The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Division of Law Enforcement Weekly Report from Aug. 11 - Aug. 17 includes incidents in the Lake Okeechobee area.

Glades County

• Officer Watson was conducting patrols on a rural roadway known to be an area where illegal night hunting has occurred. Officer Watson observed a vehicle driving slowly and then turn off its headlights. The driver of the vehicle then began displaying a spotlight from the vehicle into the fields and wood line on both sides of the roadway. Officer Watson stopped the subject and found a loaded rifle in the front seat of the vehicle. The subject was issued a notice to appear for displaying a light in a manner capable of disclosing the presence of game while possessing a gun commonly used to take deer.

Hendry County

• Hendry County officers were working a joint county and multi-agency night hunting detail along with Collier County officers. Senior Officer Polly, Officer Specialist Araujo, Officer Specialist Yurewitch, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officer, and Lieutenant Kleis responded to a report of multiple subjects shooting and killing an alligator in a canal. The officers arrived on scene, and located three subjects and a deceased alligator that was still in the canal. The officers worked on retrieving the alligator, which had a fatal injury to the head. The subjects admitted to shooting the alligator. The subjects were issued a notice to appear for killing an alligator out of season.

• Officers Naules and Watson responded to a complaint in Spirit-of-the-Wild Wildlife Management Area regarding suspicious activity associated with a vehicle that dropped people off and then left the area. The subjects were suspected of illegally picking saw palmetto berries. The officers located the vehicle with the subjects driving and initiated a traffic stop in the WMA. The officers located multiple large bags of saw palmetto berries in the vehicle. The subjects were issued a notice to appear for harvesting saw palmetto berries within a WMA and the berries were seized and returned to the resource.

Okeechobee County

• Officer Allen was patrolling the Kissimmee River Public Use Area’s Paradise Run Unit during archery season when he observed a subject enter the S-84 Structure at the C-41-A canal. The structure is posted with numerous no trespassing signs. The subject was issued a notice to appear in court for the violation.

• Officer Padgett was patrolling Lock 7 boat ramp when he observed an individual cast netting from the pier. Officer Padgett conducted a resource inspection and found the individual was in possession of two undersized black crappie and one largemouth bass. Further investigation found the individual had caught the game fish with a cast net. Officer Padgett issued a notice to appear to the subject for the possession of black crappie under ten inches and a warning for illegal method of taking game fish.