FWC Division of Law Enforcement Weekly Report- Collier County

Officer Tajahs Jackson was on night patrol in the Picayune Strand State Forest when he observed a vehicle with its rear taillights out. He conducted a traffic stop and noticed signs of impairment and a half empty bottle of liquor laying on the floorboard in the back seat of the vehicle. At the conclusion of his driving under the influence Investigation, the driver was placed under arrest for operating a vehicle while impaired. This was the second time the operator of the vehicle was arrested for DUI and a second refusal to give a breath sample. Investigator Christina Yanez assisted in the case. 

Officer specialist Chris Araujo was on patrol in when he observed two subjects carrying a gopher tortoise from a wooded area across four lanes of highway traffic. He turned around to investigate and by the time he got to their vehicle, they were loaded up in the vehicle. Upon inspection of the vehicle, Officer Specialist Araujo found an adult gopher tortoise on the passenger floorboard. The subject claimed she was saving the tortoise from the road and was going to take it elsewhere. The two subjects had conflicting stories about whether the tortoise was in the road and if it was, why they didn’t release it back to its habitat immediately. After reading the subject her rights, the officer discovered she has other exotic tortoises as pets. She was issued a notice to appear for take of a gopher tortoise. 

FWC was called to respond to Big Cypress National Preserve/Wildlife Management Area, Bear Island Campground where Collier County Sheriff’s Office advised they had a ping for a 911 hang-up. Lieutenant Lyne, Officers Stearns and Jackson, and National Park Service Ranger Herrin responded. Officer Stearns encountered a vehicle leaving the area and conducted a vehicle stop. The subjects fled on foot in the preserve, but the driver was detained and later arrested by Officer Stearns and transported to Naples Jail. Officers found 44 bags of saw palmetto berries, eight backpacks, a chain saw, bolt cutters, and an extensive tool kit in the vehicle. The berries, which were estimated at 7,000 pounds and valued at $10,000, were returned to the resource by the NPS and FWC.  The 911 call was closed unfounded.