CT State EnCon Police
Eastern District Highlights
April 2019


Public Safety Responses
On the evening of April 1st, 2019, Officers Logiodice, Ruggiero, Buonocore, Mazzotta and Sergeant Dwyer responded to Wadsworth Falls State Park, Middletown, for a report of a male found unresponsive on a park trail. The 33 year old local subject was determined to be deceased on scene by first responders, apparently while riding his bike and possibly suffering a medical event. The incident remains under investigation pending further results from the Chief Medical Examiner.
On April 18th, EnCon Police dispatch was notified of a male being attacked by a bobcat at a golf course in Sprague; Officers Danielson, Dota, Ruggiero and Sergeant Dwyer responded, and found a horse had also been injured by a bobcat at a nearby farm. The apparently sick bobcat was soon located and euthanized; it was tested by University of Connecticut personnel and found to be positive for rabies. All parties affected by the animal were notified in order to ensure proper, timely medical care.
On 4/27/19 Officers Williams and Blackwell responded to Messerschmidt Wildlife Management Area, Deep River, for a motor vehicle accident involving a single car with 3 occupants that hit a tree. The 49 year old mother and her 22 and 15 year old daughters were transported to the Shoreline Clinic, Westbrook, for treatment of minor injuries resulting from possibly hitting the gas pedal instead of brakes when parking.
Criminal Impersonation Warrant Arrest
On April 1st, Officer Landry served a warrant on a 31 year old Springfield, Massachusetts female resulting from an incident at Scantic River State Park in Enfield on June 17, 2018. On that date Officer Landry issued an infraction for disorderly conduct to a female from Springfield; EnCon Police was contacted in July 2018 by a female named on the ticket that she failed to respond to the infraction, but that she had not been the recipient. Officer Landry was able to determine the named party was a girlfriend of a male party from Massachusetts, and that his ex-girlfriend (with whom he has on-going court custody issues) was the actual violator issued the infraction by Officer Landry. A warrant was issued and served on the actual violator for Criminal Impersonation and Interfering with an Officer; she was released on a $200 cash bond for later appearance in Enfield superior court.
Turkey Hunting Enforcement
On April 25th, Officers Danielson and Dota responded to a hunting / trespass complaint in Chaplin, where they found a 70 year old male on private property returning to his vehicle with a shotgun and turkey in hand. The male stated he thought he was on state property, but further investigation revealed he previously had been denied permission to hunt this particular private property per the complainant. He was also found to have not tagged his turkey immediately upon kill as required; he was cited for the trespassing and hunting violations.
All-Terrain Vehicle Enforcement
On 4/6/19, Officers Vroman and Kerr were patrolling Quaddick State Forest trails after dark in Thompson when they encountered three all-terrain vehicles (ATVs). After signaling them to stop. Two operators fled the area while the third one attempted to escape past the officers between the patrol vehicle and an embankment, but got stuck under the rear bumper of the patrol vehicle. The 31 year old male, who had recently been released from a Florida prison, was taken into custody and arrested at state police Troop D in Danielson for Criminal Mischief 3rd degree, Interfering with a Police Officer, Illegal ATV operation / without Permission, and Failure to Stop for an Officer. He was released on a $500 cash bond, posted by the other two ATV operators who earlier fled the scene. They both admitted to illegal ATV operation and operating without permission, and were cited for these violations.
Fishing Enforcement / Activity
Eastern District officers were kept busy in early April with pre-season fishing complaints throughout the region; officers issued over 30 fishing citations, along with some boating safety violations including insufficient lifejackets or failure to wear lifejackets on kayaks and canoes.
On 4/11/19 Officers Waite and Danielson encountered a 22 year old male who from prior knowledge they knew had been posting on social media that he was catching and keeping trout pre-season. They observed the suspect fishing a closed trout-stocked area on the Fenton River, Mansfield a day before opening day, and saw him hide a beer can in the riverbank without taking it back to his vehicle. The suspect was cited for fishing during the closed season, fishing without a trout stamp, and littering.
On 4/17/19 Officers Dota and Danielson received a complaint of ATVs being used on the Sugarbrook Field Trial Area, Plainfield, and followed the tracks to two males in their late teens fishing along the Moosup River. One subject was fishing without a license and was cited for this violation, with warnings for ATV operation also being issued.

CT State EnCon Police
Marine District Highlights
April 2019

Fishing Enforcement
On 4/7/19 Officer Mazzotta was patrolling the CT River at the Baldwin Boat launch and observed two individuals fishing from the pier. Officer Mazzotta asked both individuals for their 2019 CT Marine Fishing Licenses which they stated they did not have. Each was issued a citation for the violation.
On 4/13/19 Officer Huber was patrolling the Hammonasset River in Madison and observed four individuals fishing in the Trout Management Area. Neither had a current CT fishing license and one individual stated to the Officer that he was 15 years old but wasn’t sure of the year that he was born. The same individual had one trout in his possession. When questioned about his birth date a second time and asked if he was really 15, the individual admitted he was in fact 16 years old and did not have a fishing license. All four were issued written warnings for fishing without a license and the individual who claimed he was 15 was also issued a written warning for not having the required trout stamp.
On 4/13/19 Officer Huber was patrolling the Hammonasset River and observed an individual fishing in the sea run portion of the river. Officer Huber approached the individual and asked to see his fishing license and his catch for the day. The individual provided the appropriate license and showed Officer Huber a brown trout he had caught earlier measuring 10 inches. Officer Huber advised the fisherman that the minimum length for trout on the Hammonasset River is 15 inches. The individual was issued a written warning and the trout was seized and donated to “A Place Called Hope” to feed their raptors. Later that day Officer Huber observed two other individuals fishing who were in possession of trout over the daily limit and undersized. Each were issued infractions for the violations. The fish were seized and donated to “A Place Called Hope”.
On 4/13/2019 Officer Mazzotta was dispatched to the Quinnipiac River for a report of an individual taking undersized striped bass. Officer Mazzotta located the individual and found him in possession of multiple undersized striped bass in excess of the daily creel limit and he had no fishing license. The individual was issued a Misdemeanor Summons for the violations.
On 4/19/2019 Officer Hey observed an individual keeping undersized striped bass at Long Beach in Stratford. Upon inspection Officer Hey discovered 5 undersized striped bass. The daily creel limit of striped bass in CT is one fish with a minimum length limit of 28 inches. The individual was issued a Misdemeanor Summons for 5 counts of undersized striped bass and 4 counts over the daily limit.
On 4/21/2019 Officer Heath and Officer Hey were dispatched to Walnut Beach in Milford for a complaint of several people taking undersized striped bass and over bagging the daily creel limit. Upon inspection only one of the individuals had a fishing license. In total, there were 27 undersized striped bass that were located in a duffle bag and a plastic bag. The minimum length limit for striped bass is 28 inches and the daily bag limit for striped bass is one fish. Each person was issued a Misdemeanor Summons for 6 counts of undersized striped bass, and 5 counts of possession over the daily limit. Three individuals were also cited for not having a valid fishing license. Also on 4/21/2019 Officer Hey issued Misdemeanor Summonses to two individuals on the Housatonic River in Stratford. In total there were 6 undersized striped bass. Each individual was charged with multiple counts of undersized striped bass and over the daily creel limit. Officer Hey also issued misdemeanor summonses to two other individuals for the same violations at Long beach in Stratford. Officer Mazzotta also issued a Misdemeanor Summons for multiple counts of undersized striped bass in Milford.
Commercial Fishing Enforcement

On 4/9/2019 Officer Nivolo arrested a Stamford man for multiple commercial lobster violations, along with a felony charge of Forgery 2nd degree and Larceny 6th degree. The investigation originated on December 14, 2018 involving said individual who held a recreational lobster license and was found to be fishing over 105 lobster pots. CT State law requires that the number of recreational lobster pots allowed is only ten. It was later determined that the individual had obtained a temporary license from the CT DEEP Fisheries Division to assist a commercial lobsterman with his gear. This temporary license expired on October 31, 2018. The individual altered the State issued temporary license and dated it December 31, 2018, signed it, and continued fishing the lobster pots that were co-mingled with the other commercial lobsterman. CT law prevents a person from hauling personal use lobster pots and commercial lobster pots during the same trip and prohibits the sale of lobsters under a recreational lobster license.

Further investigation revealed that the individual failed to purchase valid 2018 lobster pot tags for all of the lobster pots for the entire year, had multiple escape vent violations utilizing non-biodegradable material and no identification labels. A live car was also found which had several live lobsters within it that also had no identifying labels. It was also determined that the individual failed to have a required log book for documentation and failed to report said log book as required to the CT DEEP Fisheries Division. Several investigative trips were conducted by EnCon Police by vessel during which lobster gear was seized from the individual. Mixed within the seized gear were several lobster pots belonging to other commercial lobstermen which the individual had allegedly stolen and co-mingled with the other gear.

On 4/15/19 Officer Nivolo served an arrest warrant to the individual charging him with the following: 84 counts of fishing more than 10 lobster pots while having only a recreational lobster license, 94 counts of actively fishing untagged lobster pots, 29 counts of escape vent violations, and 33 counts of setting lobster pots not identified with the owners license number. He was also charged with Forgery in the 2nd Degree for altering a state document and Larceny in the 6th Degree for theft of another’s property.

Boating Enforcement
On 4/12/19 Officer Mazzotta was patrolling Messerscmidzt Pond in Westbrook and observed two individuals paddling a canoe. Neither were wearing a life jacket (PFD) which is required to be worn from Oct.31st - May 31st annually. They did however have two life jackets on board. Each were issued a written warning for the violation and advised to don their life jackets for the remainder of their voyage.
Arson Investigation/Arrest
On 4/22/19 Officer Nivolo arrested two individuals involved with the container fires at Silver Sands State Park that occurred on March 24, 2019. These were the same individuals arrested by multiple police departments for numerous fires that have occurred throughout the state over the last several years. Each were arrested for Criminal Trespass, Criminal Mischief, Larceny, Criminal Attempt to Commit Criminal Mischief and one was also charged with Obliterating and /or removing Manufacturers serial numbers. The investigation for the first fire that destroyed the bath house and concession stand still remain under investigation.

FISHING ENFORCEMENT:

Recreational fishing enforcement activity was high this month with 243 incidents. Officers issued twenty-five infractions and/or written warnings for fishing violations.
BOATING:

Boating activity slightly increased this month and officers issued eight infractions and/or written warnings for boating violations.
NUISANCE BEAR:
On 4/20/19 Northwest officers responded to the complaint of a very large bear (431lbs) that had broken into a residence in Simsbury through a kitchen window. The owner confronted the bear in the kitchen area and backed out calling the police. The bear ransacked the house including broken windows and engaged the kitchen sink flooding the kitchen and dining area. The bear was located outside the edge of the house climbing a tree and was euthanized in accordance with DEEP Policy. The bear, # 198, was implicated and verified to have been responsible for multiple home invasions in 2018.
0n 4/27/19 Southwest officers responded to a residence in Woodbury after the homeowner discovered a deceased Black Bear in the yard. Officers initial investigation determined from the injuries that the sow had been shot. The bear was removed and transported to Sessions Woods for further examination. Necropsy and results are pending. This case remains under investigation.

During the month of April Western District officers were dispatched and responded to 11 Nuisance Bear complaints.

SICK, INJURED AND NUISANCE WILDLIFE:
During the month of April Western District officers were dispatched and responded to 21 calls for sick, nuisance or injured wildlife involving bobcats, owls, squirrels, turkey, geese and snakes.