MI: Cuffs and Collars Issue: 15

DISTRICT 1

CO Brett Gustafson and Sgt. Steven Burton stopped a boater for a
fishing check on Lake Gogebic. The angler was trolling, and upon
their approach, asked the COs if they had a tape measure. A 20-inch
northern pike was located in the boat, which was released and swam
away. The angler was given a warning for possession of an
undersized pike and was advised to carry a tape measure.

COs Brett Gustafson and David Miller assisted the Michigan State
Police (MSP) Dive Team with a vehicle recovery from Bond Falls. An
old car was found submerged near the dam by a diver who was
inspecting the power dam. The car was removed and brought to Ewen
for investigation. The next day, a trooper and CO Gustafson
dismantled the car and inspected it for potential evidence. Nobody
was found in the car, and the investigation continues of the 1972
Chevy. The car had been submerged for more than 30 years.

CO David Miller worked the Ontonagon River, checking numerous
anglers. The occupants of one boat had two overlimits of walleyes,
and anglers in another boat had an undersized walleye. All were
ticketed for their violations.

CO Matthew Eberly and a local marine deputy responded to a distress
call of a disabled boat 25 miles off shore in Lake Superior. Two
children were in the boat with their father, in 5-foot seas. CO
Eberly was able to tow the boat part way back until the U.S. Coast
Guard (USCG) took over the recovery mission.

CO Mark Leadman responded to a complaint about a PWCer harassing a
loon on Engman Lake. When he arrived, the PWC was gone but two
anglers he contacted had unregistered boats, and one was fishing
without a license. Tickets were issued.

CO Grant Emery contacted a kayaker on Lake Gogebic who was a long
way from shore and had no life jacket. When CO Emery transported
the subject and kayak back to a cottage, she was greeted with, “I
told you so!” from one of the subjects at the cottage. Enforcement
action was taken.

While on marine patrol, CO Grant Emery came upon a camper leaving
an access site. As the CO passed, he noticed the dump tanks were
draining onto the road as the subject left the area. CO Emery
stopped the vehicle to address the leaking sewage. The subject at
first denied knowing anything about the open tank valves, but
following a short interview admitted to emptying the holding tanks
to avoid having to go to a dump station and possibly pay a fee.
Enforcement action was taken.

DISTRICT 2

When CO Reid Roeske approached a boat near an inland lake landing,
an occupant in the boat saw him and quickly lifted a small walleye
from inside the boat and put it into the lake. CO Roeske was able
to stop him from doing the same with a second fish, which turned
out to be a 13-inch walleye. The CO also found 13 filleted walleyes
in the angler’s vehicle. Tickets were issued for the overlimit and
possessing a short walleye.

While traveling on a paved county road, CO Reid Roeske observed an
ORVer driving in the middle of the lane going in the opposite
direction and at a high rate of speed. CO Roeske activated
emergency equipment and the subject immediately began to flee by
turning onto a farm field. The operator of the ORV went a short
distance then collided into a tree, causing damage to the ORV, but
no injury to himself. CO Roeske apprehended the operator and lodged
him in the county jail.

CO Derek Miller was driving by a local gas station when he observed
a male subject without a helmet operating an ORV. As the CO turned
into the gas station, the subject took off down the road and pulled
into a residence around the corner. The CO pulled into the drive
and located the ORV behind a small shed as the operator was running
into the woods. Further investigation revealed that the subject was
driving on a suspended license. Arrest warrants are pending for
operating an ORV in a careless manner and driving while his license
was suspended.

CO Mike Hammill was conducting surveillance of a local trout stream
when he observed two subjects take an overlimit of brook trout and
throw beer cans all over the area. CO Hammill discovered they were
five fish over the limit. Tickets were issued for the overlimit and
littering.

CO Kevin Postma assisted the U.S. Border Patrol with a subject who
entered the United States illegally. Upon clearing the incident,
the two officers teamed up for the rest of the day for marine
patrol along the Canadian border in the St. Mary’s River system. No
further incident occurred in reference to national security;
however, CO Postma issued tickets for fishing without a license and
gave several warnings for various other fish and marine
violations.

DISTRICT 3

Emmet County COs Duane Budreau and Carl VanderWall evicted several
illegal campers from state land at the French Farm Area who had
taken up what appeared to be permanent camping status at prime
waterfront sites. Some appeared to be homeless with nowhere else to
relocate their gear. Issues with squatting on public land are
increasing and have resulted in several tickets being issued for
litter, camping for more than 15 days, and unattended fires.

Antrim County CO Steve Speigl is investigating a case of reckless
use of a small-caliber firearm regarding a bullet that struck a
window frame of a residence near East Jordan. Though the damage was
minimal, the CO has interviewed two subjects who appeared to have
been target practicing.

Sgt. Mike Borkovich and CO Carl VanderWall received a complaint
about a black bear that dug a den and was observed in the front
yard of an Alba-area resident’s home. After explaining several
times that the bear was more than likely a badger, CO Steve Speigl
was sent to the residence and located the badger that was digging
up the yard and forcing the residents to stay inside their
house.

CO Andrea Albert ticketed a subject and seized a fawn deer that the
man had taken illegally from the wild. The fawn was transported to
a rehabilitator and will be released to the wild later this
summer.

Regarding an ongoing issue, CO Richard Stowe issued a ticket to an
individual for blocking a state-owned rail trail by erecting a
fence and placing boulders at the site.

CO Michael Feagan and Sgt. Greg Drogowski, along with local
authorities, responded to locate a dirt biker pinned under his
motorcycle on an ORV trail. The subject was able to call 911 and
give a rough location of where he was. After he was found and freed
of his machine, first aid was given for the considerable amount of
gasoline that had spilled onto his chest.

DISTRICT 4

CO Sean Kehoe received a complaint about a fawn bleating through a
chain-link fence for several days in a row. CO Kehoe responded and
observed the fawn bleating; it appeared to be focused on something
in the yard on the other side of the fence. As CO Kehoe approached
the fawn, it ran away, only to return a few moments later. CO Kehoe
then observed a ceramic deer ornament in the yard on which the fawn
was focusing. CO Kehoe had the residents cover the deer statue, and
the fawn left the area.

COs Jeff Ginn and Angela Greenway were on a marine patrol of the
Muskegon River when they observed a canoe capsize. The seat cushion
personal flotation devices (PFDs) quickly drifted away from the two
subjects in the water. The COs assisted and helped the canoeists
gather their belongings and turn upright their canoe.

CO Troy VanGelderen was working the Silver Lake State Park sand
dunes when he observed a vehicle intentionally drive out of bounds
at the beach area and climb a dune that recently had been planted
with dune grass to stabilize the location. The operator of the
vehicle accelerated and steered erratically, destroying a large
portion of the dune grass as he exited the restricted area. CO
VanGelderen issued a ticket for the illegal operation and will be
seeking restitution for the destruction of the grass.

CO Steve Converse worked a special marine event on Lake Mitchell in
Wexford County. The permitted event was cardboard boat races
through the canal between lakes Cadillac and Mitchell. At the
conclusion of the event, CO Converse contacted a subject who was
fishing and had an overlimit of panfish in his possession. While
finishing up the fishing ticket, CO Converse observed a subject
operating a personal watercraft without a required PFD. Upon
contact, the subject stated that he was just test driving the PWC
to see if he wanted to buy it or not. The problem with the
explanation was that the subject was contacted on the opposite side
of the lake from where he started. A ticket was issued for the PFD
violation.

CO Steve Converse responded to a call about a bank robbery in which
CO Converse and a MSP trooper were the first to arrive on the
scene. The trooper stayed at the bank while CO Converse went to
look for the getaway car. CO Converse located the suspect’s vehicle
four to five miles from the bank. The suspects in this case are
still at large.

DISTRICT 5

CO Jon Warner contacted an ORV operator who was riding without a
helmet and with an ORV license from 1994. The subject indicated he
was taking the ORV for a test drive, but the tracks showed that the
subject had been riding for miles.

COs John Huspen and Chuck McPherson stopped a PWC operator who was
towing a subject on a tube without an observer. The subject was
transported to jail on five outstanding warrants.

CO Rebecca Hopkins was the closest officer to a 911 call regarding
a domestic assault. When Officer Hopkins arrived, both the suspect
and the victim ran into the woods. CO Hopkins followed, and shortly
thereafter was able to catch up to the female victim who was not
wearing any shoes and was apparently taken against her will. The
victim was turned over to the local police department for further
investigation. The male suspect is still at large.

CO Brian Engelhard responded to a wildfire complaint in which the
fire started near the property line on one property and spread to
an adjacent piece of property. His investigation led him to believe
the fire was the result of someone cleaning out a fire pit after
having a bonfire the previous night and dumping the hot ash in dry
grass adjacent to a wood line. Initially, the primary suspect
denied his involvement because he was an Eagle Scout, and Eagle
Scouts don’t start fires or lie to the police. When faced with the
evidence, which included fresh wheelbarrow tracks from his fire pit
to the origin of the fire, the subject admitted he was responsible
for dumping the hot ash. The township fire department along with
DNR fire control successfully extinguished the fire. A ticket was
issued.

CO Steve Lockwood was on boat patrol during the “Operation Dry
Water” campaign and located two unregistered boats. The first was
stopped and ticketed for his expired registration. The second also
was stopped and ticketed for expired registration; the operator was
lodged in the county jail for operating a motorboat while
intoxicated.

CO Jason McCullough investigated a complaint about a subject who
shot a goose during the closed season. Several interviews led to a
subject who at first denied killing the goose, but later
confessed.

DISTRICT 6

CO Holly Pennoni responded, along with the USCG, to a capsized
vessel northeast of the Spoils Island on Saginaw Bay. The two
anglers, who were not wearing their life jackets, were fortunate
that another fishing boat operator saw them and responded quickly
and pulled them into their boat. The anglers, who were in a 14-foot
vessel, took a wave over the stern and immediately the boat started
to sink. CO Pennoni located the vessel with about two feet of the
bow sticking out the water. The vessel had drifted one and a half
miles when the tow boat arrived less than two hours after the
incident.

CO Phil Hudson was reviewing old complaints from years past and
located a complaint involving a group of subjects coming over from
the west side of the state and taking gross overlimits of walleyes.
CO Hudson, assisted by COs Jason Smith and Nick Atkin, spent
several hours investigating a group of anglers who were vacationing
in AuGres and were allegedly catching and returning home with large
overlimits of walleyes. Upon completion of the investigation, the
COs had arrested four anglers in possession of 486 walleye
fillets.

CO Phil Hudson had received a complaint about a subject in
possession of an overlimit of snapping turtles. Upon contacting the
subject at his residence, CO Hudson found 30 snapping turtles in a
fenced-in pond in the homeowner’s backyard. When interviewed, the
subject admitted to taking the turtles from the wild during the
closed season. Enforcement action was taken.

COs Seth Rhodea and Joshua Wright were on boat patrol on Saginaw
Bay when they came upon a boat where one of the passengers was
quickly reeling in a fishing line. A quick count by the COs prior
to the contact revealed that the subject had too many lines out.
When the COs questioned the anglers about the extra line, one of
them commented that the bail on the reel had opened up on its own
and that he was just reeling it back in. Enforcement action was
taken.

DISTRICT 7

CO Steve Mooney was checking boats on an inland lake when another
boater saw him and immediately returned to the launch. CO Mooney
quickly contacted the subjects and discovered that their boat was
unregistered, they had no PFDs on board, and the subjects did not
have fishing licenses.

CO Ken Cerny, while checking shore anglers, encountered a subject
who did not have a fishing license. This individual provided CO
Cerny with a false Social Security card and an Indiana driver’s
license. After a short investigation, CO Cerny discovered the false
documents and that the subject did not have a fishing license. CO
Cerny is seeking a warrant for fishing without a license and
obstructing a police officer by providing false
identification.

CO Mike McGee responded to a complaint at the St. Joseph pier about
a subject keeping too many steelhead. CO McGee discovered that the
subject had caught a limit of steelhead, but did not have an
all-species license. CO McGee ticketed the subject for not having
an all-species license while trout fishing.

CO Patrick McManus was called to the scene of a traffic stop in
Allegan County. In addition to the mobile meth lab in the vehicle,
the CO discovered a cooler with 13 undersized largemouth bass and
no fishing license. The subject was arrested on the drug charges
and ticketed for the fishing violations.

CO Gary Raak obtained warrants for felony resist and obstruct and
fishing license violations for a subject who fled from him on foot
during a fishing license check. A subsequent investigation revealed
the subject had given the CO a false name and also was wanted for
several outstanding warrants.

CO BJ Goulette investigated a complaint in which a homeowner shot a
Canada goose with a .22 rifle and wounded a second bird, which
later was recovered. The property owner believed it was not a
problem if he shot the geese due to the mess they had created on
his lawn. Charges will be sought for the illegal killing of
waterfowl.

DISTRICT 8

COs Dan Bigger and Jeff Walker encountered a subject who was
carrying around a red-tailed hawk as if it were a pet. The subject
was not a falconer and was in possession of the raptor illegally.
The subject did not seem to be concerned that the hawk’s talons
were very sharp and capable of piercing his arm in a split second.
Enforcement action was taken.

CO Peter Purdy observed a vehicle being operated carelessly at over
90 miles per hour while tailgating other vehicles. CO Purdy
contacted the operator of the vehicle, who immediately stated that
CO Purdy didn’t have the authority to stop him for any violation.
CO Purdy explained the laws and took enforcement action.

Due to the high water level of the Shiawassee River, CO Dan Bigger
was able to patrol the river on his PWC. CO Bigger encountered a
subject operating his vessel without any PFDs on board. The subject
stated that in his 28 years on the river he had never encountered a
CO. CO Bigger explained why PFDs are important and that during the
past week, less than 300 yards from where they were, CO Bigger had
rescued two subjects who had overturned their canoe and were
suffering from severe hypothermia. Enforcement action was
taken.

CO Dan Bigger wrapped up a case from deer season that involved a
father, son, and son-in-law and five illegal deer. The case
included killing an overlimit of deer, using a borrowed tag to tag
a deer, shooting a deer without a license and purchasing the
license after the fact, and purchasing too many licenses.

CO Shane Webster received a complaint that two subjects who were
fishing also were trespassing on a landowner’s property. CO Webster
contacted the subjects and asked to see their fishing licenses. One
of the subjects did not have a fishing license but did have a
warrant for his arrest. Enforcement action was taken.

CO Shane Webster contacted a subject who was in possession of 10
panfish over his limit and another subject who was in possession of
short bass. Enforcement action was taken in both instances.

DISTRICT 9

CO Kris Kiel received a RAP complaint about a subject who shot a
heron. The witness told the CO that they observed the subject shoot
and kill at least one bird. The CO contacted the subject, who
denied it and stated he had put fishing line up around his Koi pond
and had tried motion-sensor water sprinklers but the herons and
other birds were still getting his fish. After a few minutes, the
CO informed the subject that he was going to look around the
property line. The subject confessed and showed the CO the dead
bird. He admitted he shot it with a pellet gun. Enforcement action
was taken.

CO Todd Szyska received a complaint about a subject attempting to
run over trumpeter swans on Clear Spring Lake in Shelby Township.
The CO talked to witnesses who stated that they even attempted to
stop the subject. CO Szyska interviewed the subject’s wife, who
stated the subject was upset because the swan picked up a couple of
ducklings and was trying to kill them. A warrant will be requested
through the prosecutor’s office.

CO John Borkovich was patrolling along the Black River in the Port
Huron SGA when he observed an illegal camping site. The CO
approached the site and found several trees cut down to make more
room at the site. CO Borkovich contacted the subjects and took
enforcement action. A total of 19 trees ranging from 1 to 6 inches
in diameter where destroyed.

CO Jon Sklba checked a vessel at Bolles Harbor. While he checked
the vessel, the group of three anglers kept asking what the
possession limits were for channel catfish. The CO asked the
anglers how many they had caught, and one replied that he had not
caught a single fish (not even a bite). The remaining two anglers
advised that they had caught a few but were unsure of how many. A
quick count of the fish revealed 25 channel catfish. Since one
angler already had stated that he had not caught any fish, the
other two anglers were over their daily limit of 10 apiece. A check
through our system showed that one of the anglers had been ticketed
the previous year for possessing short walleyes. The group was
advised of the laws, and enforcement action was taken.

COs Mike Drexler and Mark Ennett checked anglers at multiple
locations along the Detroit River. Their first contact with anglers
resulted in a ticket for fishing without a license. At Belanger
Park, the COs checked an angler with a stringer full of white bass
and one smallmouth bass in the mix. The smallmouth measured short,
and the angler received a ticket for take/possess undersized bass.
Later at Belleville Lake, the COs checked two shore anglers and
found one in possession of a short largemouth bass. The angler
received a ticket for take/possess undersized bass.