Marine District

Hunting Arrest

On November 8, 2014 officer Defelice was dispatched to a deer hunting complaint at the Groton Sportsmen club, located in Stonington. Club members had seen a social media post from an individual who had posted a picture of a dead deer and a rifle. The suspect lived adjacent to club property and was not a member of the club, in addition the firearms deer season had not started yet. Several of the posts included comments from the accused about going hunting that morning and friends commenting on the deer shown on his page. Officer Defelice was able to quickly identify and interview the individual from pictures provided. When the suspect was asked about the deer photographs he admitted to helping a friend “drive “deer and carrying a rifle while on private property in Norwich. The suspect’s friend was uncooperative during the investigation.

The accused did not have a hunting license or deer permits. He did not have written consent to hunt on private property and the season was closed. The accused was charged appropriately and was given a court appearance date for Norwich Superior Court.

Joint Fisheries Patrol

During the first few weeks of November, officers in the Marine District worked collaboratively with New York and Rhode Island Environmental Officers enforcing state and federal fisheries regulations under the NOAA, National Marine Fisheries Service - Joint Enforcement Agreement. Officers conducted vessel patrols in the waters of Long Island Sound, Block Island Sound and Fishers Island Sound, enforcing the lobster fishery closure and party / charter fishing regulations. Officers inspected six commercial vessels that resulted in five violations, one for a license violation in New York and four for undersized Tautog. Over forty recreational fishing contacts were made during these patrols resulting in thirteen Tautog violations (undersized or creel limit) and four recreational license violations. Later in the month, Officer O’Brien conducted an investigation into a commercial lobsterman fishing during the season closure. Information had been obtained and forwarded from the Marine Fisheries Division concerning the lobstering activity. The Clinton lobsterman was issued a written warning for lobstering during the season closure.


K-9 Evidence Recovery

On November 14, 2014 Officer Logiodice and his canine partner, Ruger, responded to assist Westbrook Police with a stolen motor-vehicle investigation. Westbrook Police were investigation a complaint of a stolen Mazda station wagon from a business in town. Later during that day another suspicious incident occurred in town involving a suspect trespassing and attempting to enter another vehicle. Westbrook officers apprehended a suspect in the area. The individual was on probation for burglary and larceny. He admitted to stealing the Mazda station wagon and throwing the keys into the woods near the Tanger Outlets.
Officer Logiodice and canine Ruger responded to the Tanger Outlets (Flat Rock Place), where the suspect admitted to throwing the keys of the stolen motor vehicle. The evidence certified K-9 located a set of keys approximately 30 feet off of the main roadway in a wooded area. One of the keys on the ring had a Mazda emblem which matched the description of the missing key from the stolen vehicle. Westbrook officers charged the suspect with Larceny 1st degree, Use of motor vehicle without permission, Criminal trespass and possession of narcotics and paraphernalia.

Hunting Arrest (K-9 assist)

On Thanksgiving morning an archery deer hunter saw two individuals trespassing on the property he was hunting. The complainant observed two individuals dressed in camouflage clothing and carrying hunting implements while on approximately 200 acres of private property located in Waterford. When confronted, the two individuals quickly left the area.
Officers were able to set up a perimeter and a canine was called to the scene to attempt to track the illegal hunters. Officer Logiodice and canine Ruger tracked for approximately a mile to a location at a private residence. More evidence and signs of hunting activity were located at the private residence. The two suspects had just left the area and one individual was known to officers from a previous contact. One of the suspects admitted to illegally hunting with a crossbow on private property that morning but denied being with another hunter. The illegal hunter was charged with hunting deer on private land without landowners consent and hunting deer without wearing required fluorescent orange clothing. The accused had been charged with illegally hunting deer over bait in October. The accused has a court date in early December.

West District

Hunting related shooting

On November 8th the EnCon Police were notified of a hunting related shooting incident (HRSI) at Suffield Wildlife Management Area (WMA) off of Babbs Road in Suffield.
EnCon Police Sergeant Buckley and Officers Bouthillier and Crossman with EnCon Police K-9 Ellie Mae responded to the scene.

Officers determined that a pheasant hunter had been hit in the eye by pellets when two other hunters fired shots towards him and his hunting companions. Three other hunters were observed walking towards the parking lot of the WMA and the victim identified them as the persons who shot him. When EnCon officers approached the subjects and asked what had happened that morning. They initially acted as though they didn’t know what the officer was talking about and stated that nothing happened.

EnCon Police Sergeant K. Williams and Officer Chemacki who are on the HRSI investigative unit arrived and began a reconstruction of the shooting. The shooters provided erroneous information to the officers with regards to their location when the shooting occurred. Officer Crossman and her K9 partner Ellie Mae conducted a search of the area that the victim identified and utilizing Ellie Mae’s scent tracking abilities, located the shotgun shells fired by the shooters in the tall grass.

Sgt Williams’ and Officer Chemacki’s HRSI reconstruction determined that the victim was
within range of the shooter when they shot and that the angle of their shots was such that the pellets followed a nearly straight trajectory at the victim and his companions. The shooters eventually stated that they were aware of victim’s location and his proximity to them. The reconstruction confirmed that neither shooter had a clear background in order to make a safe
shot.

Based on the evidence and statements of the shooters both were charged with Discharge of a hunting weapon towards a person while within range. Additionally, one of the shooters did not have a hunting license and was charged with hunting without a license.

Sunday hunting arrest

On Sunday November 9th EnCon Police Officer Bouthillier was contacted by EnCon Police Sergeant Begley who had been given an anonymous tip about a possible Sunday hunting violation in Sharon. Said officers met at the location described and observed a subject
hunting in a field in the vicinity. While conducting surveillance, Sergeant Begley observed the subject climb out of a tree stand wearing a coat that was covering an orange vest. He also
observed the subject glassing deer with binoculars and what appeared to be a loaded rifle. Sgt. Begley observed the subject unload his rifle, one from the chamber and others from what appeared as a trap door bottom magazine, at approximately 5:13 PM. Sunset was at 4:36 PM. should be noted that legal shooting light on said date ended at 1636 hours. Upon confronting the subject, he told Officer Bouthillier that he had fired a shot from his rifle at a coyote while deer hunting. The subject was charged with one count of Hunting on Sunday. He was also issued warnings for Failure to wear orange while hunting and Hunting deer during closed hours.

Multiple motor vehicle charges and parole violation

On November 4th, EnCon Police Officer Blackwell was conducting a deer hunting enforcement patrol in Oxford. The area that Officer Blackwell was patrolling was rural and surrounded by woods. The area is frequented by wildlife and is known to be an area where illegal hunting occurs. As Officer Blackwell was traveling on a town road she observed a pickup truck parked on the shoulder adjacent to a wooded area. Officer Blackwell suspected the vehicle was parked in the area to engage in hunting related activities. Legal hunting hours ended had already ended for that date.

As Officer Blackwell pulled her vehicle up to the front of the pickup she observed a male subject who appeared to be walking from the woods toward the vehicle. The woods that the subject appeared to be walking from are clearly posted with signs prohibiting hunting and trespassing. Officer Blackwell activated her overhead light bar to identify herself as a police officer. Officer Blackwell radioed in the vehicle registration number to DEEP dispatch and prepared to exit her vehicle to speak with the subject to determine if he was hunting. As she was doing this, the subject quickly walked from the passenger side of the pickup to the driver side, got in it, immediately started the vehicle and accelerated away from Officer Blackwell at a high rate of speed. Officer Blackwell turned her vehicle around by which time the subject had fled the area.

Officer Blackwell turned off her light bar and proceeded to check the surrounding area for the pickup. She eventually located the pickup at an intersection a short distance away. The vehicle had crashed into a stone wall. The vehicle was not occupied and the air bags were deployed. Troopers from State Police Troop A and EnCon Police Officer Crossman and EnCon Police K-9 Ellie Mae arrived on scene to assist Officer Blackwell. The identity of the subject was determined and with the assistance of CSP phone contact was made with subject who was on foot hiding in the woods. Troopers were able to convince the subject to come out and turn himself in.

The subject was then taken into custody by Officer Blackwell and charged with Reckless Driving, Disobeying the Signal of an Officer, Operation of an Unregistered Motor Vehicle, Evading Responsibility, and Interfering with Police. It was also determined that the subject was on special parole and had a GPS monitoring bracelet on his ankle. After being charged the subject was remanded to custody of the department of Corrections for violating his parole. While being transported to the DOC facility the subject advised Officer Blackwell that he fled because he thought she was an Oxford Police Officer and he has had bad experience with them. He also advised Officer Blackwell that when he fled he turned his head lights off to avoid detection and that he was traveling approximately (90) mph with the lights off when he lost control of his vehicle and crashed into the stone wall.

Fatal boating accident

On November 9th, EnCon Police received a call from the Winsted Police Department reporting a boating accident on Highland Lake. Sergeants Begley and K. Williams responded along with Officers Chickos, Crossman, Logiodice and DeFelice. A small aluminum rowboat containing three adult males had capsized on the lake shortly after sunset. Two of the boat’s occupants managed to swim to shore however the third occupant did not. A search was conducted on the evening of November 10th the State Police dive team conducted a search utilizing side scan sonar and located the third boater, who had apparently drowned, on the bottom of the lake in approximately 20 feet of water. The victim’s body was recovered and transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner where an autopsy determined the cause of death to be drowning. None of the three boaters were wearing life jackets and no life jackets were located in the boat. The investigation into the cause of the accident is ongoing.

Deer hunting enforcement

During the month of November, Western District EnCon officers made 8 arrests and issued 7 written warnings for deer hunting violations. These arrests varied from hunting over bait, hunting on Sunday, hunting without orange and hunting without a valid deer permit.

East District

Hunting violations

On Saturday, November 1st 2014 Officers Vroman and Williams responded to a complaint on the Windham – Scotland town line from a landowner hunting on his own land in Windham and was being threatened by a neighbor. After interviewing the involved parties and completing an investigation the suspect was issued a summons to appear in court at a later date for Breach of Peace 2nd Degree and Trespassing.

On Thursday, November 6th 2014 Officer Vroman received a complaint from a landowner in Putnam. Upon investigation Vroman determined that someone had placed a pile of corn on the complainant’s property and also located a deer stand close by the adjacent property. He checked the stand on the following Saturday and found a subject in said stand actively hunting over the bait. The subject was unable to produce a hunting license and permits and was placed under arrest for the violations. He was processed and released on a summons to appear in court at a later date.
On Thursday, November 6th 2014 Officer Wojcik was investigating a complaint he received from an EnCon Captain regarding possible illegal deer hunting taking place in Montville. Officer Wojcik had investigated the complaint previously and found a baited area in front of a dome tent style hunting blind. On this day he found the blind occupied by the landowner using a rifle to hunt deer over the bait. The suspect was placed under arrest and processed on scene. He was released with a summons to appear in court at a later date.

On Friday, November 7th 2014 Officer Wojcik was patrolling the town of Montville and found a subject hunting deer with a crossbow. A check of the area found the subject hunting over a baited area. After a short investigation he was issued a warning for failure to carry his license and tags. A summons was also issued for hunting deer over bait.

On Friday, November 14th 2014 Officer Arsenault was patrolling in Norwich and found a man bow hunting for deer. A check of the area around the stand by Officer Arsenault showed that the accused was hunting over a large pile of bait. The man admitted he had placed it there to attract deer and that he knew it was illegal to do so. The man was arrested and processed on scene and was then released on a summons to appear in court at a later date.

On Tuesday, November 18th 2014 Officer Pettus received a complaint that there was an illegal deer stand on Manchester Water Company Land in Bolton. Officer Pettus met the complainant the following morning and while checking the area found three men actively hunting the area. A check of the three hunters found that one of them had been hunting on private land with no written consent and no fluorescent orange as required. This subject was arrested and processed on scene with a promise to appear in court at a later date for the violations.

On Wednesday, November 19th 2014 Officer Ruggiero was dispatched to Middletown on a complaint of men hunting on state land using high powered rifles. Upon arrival the suspects had left the area. A check of people hunting in close proximity to the original complaint area (possibly the original suspects) produced several violations. The two men were issued warnings for having invalid consent forms and one was placed under arrest for failure to wear fluorescent orange as required. A court appearance date was issued and both men were released at the scene.

On Friday, November 21st 2014 Officers Arsenault and J. Williams were dispatched to a complaint in Ashford where a father and son had been hunting together on a property where they had legal permission. While hunting they watched two deer move along the field they had permission to hunt on but were unable to shoot due to unsafe shooting lanes. They then saw a male subject hunting on the adjacent property illegally shoot one of the deer in addition to also not wearing any fluorescent orange clothing as required. Upon arrival officers located the shooter who initially told officers that he had been wearing orange and had shot the deer on the property he had permission to hunt. After a lengthy investigation and numerous statements, the subject later admitted to Officer Williams that he was not wearing orange and that the deer was in fact not on the property he had permission to hunt. The officers placed the subject under arrest at which time he was issued a summons to appear in court at a later date for said violations.

On Friday, November 21st 2014 Officers Pettus and J. Williams were dispatched to a complaint regarding a report of multiple hunters trespassing on private land in Enfield. Upon arrival and investigation it was determined that three men were in violation of hunting laws. One of the men was issued a verbal warning for having an invalid consent form and the other two were issued summonses for hunting deer during closed hours, failure to wear fluorescent orange clothing, and hunting deer on private land without written consent. All were processed and released on scene.
On Saturday, November 22nd 2014 Officer Ruggiero was dispatched to a report of a landowner who had found a ground blind on his property that did not belong there. Upon arrival Officer Ruggiero investigated the complaint and found that the blind was occupied by a man hunting with a crossbow. The man was found to be not wearing fluorescent orange, did not have consent to hunt the property, and was hunting deer over bait. The suspect was placed under arrest for the above charges. He was released on a summons to appear in court at a later date.

On Friday, November 28th 2014 Officer J. Williams and Sgt. Dwyer were dispatched to Thompson, CT for a complaint of trespassing on municipal property. Upon arrival Sgt. Dwyer started a search of the wooded area while Officer Williams waited by the suspect vehicle. Officer Williams later saw a male get dropped off by his wife, who had picked him up on the other side of the property where Sgt. Dwyer was searching. The suspect later admitted to having hunted the property without consent and to trespassing where he knew he had no legal right to hunt. He was processed on scene and issued a summons for hunting without consent and trespassing. He is scheduled to appear in court at a later date.

Park & Forest

On November 9th 2014 Officers from the East District worked an ATV Enforcement Detail on the Airline Trail State Park in North Windham as a follow up to a successful recent detail in that area. Numerous infractions for a variety of charges were again issued to twenty different people.

most excellent!

It would appear many of the arrests involved people with prior convictions. That is great enforcement and shows that your peeps are on top of their game.

man...a lot of baiting deer. Thanks for the highlights and the continued hard work.