Field operations weekly report, 2017 December 30

Field Operations
Weekly Report December 24 December 30, 2017
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- Acworth (Northwest)
DADE COUNTY On December 30th, Sgt. Mike Barr was patrolling by ATV in the Rising Fawn area of Dade County off Holder Loop. He had been notified by a forestry management company that no one had permission to hunt their 330 acres in the area. Previous contact in the area revealed multiple people hunting a small 47 acre tract of land adjacent to the forestry management land. Sgt. Barr first located two people on the forestry property. They stated the person who owned the 47 acres had never told them of the boundary lines nor amount of land he actually owned. Sgt. Barr then encountered two other people who had harvested a buck. One person had a previous questions on baiting for deer. Sgt. Barr was attempting to locate the site of the kill to ensure there was no bait when he found another ATV off the 47 acre property and on an adjacent landowner. Sgt. Barr noticed the ATV had fresh blood on the ATV rack indicating a deer had recently been removed using the ATV. Sgt. Barr made contact with the hunter and immediately noticed he had a fluorescent orange stocking cap but did not have the required 500 inches of fluorescent orange (vest) to deer hunt. When asked for his hunting license, the hunter admitted he did not have a license, big game license, or harvest record. When Sgt. Barr checked his identification, he discovered he was actually a resident of Florida and was staying at a rented cabin in the area known as "The Preserve". The man first tried to deny he had killed a deer and blamed another family member but then advised Sgt. Barr that he had killed an 8 point buck and a doe deer in the past two days. He admitted to dumping the carcass of the 8 point buck off Newsome Gap Road near their rented cabin. Sgt. Barr checked the area for bait but did not find any close to the deer stand the hunter had used. The man was arrested and transported to the Dade County Jail. Charges included non-resident hunting without a license, non-resident hunting without a big game license, hunting deer without the required 500 square inches of fluorescent orange, non-resident in possession of big game without a big game license (2 counts), recording and reporting violations for game animals (2 counts), and was warned for hunting without permission and hunting without obtaining a deer harvest record. The case is pending in the Probate Court of Dade County.
ATV with fresh deer blood from Florida hunter arrested on multiple hunting violations.

BARTOW COUNTY On December 30th, Wardens Zack Hardy and Fran Pucci located a hunter on private property on Great Valley Pkwy. The hunter did not have permission to hunt the property, he was issued a citation for hunting without permission.
CHEROKEE COUNTY On December 30th, Sgt. Jason Roberson and Cpl. Bart Hendrix located a vehicle parked in an area that was previously baited. They attempted to locate the poacher. When the poacher saw the Game Wardens, he attempted to flee on foot. He was apprehended and was not in possession of a firearm. A search of the area revealed a hidden deer rifle as well as a pistol. A search warrant was also conducted on his residence. This was a subject who had recently been arrested for numerous hunting charges as well as possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Arrest warrants were obtained for possession of methamphetamine, convicted felon with a firearm, hunting without a license, hunting without big game license, hunting without orange, hunting without permission, and obstruction.
Region II- Gainesville (Northeast)
BARROW COUNTY On December 30th, Game Warden Chris Kernahan completed an illegal hunting investigation in Barrow Co. Through the course of the investigation, he determined that one suspect killed multiple deer, bobcat, and coyote illegally, hunted without a license, hunted without a big game license, and violated recording and reporting requirements for game animals. Game Warden Kernahan apprehended the suspect, seized multiple sets of antlers, and addressed the violations.
JACKSON COUNTY On December 24th, Game Wardens Cpl. Eric Isom and RFC Chris Kernahan located two subjects who had been hunting illegally. One of the subjects killed an eight-point buck near Braselton and the other subject did not possess a hunting license. After the investigation, the violations were documented and the eight-point was seized. On December 29th, Game Warden Cpl. Eric Isom while on patrol located five duck hunters hunting without permission. The hunters had killed their limit of wood ducks and one of the hunters had not signed across the face of his federal duck stamp. The violations were documented and the landowner was notified.
FRANKLIN COUNTY On Thursday December 28th, Ranger First Class Tim Vickery was working a night hunting detail with RFC Shane Sartor and Sergeant Derek Dillard in Franklin County. Shortly after arriving at the field he was working, RFC Vickery observed a truck shining a spotlight out of the passenger side window and sweeping the fields on both sides of the road. Ranger First Class Vickery pulled out of the field and stopped the vehicle. There were two adult males in the vehicle and several juveniles. After talking to the two male subjects, it was determined they were looking for deer. There was a freshly killed doe in the bed of the truck, which the driver later admitted to killing at about 8:40 that night. Pictures and serial numbers were taken of the gun, spotlight, spent shell casings and the deer. A family member was called to come and pick up the juveniles. The two adults were arrested and the vehicle was towed. The two adults were each charged with hunting from a public road, hunting from a vehicle, hunting deer at night, possession of illegally taken wildlife and violation of Georgia's open container law and transported to the Franklin County Detention Center. The deer was donated to a needy family.

UNION COUNTY On December 24th, Game Wardens RFC David Webb and SGT Steve Seitz were patrolling the Davenport Mountain area in Union County when they located an older model Toyota truck parked at a USFS gate. The game wardens noticed an odor that appeared to be marijuana coming from the driver's side window which was partially down. RFC Webb was able to run the plates out of North Carolina and then called a North Carolina Wildlife Resources Game Warden to see if they were familiar with the subject. The North Carolina Game Warden told RFC Webb that the vehicle owner was a convicted felon. Game Warden's Webb and Seitz waited on the hunter to come out of the woods and observed him walking down the US Forest Service road with a shotgun that he was unloading. The game wardens checked his hunting licenses. RFC Webb told the suspect that he had smelled marijuana coming from his vehicle and asked the suspect if he had any more on his person or in his vehicle. The suspect then handed RFC Webb a small container which contained a misdemeanor amount of marijuana. The suspect was then asked if he had been convicted of any felonies and he told the Game Wardens that he had been. RFC Webb then verified the felony information through Union County Dispatch and the suspect was arrested for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and VGCSA, possession of misdemeanor marijuana. Game Wardens RFC Webb, Cpl. Kevin Dyer and Sgt. Seitz had arrested this same subject multiple times in the past for other various wildlife violations and marijuana possession.
Region III- Thomson (East Central)
HANCOCK COUNTY On December 30, Sgt. Matt Garthright checked a baited deer stand he had previously found and observed a dead deer lying next to a trough feeder. There was no one in the deer stand at that time. Game Warden Garthright searched the small club and located the hunter responsible for harvesting the deer over bait. Garthright interviewed the hunter and then, charged him with Hunting Big Game over Bait, corn and salt block. The deer was confiscated and donated to the Feed the Hungry Program.
While visiting a local deer processing facility on December 30, Game Warden Garthright observed a spike buck tagged for harvest in Hancock County. Taking the small buck in Hancock violates the QDM requirements. The next day, Garthright was able to gather information on the hunter responsible and learned that the hunter had reported the same deer as being harvested in Greene County. While interviewing the individual, the hunter stated he killed the deer in Taliaferro County. Garthright was able to determine that the small buck was killed in Hancock County and charged the hunter with Taking/Possessing of Illegal Antlered deer from QDM/Antler Restricted County.
WALTON COUNTY On December 26th Ranger Schay worked an illegal hunting investigation due to a complaint. During the course of this investigation, violations for hunting ducks over bait were documented
NEWTON COUNTY On December 21st Ranger Schay patrolled Newton County for hunting activity. During this patrol violations for hunting big game over bait and hunting deer without wearing fluorescent orange were documented.
On December 22nd Ranger Schay and RFC Boles posted a baited dove field.
On December 23rd Ranger Schay and Ranger Harrison patrolled Newton County for hunting activity. During this patrol, a violation of hunting without a federal waterfowl stamp was documented.
On December 26th Ranger Schay patrolled Newton County for hunting activity and violations for hunting without a license and hunting without a migratory bird license were documented.

OGLETHORPE COUNTY On December 30th Rfc. Phillip Nelson responded to a hunting without permission complaint. Two subjects were located with a dead feral hog. Violations documented were hunting without permission and hunting without fluorescent orange.
WILKES COUNTY On December 30th while working night hunting in Wilkes Co. Sgt. Brian Carter observed the driver of a passing vehicle shine a handheld light three times into a grain field. A traffic stop was initiated. A loaded .308 rifle was located in the backseat area behind the driver, but it had numerous other items on top of it. Sgt. Carter deemed the rifle inaccessible, and issued the driver a warning for blinding wildlife with a light.
Region IV- Macon (West Central)
No activity to report.
Region V- Albany (Southwest)
WORTH COUNTY On the morning of December 30th, Corporal Greg Wade was working in an area where he had previously located a duck pond, baited with corn. At legal hunting hours, Cpl. Wade heard several volleys of shots coming from the direction of the baited pond. Five hunters were located and charged with hunting ducks over bait and one subject was cited for hunting without a federal duck stamp. Nine Wood ducks were confiscated and will be used for K9 training.
BROOKS COUNTY On December 30th, Game Wardens Greg Wade and Eric White located a group hunting ducks on a lake. The officers examined the area and found the lake to be baited with peanuts. They documented the evidence and inspected the hunter's equipment and licenses. The wardens charged seven subjects with hunting ducks over bait and two subjects for hunting without a federal duck stamp. The ducks were confiscated and donated to a needy family in the community.
TIFT COUNTY On the afternoon of December 30th, Cpl. Greg Wade was patrolling for hunting activity, when he located several individuals hunting dove in a peanut field. While inspecting licenses, plugs, and limits, Cpl. Wade located two individuals that had taken over the daily bag limit. Both subjects were charged with taking over the daily bag limit of dove, the dove were confiscated and donated to a needy family.
COLQUITT COUNTY On December 30th, Game Warden Eric White located a group of subjects shooting ducks heading to roost after legal hours. He made contact with the subjects, four adults and three juveniles. The officer inspected the subject's licenses and equipment while informing them of their violation. Warden White charged the four adult subject's with hunting waterfowl after hours along with several license violations. The ducks were confiscated and donated to a needy family in the community.
LAKE SEMINOLE On December 26th, Cpl. Tony Cox and Game Warden David Jones were patrolling Lake Seminole for duck hunting activity. They encountered two subjects who were Florida residents hunting in Georgia. The subjects did not have any Georgia licenses and one of them did not have a Federal Waterfowl Stamp. The subjects were issued citations for non resident hunting without a license, hunting without a GA migratory bird stamp, and hunting without a federal waterfowl stamp.

On December 26th, Cpl. Tony Cox and Game Warden David Jones were patrolling Lake Seminole by vessel when they encountered a subject who was fishing gill nets. After a brief encounter with the subject it was determined that he had more then 300 linear foot of gill net. He was subsequently issued a citation for possessing more then 300' of gill net on Lake Seminole.
On December 26th, Cpl. Tony Cox and Game Warden David Jones were patrolling Lake Seminole by vessel when they observed a boat parked on Silverlake WMA. The vessel had items associated with deer hunting in it and the subject was located approximately 100 yards away from his vessel. The subject was issued a citation for hunting on a closed WMA.
On December 27th, Cpl. Tony Cox and Game Warden David Jones were patrolling landings around Lake Seminole for fishing and hunting activity. They encountered a subject at a landing who was coming in from checking gill nets. After a brief interview with the subject and a check of his catch it was determined that he had taken catfish using gill nets. The subject was cited for taking game fish by illegal methods.
Region VI- Metter (Southeast)
JEFF DAVIS On December 24th RFC Bobby Sanders was patrolling Bullard Creek WMA when an individual was encountered that was fishing in the Altamaha River. The individual was fishing without a license and the violation was documented.
BULLOCH COUNTY On December 26th RFC Bobby Sanders was called to a complaint of hunters running deer dogs on unpermitted property. When RFC Sanders arrived, he found a hunter in possession of three untagged deer and the violation was documented.
EVANS COUNTY On December 26th RFC Bobby Sanders was patrolling the county for hunting activity when a hunter was encountered hunting on a public roadway waiting for a deer to run by. The violation was documented accordingly.
TOOMBS COUNTY On December 26th Sergeant Jon Barnard and RFC Bobby Sanders were patrolling Central Toombs County for hunting activity. Several deer hunters were encountered and a violation was documented for hunting without an orange vest.
TATTNALL COUNTY On December 29th Sergeant Jon Barnard responded to a deer dogging complaint where the dogs were caught off permitted property. The dogs were returned to the owner and the violation was documented.
TATTNALL COUNTY On December 29th, Sergeant Jon Barnard and Corporal Kevin Joyce were patrolling the county for deer dogging activity. Several groups of hunters were checked resulting in multiple violations including failure to keep hunting dogs on permitted property and operating a motor vehicle without permit number displayed.
MONTGOMERY COUNTY On December 30th, Corporal Kevin Joyce conducted routine patrol for possible waterfowl hunting activity. One shoot was located and a total of five hunters were checked for compliance. After an investigation of the pond, Joyce located a large amount of corn in the water. All hunters were cited for hunting waterfowl over bait and a total of 14 ducks were confiscated.

CHARLTON COUNTY On December 24th, Game Warden Sam Williams was patrolling for hunting activity when he observed a group of dog deer hunters near Race-Pond. While checking the hunting licenses of everyone, the officer observed one of the vehicles did not have the required dog-deer permit numbers displayed. The violation for operating a motor vehicle without permit numbers displayed was documented.
PEIRCE COUNTY On December 30th, Game Warden Sam Williams responded to a call from a citizen of possible dog-deer hunting violations near the area of FFA Boat Landing. While patrolling the area, the officer observed a group of hunters catching dogs from a recent hunt. During a check of the required hunting licenses, several violations were detected by the officer. The violations documented included one for hunting without a license, three for hunting without a big game license, three for hunting without obtaining a deer harvest record, and one for operating a motor vehicle without permit numbers displayed.
ECHOLS COUNTY On December 10th, Sgt. Patrick Dupree observed four dog-deer hunters participating in a hunt. Two of these hunters were standing near the pavement along GA Hwy 94 and two others were standing on dog boxes in the bed of pickup trucks that were parked on the shoulder of the highway. All four were holding loaded long guns. All four were charged with hunting big game from a public road. One of the four did not possess a valid hunting license and was charged for hunting without a license, hunting without a big game license, and hunting without obtaining a deer harvest record.
On December 30th, Game Warden Daniel North received information from a hunter about dogs from a neighboring dog-deer hunting club that were chasing deer through his still hunting club near Mayday. This was the second time Game Warden North had received information of this hunting club running dogs through the same area. When Game Warden North arrived at the location he was able to locate the hunter whose dog had been running deer on the neighboring property. Upon further investigation, it was found that one of the hunters did not possess a valid hunting license either. Violations of failure to keep dogs on permitted property and hunting without a big game license and hunting without a license were documented.
On December 31st, Game Warden North was patrolling for dog-deer hunting activity east of Statenville when he observed an individual sitting on his dog box with rifle in hand but was not wearing any fluorescent orange. The violation was documented and the hunter retrieved and put on an orange vest from his vehicle. Further down the road, Game Warden North encountered another group of hunters on a neighboring club and found that one of the individuals did not possess any hunting licenses. It was found that this hunter had been warned and cited for the same violation in the past and was issued another citation for hunting without a license and hunting without a big game license.
EFFINGHAM COUNTY On December 30th Game Wardens Jordan Crawford and Jason Miller responded to a deer dogging complaint along Old Dixie Highway North in Effingham County. The complainant stated that someone had shot a deer from the public roadway in front of his home. When the wardens arrived they found a large hunting party engaged in a deer dog dive. After a brief investigation the wardens were able to determine that the property that was being hunted was not permitted to hunt deer with dogs. Also the wardens were able to determine that a deer had indeed been shot from the public roadway and was able to identify the guilty party. A total of 18 violations were documented by the wardens. Violations included hunting deer with dogs on unpermitted property, hunting big game from a public road, hunting deer without fluorescent orange, and failure to record deer harvest. Three illegally taken deer were confiscated by the wardens and donated to the Hunters Feeding the Hungry Program.

CANDLER COUNTY On December 29th, Ranger Randell Meeks was patrolling Candler County for hunting activity. Ranger Meeks contacted two hunters. Upon checking the hunters several violations was found. Hunting deer without fluorescent orange, hunting without a non-resident license and hunting without a non-resident big game license was documented on one hunter. Hunting without a license and hunting without a big game license was documented on the other hunter.
On December 29th, Sergeant Brain Hobbins was working a night hunt detail in Candler County. Sgt. Hobbins observed the occupants of a truck use a handheld light to sweep a field. He also observe the occupants sweep the next field as well. Upon stopping the truck a flashlight and a loaded 12 gauge shotgun was found. Hunting deer at night, hunting from a vehicle and hunting big game from a public road was documented on both the driver and passenger.
DODGE COUNTY On December 24th, Game Warden Allen Mills conducted a patrol at the Dodge County Public Fishing Area checking for boating/fishing compliance. Seven anglers and three vessels were inspected. Violations for fishing without a license and operating a vessel without a Coast Guard Approved flotation device were documented.
TELFAIR COUNTY On December 24th, Game Warden Lamar Burns and Corporal Dan Stiles conducted a river duck hunting patrol. One vessel and one hunter were checked for compliance. No violations were documented.
On December 29th, Game Warden Lamar Burns was contacted by local hunters about a sick deer that was lying in roadway. Game Warden Burns was able to locate deer and coordinated with Game Management to have deer inspected.
Region VII- Brunswick (Coastal)
LIBERTY COUNTY On December 30th, Game Warden Morgan received a complaint from a landowner that had deer-hunting dogs in his yard. The complainant had also caught one of the deer dogs. Game Warden Morgan was at the landowner's home talking to him and getting the dog owner's information off the dog collar, when he heard the sounds of dogs barking and several shots on the adjoining property. Game Warden Morgan pulled over to the adjoining property which belonged to Liberty County government and found a hunter parked right behind the Liberty Co. Community Complex next to a subdivision. The Community Complex contains a public library, government offices, a children's park, and public swimming pool. Upon checking the hunter, the hunter stated that his deer dogs had just run onto the property chasing a deer that ran into a chain-link fence surrounding a small pond. He stated that the deer and dogs jumped the fence into the pond where he shot the doe deer. Upon checking the dogs, Game Warden Morgan found that the hunter had not put the deer-dogging permit number on the collars of his dogs. The hunter was cited for hunting without permission, hunting on unpermitted property, taking a deer while in a body of water, and hunting deer with unmarked dogs. The deer was confiscated and donated to a family in need.
GLYNN COUNTY On December 29th, Cpl. John Evans and Sgt. Chris Ridley were patrolling the Paulk's Pasture WMA dog deer hunt when they encountered a vehicle that was on the area illegally. There was a male driver and female passenger. The driver's license was suspended and the vehicle's registration was also suspended. A search of the vehicle yielded evidence of night hunting. After interviewing the driver, he confessed to killing a doe on Hofwyl Plantation State Park the week before. The driver was charged with hunting deer at night, hunting from a vehicle, hunting from a public road, and driving with a suspended license.