(Editor’s note: A criminal charge is merely an allegation that a defendant has committed a violation of the criminal law, and it is not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial, during which it will be the state of New York’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.)
Moose movers
(Clinton County)
On Aug. 1, ECO Matthew LaCroix received a call regarding a moose discovered by a farmer in an enclosed pasture outside Plattsburgh. The officer responded to the scene and found a young female moose in a fenced-in area that included a barn and several donkeys. DEC Bureau of Wildlife staff and several additional ECOs responded to assist in removing the moose from the pasture. Due to the proximity to residential and commercial areas close to Plattsburgh, the officers determined that the moose should be relocated to a more suitable habitat. Bureau of Wildlife personnel chemically immobilized the moose while ECOs provided traffic control, site security and assisted in lifting the moose from the field into the transport vehicle. The moose was successfully relocated to a remote area of the Adirondacks and was last seen entering the woods in good health.
Tip a canoe?
(Franklin County)
On Aug. 8, ECO James Cranker was conducting a boat patrol on Lower Saranac Lake in Ampersand Bay when he encountered two subjects wading in the water next to their capsized canoe. Both paddlers were wearing life jackets and were unharmed. The two subjects safely got into the patrol boat, and Cranker towed their swamped canoe back to the DEC boat launch. When asked what happened, one canoeist said she was swatting at a fly when the canoe tipped and threw them in. Back at shore, the paddlers decided to call it a day and discontinue their canoe trip, a lesson in physics and flies learned.
Watch where you step
(Rockland County)
On Aug. 2, ECO Corey Hornicek was patrolling in Stony Point when he noticed a couple of fishermen wearing waders standing in a small public pond. After observing them for some time, Hornicek approached the two young men and asked if they could come ashore to show him their fishing licenses. The subjects were happy to show their licenses and pictures of the fish they had caught. One had caught a chain pickerel and the other a small largemouth bass, both of which were released. As the ECO began to leave, one of the gentleman calmly told the officers about a “pretty cool” snake coiled up not far from where Hornicek was standing. Hornicek carefully went in for a closer look and identified the snake as a northern copperhead, one of New York’s three native venomous snakes species.
Two times the outreach
(Sullivan County)
On Aug. 3, ECOs Ricky Wood and Tom Koepf conducted an outreach event for a large group of children at DEC’s Camp DeBruce with a focus on the DEC K-9 Unit. The children watched K-9 Deming locate a spent shell casing and detect hidden striped bass. Later that same day, the two ECOs responded to a septic complaint at a seasonal summer camp in the town of Fallsburg. The officers didn’t observe any violations, but Wood took the opportunity to speak to a group of young campers curious about his job duties and conservation work.
Illegal cast netting
(Oneida County)
On Aug. 5, ECO Rob Howe was patrolling near the Mohawk River in Utica when he noticed a man fishing with a cast net, which is illegal. Howe watched the man from a distance and approached him when he returned to his car. The subject was found to be in possession of 18 sunfish illegally taken with a net and eight black bass (smallmouth and largemouth). The bass were all under the 12-inch size minimum. Four of the bass were only two to three inches in length. Soon after, Howe checked another group of fishermen that had undersized bass. The officer remained in the area, waiting for one remaining fisherman to come back to his vehicle. Upon contact with this fisherman, Howe discovered another cast net and a bag of small fish, 34 of which were bass. Multiple tickets were issued to several people for undersized and over the limit bass and for fishing by means other than angling. The cases were pending in Utica City Court.
Blood clams
(Queens County)
On Aug. 3, ECO Jeff Johnston was contacted by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents concerning four packages of blood clams shipped into JFK Airport from China. It is illegal to ship or transport shellfish into New York state that have been taken from uncertified waters because of the risk of the clams carrying diseases such as hepatitis A. Johnston met with the customs agents at JFK to take possession of the estimated 12 pounds of blood clams and gather evidence pertaining to who had imported the clams. Johnston tracked down the passenger who shipped the clams and interviewed her. The subject admitted to bringing the blood clams into the country and was issued a summons for the illegal transport of uncertified shellfish into New York state, returnable to Queens County Court. The four packages of blood clams were incinerated.
The Lion King of Queens
(Queens County)
On Aug. 3, ECO Joshua Harvey found an online advertisement offering a male lion skin rug for $3,000. After communicating with the seller about the authenticity of the piece, the two agreed to meet to complete the sale. On Aug. 6, Harvey met the seller in plain clothes, with ECO Matt Thibodeau waiting down the street in uniform. After inspecting the rug and confirming its authenticity, Harvey offered to purchase the lion skin. The officer told the seller he needed to go to his vehicle to get the money to purchase the piece, but would return shortly. Harvey met with Thibodeau to explain the terms of the sale and then returned to the seller. Thibodeau arrived in uniform, confiscated the lion skin, and issued two summonses for illegal commercialization of wildlife and illegal sale of endangered species. A Notice of Violation was also issued, giving the seller the opportunity to settle the case administratively with the DEC instead of facing criminal penalties.
No mulligan for this one
(Westchester County)
In February 2018, ECO Dustin Dainack responded to a call from SUNY Purchase Police about the destruction of approximately 12 mature hardwoods on campus property. The land where the trees were cut borders Old Oaks Country Club, a private golf course. Old Oaks had approached SUNY Purchase about leasing the property to expand two of its tee boxes. No deal was ever agreed to and Old Oaks staff allegedly began to clear the trees without permission. In August, SUNY Purchase decided to pursue criminal charges against Old Oaks for the timber theft. On Aug. 8, Dainack issued a summons to Old Oaks Country Club for removing trees from the lands of another without permission. Dainack was continuing to work with DEC’s Division of Lands and Forest staff to determine an approximate value of the lost timber.
A wrong bearing
(Ulster County)
On Aug. 12, ECO Jason Smith received a call about a black bear that had entered a fenced-in yard in the town of Olive. The bear was unable to find a way out. Smith responded with ECO Jeannette Bastedo to find a young black bear feeding on bird seed remnants, even though the feeders had been removed. The ECOs created several openings in the fence and coaxed the young bear out of the yard. During their dealings with the bear, the officers noted its two yellow ear tags and documented the tag numbers. The tag numbers were given to DEC’s Bureau of Wildlife and the landowner was advised to clean up any remaining bird seed and other attractants around the yard.
Bay full of mussels
(Queens County)
On Aug. 13, while on patrol in Queens County, ECO Adam Muchow observed two subjects digging in uncertified water in Jamaica Bay and placing what appeared to be shellfish into a bucket. One of the two subjects was using a net to catch crabs while the other took mussels off a rock at low tide. Muchow approached the subjects and found one small bucket full of mussels and a larger bucket containing several crabs, an eel and more mussels. The men claimed that they didn’t know they were in uncertified waters. The 219 mussels were counted, photographed and returned to the waters. Two summonses were issued for taking shellfish from uncertified waters.
The post New York Outdoor News Cuffs & Collars – Jan. 25, 2019 appeared first on Outdoornews.
from Outdoornews http://bit.ly/2U8lD1w
No comments:
Post a Comment