this year included, 2 man-made ponds for kids to Kayak, 2 man-made ponds for kids to have a fishing rodeo, a butterfly tent where the public could walk through and have hundreds of butterflies flying around them, Colonial games, cannon and musket firing, touch tanks for sharks and stingrays, and other educational exhibits. A total of 9,500 people attended this year's Coast Fest. WAYNE COUNTY On October 13th Cpl. Bobby White and Cpl. Randy Aspinwall conducted a radio I&E that covered topics such as Hunter Education, Boater Education, upcoming hunting season and dates and general hunting and firearm safety rules. GLYNN COUNTY On October 10, RFC David Brady apprehended a commercial bait shrimper that was offloading shrimp at a local dock and selling bait shrimp for food shrimp. Approximately 48 quarts were seized and held as evidence.
On October 11, RFC David Brady was checking a complaint area for a suspect hunting without permission when he encountered a man that was living on the complaint property. After a short investigation, Brady determined the man was in possession of Marijuana, a pipe and a small set of scales. The man was cited with Violation of Georgia Controlled Substance act. WAYNE COUNTY On October 9th, RFC John Evans was patrolling the Sansavilla WMA Firearms hunt when he encountered a hunter with an eight point buck. He believed the hunter to be a convicted night hunter from two seasons ago whose privileges had been suspended. After further investigation, RFC Evans confirmed his suspicions to be true. He and CPL Randy Aspinwall went to the suspect's home in Brantley County. They seized the 8 pointer and the suspect was cited for hunting after privileges were suspended.