Department of Natural Resources Law Enforcement Division Field Operations Weekly Report November 30 December 6, 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) PICKENS COUNTY On November 30th, Cpl. James Keener arrested a subject for hunting deer at night, hunting from a public road, and hunting from a motorized vehicle. GILMER COUNTY On December 6th, Sgt. John VanLandingham worked a complaint in reference to a person hunting without landowner permission and hunting over bait in Gilmer County. Two subjects were located hunting on the property, but neither subject was hunting near the baited area. The subjects were issued citations for hunting on lands of another without permission. Region II- Gainesville (Northeast) MADISON COUNTY On November 30th, RFC Brandon Pierce and RFC Shane Sartor patrolled the county for hunting violations. A known baited area was checked and several subjects were found hunting. All hunting licenses and equipment was checked. As a result, three citations and three warnings were issued. The violations consisted of hunting big game over bait, hunting deer without fluorescent orange, hunting without a license, and hunting without a big game license. As a result of the violations one deer was confiscated and donated to a needy family. HART COUNTY On November 30th, RFC Brandon Pierce and Cpl. Craig Fulghum responded to a complaint of road hunting in the Reed Creek area. After an investigation of the incident two subjects were arrested and transported to the Hart County detention Center. The violations consisted of Hunting from a public road, hunting without permission, and Failure to record deer harvest. A total of seven violations were documented between both of the suspects. On November 30th, Cpl. Craig Fulghum patrolled south Hart County for violations in the evening. During his patrol Cpl. Fulghum documented three separate violations. Three subjects were issued citations. The violations were open container of alcohol in passenger area of a vehicle, Hunting big game over bait, and unlawful burning of waste. On December 4th, Cpl. Craig Fulghum concluded an investigation that started out as a property dispute between two adjacent property owners. During the investigation two subjects were caught on a trail camera hunting big game over bait. Both subjects were issued citations for hunting big game over bait. STEPHENS COUNTY On December 1st, RFC Chad Chambers and Cpl. Craig Fulghum responded to a hunting-without-permission complaint in northern Stephens County just off Hwy 123. When both Rangers arrived at the scene it was obvious that there was more to the incident than hunting without permission. After an extensive investigation and a brief K9 search, 20 separate hunting violations were documented and 1 felony possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. The hunting violations consisted of six counts of hunting with an illegal weapon, two separate road hunting incidents which consisted of hunting from a vehicle, hunting from a public road, and hunting without permission on both subjects and hunting big game without a license. Both subjects were arrested and transported to the Stephens County Jail. A total of six deer were confiscated and given to a needy family in Toccoa. RABUN COUNTY On November 30th, Corporal Derek Dillard was patrolling an area of USFS property on foot near the Persimmon Community when he heard 3 gunshots. Corporal Dillard located a man with his face painted black dragging a spike buck through the woods. Corporal Dillard asked the man what else did he shoot and he replied that he shot a doe, but that he shot it for a button buck, and it turned out to be a doe. Corporal Dillard asked the man if he had a hunting license and the man dropped his head and said, "Well there's another problem, I ain't got one." Corporal Dillard and the man dragged the spike and doe down to the road and loaded them into his patrol truck. The man was issued citations for hunting without a license, hunting without a big game license, and killing an antlerless deer. On December 5th, Corporal Derek Dillard got a phone call from the Rabun County Sheriff's Office requesting his assistance with the search for an armed man and a juvenile female that had ditched a stolen vehicle from Newton County in the area of Sherin Drive just north of Mountain City. Corporal Dillard along with the Rabun County Sheriff's Office, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, and the Georgia State Patrol, as well as other local agencies continued the nearly 15 hour search up until approximately 1:30 pm when the fugitives were located in a field off York House Road. The male fugitive had several pending warrants and the investigation is still pending. On December 6th, Corporal Derek Dillard and USFS Officer Jeff Angel were patrolling the area of Worley Creek Road when they noticed a suspicious acting male get out of his truck and walk up to the front of it when he saw them. The truck was pulled behind a cemetery on some private property. Corporal Dillard approached the man and noticed a strong smell of marijuana coming from the vehicle. Corporal Dillard asked the man what was he doing and he said getting ready to go deer hunting and that he had permission and had hunted there already before. Corporal Dillard located a bag of what appeared to be marijuana underneath the front bumper of the man's truck. The man was arrested and charged for simple possession of marijuana. Furthermore, the owner of the property came down to the location and asked what was going on, and I explained to him that the man said he had permission to be hunting on his property and the land owner said no he does not and wanted him to stay out and that a warning would suffice for now. Corporal Dillard also issued the man a written warning for hunting without permission. TOWNS COUNTY On December 3rd, RFC David Webb guided and assisted the Towns County 10th grade Honors Biology Class with a litter pick up on Ivy Log Gap Road. There were twenty two students, one teacher (Heather Moss and the bus driver who participated in the cleanup. The group picked up 1700 lbs. of garbage which included items such as tires, furniture, household garbage, metal and plastic. WHITE COUNTY On December 5th, RFC Anne Britt met with a complainant who said they had located a trespasser the day before on property that he had permission to hunt. The complainant said the trespasser said he was going to be back the following day. RFC Britt and the complainant walked back to the area where the trespasser had been the day before and located the adult male hunting with a .30-.30 rifle and not wearing fluorescent orange. The male was charged for hunting without a license and hunting without fluorescent orange. He was warned for not having a big game license and verbally warned for not having permission to hunt. On December 6th, RFC Anne Britt investigated a trash dumpsite on Roy Powers Rd. RFC Britt found 12 bags of household garbage dumped on the side of the road. After looking through the garbage, RFC Britt located some articles that came back to an adult female. RFC Britt contacted the female suspect and charged her for unlawful dumping. The female retrieved the bags of garbage and disposed of them properly. On December 7th, RFC Anne Britt was checking a baited deer stand she had previously located. The hunter was found hunting with a bow and was issued a citation for hunting big game over bait, hunting without wearing fluorescent orange, and warning was given to him for not having a deer harvest record. JACKSON COUNTY On December 1st, RFC Eric Isom and K9, Colt, located a subject deer hunting without wearing fluorescent orange. He received a warning for hunting deer without wearing fluorescent orange. On December 3rd, RFC Isom concluded an investigation that had been going on since bow season. During the interview of the suspect, RFC Isom confronted the suspect with evidence of his poaching activities. The suspect confessed to his illegal hunting activities for this year. He received citations and warnings for hunting deer with illegal weapon, killing over limit of antlered deer, hunting without a license, and hunting without a big game license. The racks were confiscated and the meat was given to families in need. Jackson County On December 6th, RFC Kevin Goss along with Sgt. Mike Burgamy responded to a hunting-without-permission complaint in Jackson County. When they arrived they found a dead buck lying on the ground on the complainant's property. RFC Goss spoke with the complainant who stated he believed his neighbor was responsible for shooting the deer. RFC Goss and Sgt. Burgamy then went and interviewed the neighbor who admitted he had shot the deer over a pile of corn in his back field. The poacher stated he shot the deer and it ran off and died on the complainant's property. RFC Goss charged the suspect with Hunting Big Game over Bait. Region III- Thomson (East Central) OGLETHORPE COUNTY On December 6th RFC Phillip Nelson and WL Tech III Kevin VonSeggern apprehended two subjects hunting deer on Redlands WMA. The management area was open for small game hunting only. Both subjects were cited for hunting on a closed WMA. On the night of December 6th, RFC Phillip Nelson noticed what appeared to be an illegal burn taking place. Upon investigation, RFC Nelson discovered four subjects burning old furniture for scrap metal. The violation of unlawful burning was documented. CLARKE COUNTY On December 4th, PAO Mark McKinnon, Sgt. Brian Carter, and Cpl. Mark Patterson attended a training conference for recently elected County Commissioners. Attendees were from counties all over the state and were given the opportunity to ask questions related to the function of the Law Enforcement Division and its potential as a resource for them and their constituents. LINCOLN COUNTY On December 5th, Sgt. Matt Garthright and Sgt. John Harwell responded to a call in reference to an injured horse rider on Bussey Point Area. The individual had suffered injury after being thrown from his horse and was unable to make it back to his truck. Rangers were able to maintain phone contact with the individual which helped in locating him. Sgt. Garthright and Sgt. Harwell were able to get the individual out of the woods and turned him over to Lincoln County EMS. On December 6th, Cpl. Ryan Swain conducted a concentrated patrol of the Savannah River. Cpl. Swain patrolled for waterfowl violations. During the patrol several violations were detected ranging from operating vessel without life jackets to hunting license violations. Region IV- Macon (West Central) BUTTS COUNTY On Friday morning, December 6th, at approximately 10:00a.m., Sgt. Tim Kendrick called Cpl. Tony Wynne to request assistance with stranded boaters on the Ocmulgee River near Giles Ferry. Cpl. Wynne picked up the jet boat and met Kendrick at Giles Ferry near Flovilla. They launched the boat and found the boaters, approximately 300 yards downstream from the boat ramp, stuck on rocks. The boat was a small jon boat with two people on board, one of whom was handicapped. After considerable maneuvering, the rangers were able to get a rope to the boat and pull it off of the rocks and into deeper water. The boaters were then able to make it to shore under their own power, using their trolling motor. HARRIS COUNTY On November 30th, Cpl. Mitch Oliver responded to an in progress hunting without permission complaint in Ellerslie. The property overseer and his son had found a hunter in a climbing deer stand. Cpl. Oliver arrived on scene and learned that the subject had been caught on the property in the past. The property owner didn't pursue charges the first time, but evidently the warning didn't persuade the hunter from returning to the property. The hunter was also found to not have any fluorescent orange and was hunting over bait without the landowner's permission. The individual was issued citations for hunting without permission and hunting deer without wearing fluorescent orange. He was issued a written warning for hunting big game over bait. MUSCOGEE COUNTY On December 2nd, Cpl. Jeremy Bolen presented the DNR Law Enforcement Division power point to a group of criminal justice students at Columbus State University. The power point was developed as a recruitment tool and to make the public aware of the significant role that DNR serves. WILKINSON COUNTY On the morning of December 6th, Ranger Matt Johnson and Cpl. Lynn Stanford observed smoke coming from behind a residence. Upon further investigation, the officers discovered the homeowner burning synthetic material and a citation was issued for the offense of illegal burning. Later that evening, Ranger Johnson located 4 hunters hunting ducks after legal time had ended on a beaver swamp. All 4 were charged with hunting waterfowl after hours. Region V- Albany (Southwest) COLQUITT COUNTY On December 1st, RFC Jon Penuel received a complaint of someone killing over the limit of bucks. Penuel determined that the suspect had killed a 7 point, 8 point and a 12 point buck during the 2014 deer season. The suspect was charged with taking over the season limit of antlered deer and the 12 point rack was seized as evidence. THOMAS COUNTY On December 2nd, RFC Jon Penuel received information about a large buck that had been killed without landowner permission. Penuel used evidence gathered in his investigation to lead him to a suspect whom was charged with hunting on lands of another without permission. The 8 point deer rack was seized as evidence. THOMAS COUNTY On December 6th, Ranger Eric White, Cpl. Greg Wade and Sgt. David Ruddell conducted a patrol to address night deer hunting complaints. Several hours into the patrol, the officers observed the occupants of a pickup truck hunting a field. When Ranger White attempted to stop the vehicle, the driver fled but crashed his truck into a tree while attempting to hide behind it behind his residence. A freshly-killed doe deer was also found lying in the bed of the truck. The suspects were charged with hunting deer at night, hunting from the road, hunting from a vehicle, and hunting without permission. The driver was also charged for fleeing and eluding a police officer and 2nd offense hunting deer at night. The deer was confiscated and donated to a local charity. Thomas County night deer hunters TIFT COUNTY On the evening of December 6th, Cpl. Greg Wade was conducting a patrol when he heard shots come from an area nearby. He located two trucks hidden in a pine thicket and shortly thereafter apprehended three subjects shooting ducks after hours. Region VI- Metter (Southeast) ECHOLS COUNTY On November 30th, Sgt. Patrick Dupree was on dawn duck hunting patrol and heard shooting near the Alapahahoochee River. After locating the source of the shots, it was discovered that individuals were duck hunting but had indiscriminately killed 11 ibis, 6 white herons, and 1 blue heron, in addition to 9 hooded mergansers. Ranger Daniel North assisted with the field investigation and the violators were each charged with taking totally protected wildlife. The officers retrieved many of the birds by boat that were left floating in the pond. Two of the individuals were charged with multiple hunting license violations. One individual was charged with taking over the limit of mergansers. The federally protected wading birds and illegally taken mergansers were seized and properly disposed of. Illegally-taken birds killed in Echols County. On December 6th, Sgt. Patrick Dupree was patrolling for deer dogging activity near Fargo when a hunter was encountered that was participating in a dog deer hunt. The hunter did not possess any hunting licenses. Violations of hunting without a hunting license and hunting without a big game license were documented. Verbal guidance was given for not possessing a deer dog license and failure to obtain a deer harvest record. CLINCH COUNTY On December 6th, Sgt. Patrick Dupree responded to an in-progress deer dogging complaint south of Homerville. Hunters had caught a deer hound that was running a deer on their hunting property. While Sgt. Dupree was speaking with the complainant on the phone, he could hear loud talking and cursing in the background. Sgt. Dupree advised the complainant to hang up and call Clinch 911 as it would be 30 minutes before he arrived. Once on scene, Sgt. Dupree discovered that one of the deer dog hunters and the complainant's friend had been arguing about the situation. A Clinch deputy had arrived but tensions had already deescalated. Sgt. Dupree released the hound back to the owner and a violation of failure to keep hunting dogs on permitted property was documented. Both parties involved agreed to work together during future conflicts. CHARLTON COUNTY On December 5th, Ranger Sam Williams was patrolling for deer dogging activity in the northern portion of the county when he observed several hunters parked on the side of a roadway hunting deer with dogs. The hunters were located in an area where there had not been any permits issued for deer dogging. Ranger Williams recognized the hunters and knew that their hunt club was several miles from their current location. The hunters stated that they had a dog get past their club boundary and they were waiting for it to come out to a road so it could be retrieved. The officer reminded the subjects that it was their responsibility to keep the dogs on their lease and the violation for failure to keep dogs on permitted property was documented. On December 5th, Ranger Sam Williams was conducting a night hunting detail on Hwy. 252 near a location where two deer had been found a week earlier that had been shot and left on the side of the highway. A little before midnight, the officer observed an SUV-type vehicle drive past his location at a slow rate of speed. The vehicle continued around a curve past the officer and turned around. As the vehicle approached the curve coming back towards the officer, it stopped and discharged a weapon several times and then began to drive at a high rate of speed back past Ranger Williams' location. Ranger Williams conducted a traffic stop of the vehicle. The SUV was occupied by three subjects who were in possession of two 7-mm rifles, a 12 gauge shotgun, a .22 caliber handgun, a 9-mm handgun, and two spotlights. During an interview of the subjects, they admitted to seeing a deer standing on the highway right of way and turning around to shoot it. They stated that when the deer ran into the woods, they drove away without knowing if it had been hit. Violations for hunting deer at night, hunting big game from a public road, and hunting from a motor vehicle were documented. The officer returned to the area and located the spent shell casings on the side of the roadway, but could not find any sign that the deer had been hit. On December 6th, Ranger Sam Williams was patrolling for hunting activity near Folkston when he observed debris from the demolition of a house trailer being burned. Ranger Williams stopped at the location and encountered one subject that stated he was tearing down the mobile home for the property owner. Ranger Williams advised the subject as to what types of materials could be burned and that the materials he was burning did not fit that description and the fire needed to be extinguished. The subject began to put out the fire with water available on site. The violation of unlawful burning of egregious littler was documented. Ranger Williams also made contact with the property owner and explained that the remainder of the material would need to be taken to a landfill for disposal. WARE COUNTY On December 7th, RFC Mark Pool completed an investigation that was started the day prior. RFC Mark Pool received a call from an individual about a deer that had been shot in the early morning hours of December 6th. RFC Pool responded and before he could arrive the deer had been removed. The officer located the kill site where the deer had been laying and found tire tracks going to the complainant's neighbor's residence. RFC Pool interviewed the neighbor and the suspect admitted that he did shoot a doe deer near the complainant's house. RFC Pool seized a quartered up deer from the suspect and charged the suspect with hunting deer at night. JENKINS COUNTY On November 30, Cpl. Mike Wilcox and Sgt. Don Dasher were patrolling Jenkins County for hunting activity. The officers observed a man dressed in hunting clothes with no orange vest. Upon further investigation, the officers discovered that the individual was deer hunting. A citation was issued for hunting deer without wearing fluorescent orange. CANDLER COUNTY On December the 5th Ranger Jordan Crawford was working a night hunting complaint off Salem Church road in Candler County. At around 10:00 p.m. a truck passed by Ranger Crawford shinning a hand held light out the driver's side window. Ranger Crawford preformed a traffic stop on the vehicle which was found to be occupied by four individuals. Cpl. Eddie Akins also working in the area responded to the scene to assist in the investigation. After a search of the vehicle, two high powered rifles and one flashlight were found. A total of nine violations were documented. Violations included hunting deer at night, hunting from a public road, and hunting from a motor vehicle. On December 6, Cpl. Mike Wilcox received a call from the State Patrol about deer hunting dogs off of permitted property. Cpl. Wilcox made contact with the complainant and learned that the landowner caught some deer hunting dogs on his property. Cpl. Wilcox went to the landowner's property and retrieved the dog. Cpl. Wilcox then contacted the owner of the dog by the phone number that was on the dog collar. Cpl. Wilcox returned the dog to the owner and issued him a citation for failure to keep hunting dogs on permitted property. EFFINGHAM COUNTY On November 30th Ranger Jordan Crawford patrolled Effingham County for waterfowl hunting activity. Twenty hunters where checked and two violations were documented for hunting with an unplugged shotgun. Later that afternoon Ranger Crawford and Cpl. Akins patrolled several deer dogging clubs throughout Effingham County. Ten hunters were checked with several violations documented, including hunting without a license and hunting without a big game permit. BULLOCH COUNTY On Sunday November 30th, Cpl. Eddie Akins checked Oliver Bridge Landing for boating and duck hunting activity. His efforts resulted in four violations being documented. The four violations were hunting with an unplugged shotgun, operating a vessel with improper PFD'S, operating a vessel without PFD'S and operating a vessel without a registration. On Tuesday December 2nd, Cpl. Eddie Akins worked an area off Zettwell Road for night hunting activity. His efforts resulted in two subjects being caught. Each individual was charged with hunting deer at night, hunting from a public road and hunting from a motor vehicle. SCREVEN COUNTY On Dec 6 Cpl. Shaymus McNeely and Sgt. Don Dasher investigated a trapping complaint off Cameron Road. The complainants had reported finding their dog in steel trap after it had gone missing. Officers located the person working the traps in the area and a violation of trapping without permission was documented. AKTINSON COUNTY On November 24th, RFC Tim Hutto worked an ongoing night hunting complaint in Axson. Around 9:00 p.m., RFC Hutto heard a large caliber gunshot in the complaint area. RFC Hutto proceeded toward the shot and noticed a pickup truck approaching his location where the shot initially came from. RFC Hutto approached the truck and turned on his blue lights and siren to initiate a traffic stop on the vehicle. When the subject driving the truck saw RFC Hutto's lights, he proceeded to flee onto Axson Road at a high rate of speed. Approximately four miles down the road, the subject became stuck on a dirt road and began throwing beer bottles out of the driver window. The subject was arrested and charged with driving under the influence, littering, violation of Georgia's open container law, fleeing and attempting to elude, and driving without a license. The night deer hunting case is still under investigation. BERRIEN COUNTY On November 27th, RFC Tim Hutto patrolled around the Ray City area for duck hunting activity. Approximately fourteen duck hunters were checked resulting in numerous documented violations of hunting with an unplugged shotgun, hunting without a license, hunting without a Georgia waterfowl license, and failure to sign federal duck stamp. BEN-HILL COUNTY On November 25th, RFC Tim Hutto presented an information and education program to the Fitzgerald Lion's Club. RFC Hutto discussed hunting safety, hunting laws and regulations, and answered questions about Georgia's concealed carry license. COFFEE COUNTY On the November 30th, RFC Joe Hilton was conducting an active investigation on someone hunting without permission. After working the complaint for several days, RFC Hilton made contact with the suspect. RFC Hilton interviewed the suspect about the incident. RFC Hilton issued the suspect citations for hunting without permission, hunting deer without fluorescent orange, hunting big game over bait, failure to record deer harvest and littering. On December 1, RFC Hilton was working an active night hunting complaint when he observed a vehicle pass his location and pull into a drive. As the vehicle entered the drive it began to shine a hand held spotlight through the trees and across a field. RFC Hilton conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle. The single occupant was charged with hunting deer at night and hunting from a vehicle. On December 2nd, RFC Hilton was working a hunting-without-permission complaint. While working the complaint, RFC Hilton made contact with two suspects on the property. The two suspects stated they weren't hunting, they were just walking around. After a brief investigation, RFC Hilton located a shotgun hidden in the brush. Both suspects admitted to hunting without permission. RFC Hilton issued citations and warnings for hunting without permission, hunting big game over bait, hunting deer without fluorescent orange, hunting without a license, hunting without a big game license. Also on the 2nd, RFC Hilton was on patrol for hunting activity when he encountered two individuals hunting deer. RFC Hilton performed a routine license check on the individuals and discovered one of the individuals didn't have a license and wasn't wearing a fluorescent orange vest. RFC Hilton issued citations and warnings for hunting without a license, hunting big game without a big game license and hunting deer without fluorescent orange. LAURENS COUNTY On December 5th, Corporal Dan Stiles patrolled the Hugh M. Gillis Public Fishing Area. One angler was checked for license and creel limit compliance. No violations were documented. On December 6th, Corporal Dan Stiles was patrolling for waterfowl and deer hunting activity. Three violations were documented on one non-resident hunter for hunting big game without a non-resident big game license, hunting without a license, and hunting deer without obtaining a deer harvest record. WHEELER COUNTY On December 4th, Ranger First Class Rodney Horne was patrolling when he observed a person throw a bottle out of the passenger window of a vehicle. A traffic stop was made on the vehicle and a violation was documented to the driver for littering. Region VII- Brunswick (Coastal) GLYNN COUNTY On December 3rd, RFC John Evans responded to a complaint of someone night deer hunting. RFC Evans patrolled the area on foot and observed two hunters shining the thinned pines as they walked back to their truck over an hour after dark. They then shined from their truck throughout the hunting club. RFC Evans stopped them and both were cited for hunting deer at night and hunting from a vehicle. CAMDEN COUNTY On December 5th, Sgt. Chris Hodge responded to assist the Camden County Sheriff's Office, Glynn County Police Department, and the Georgia State Patrol with a pursuit which started in Glynn County around 6:40 in the evening. Officers in Glynn County attempted to stop a suspect involved in a murder from North Carolina and the suspect fled south on I-95. After pursuing the suspect through two counties, officers in the chase, along with the suspect, crashed in the south end of Camden County. The suspect was apprehended at the scene after the pursuit ended. Unfortunately, a Camden County Deputy Sheriff was seriously injured after his vehicle overturned several times. Sgt. Hodge, along with several other officers, rendered aid to the injured Deputy who had to be removed from the wrecked patrol car after it caught fire. The Deputy was transported to a hospital in Jacksonville, Florida and is recovering well at this time.