East District

Marine fishing violation

On October 5, 2013 officers from the East Marine Sector witnessed five individuals fishing from a rock island off of Waterford beach. The five fishermen had boarded a small inflatable raft and paddled to the island to fish. Once the fisherman returned to shore, officers conducted an inspection and safety check. The fishermen were from Massachusetts and none of them had valid fishing licenses or any personal floatation devices on the vessel. Officers also found in their possession 180 scup, 80 fish over their legal creel limit. All five individuals were issue infractions for the violations and the 80 extra fish were seized as evidence.

On October 25, 2013 officers responded to a complaint from a charter vessel concerning the taking of bluefish over the legal creel limit. The suspect vessel had launched from the Dock Road Boat launch in Waterford. The owner of the vessel is well known to the division as a multiple offender of marine fishing regulations. Officers located the vessel and during the inspection located 53 bluefish. There were only two people on board the boat which would allow them to take 20 fish total. The 33 illegal fish were seized and both fishermen were charged with possessing over their daily limit.

Deer hunting arrest

On October 5, 2013 officer Pettus was in the town of Enfield investigating a complaint of illegal deer hunting. She had received numerous complaints over the past years about hunters illegally hunting on town property in the area of Grant Road. That morning she saw a truck parked behind a tobacco barn and a short distance away she located a hunter in a tree stand. The suspect was hunting over apples and a salt lick (bait) with archery equipment. The accused did not have permission to hunt on town property and an investigation was conducted. The accused was charged with hunting deer over bait and hunting deer on private property without landowner’s written consent.

Boat launch accident

On October 24, 2013 officer Bouthillier arrested a 23 year old Haddam resident on a warrant for a motor vehicle accident that occurred at Salmon River boat launch this summer. Officer Bouthillier was investigating the accident that occurred in August at the boat launch, in which a parked trailer was severely damaged after being struck by another car driving recklessly. She was able to develop information concerning the case and applied for an arrest warrant for the individual who was also on probation. The probation office provided assistance in the case. The accused admitted to driving fast in the launch parking lot, striking and causing damage to the parked trailer and then left the scene without reporting the accident. The accused was charged with reckless operation of a motor vehicle, evading responsibility and criminal mischief – third degree.

Jacklighting arrest

On October 29, 2013 at approximately 9:15 PM, Officer Arsenault was conducting a patrol check of an area in Preston, CT where he has had numerous jacklighting complaints over the years. He heard a shot come from a field in the nearby area and upon investigation he located a male and female leaving the area in a Toyota pick-up truck. Another male had been dropped in the field with a rifle and a handheld spotlight. That male came out of the woods after a short time without the gun. Officer Arsenault with Officer Stanko’s assistance searched for the gun. After a short search of the area, Officer Stanko located the rifle. The male, an illegal alien originally from Guatemala, was arrested by Officer Arsenault. Charges included jacklighting for deer, hunting from a motor vehicle, possession of a loaded gun in a motor vehicle, and hunting without a license.

West District

Deer hunting investigations
During the month of October, Encon Police Officers in the Western District investigated 23 deer hunting incidents which resulted in 1 arrest and 3 written warnings for various violations.
Marine Fisheries Enforcement
EnCon Police Officers in the West Marine sector investigated 44 incidents involving recreational fishing in the Marine zone. Officers made 18 arrests and issued 21 written warnings for violations related to striped bass, black fish, and other marine species.

Public Safety Assists/Search & Rescue

EnCon Police Officers in the Western District responded to and handled 47 public safety assists during the month. Incidents ranged from medical assists, assisting state or local police at motor vehicle accidents to Search & Rescue. Officers responded to Sleeping Giant State Park in Hamden 4 times to reports of lost hikers in the park. One incident involved 5 hikers who were lost together. In all cases the hikers made it safely out of the park.
Rattlesnake poaching

During October EnCon Police Officers received a number of reports of vehicles being parked near the rattlesnake den sites in the northwestern section of the state. One incident remains as an ongoing investigation by Officers Paul Hilli and Nick Miofsky into the possible illegal harvesting of rattlesnakes. The Timber Rattlesnake is an endangered species in Connecticut and cannot be hunted or captured.