Law Enforcement Division

A couple of weeks ago, a group of Jeep enthusiasts held the 3rd Annual Ride for a Cause in Dahlonega and decided that they wanted to donate all the proceeds from the ride and raffles to the family of Capt. Stan Elrod, who was killed by an impaired drive in September. It was a rainy night, but Major Stephen Adams and Lt. Judd Smith made it to the ride and yesterday Arvin and Cheri Turk surprised Stan’s wife Julie with the news. The same group has a ride coming up and will be sponsoring a long list of needy kids for Christmas. If you have a Jeep and are interested in helping out and going on the ride, they would love to have you! If you don’t have a Jeep, they would still love the sponsorship! https://signupgenius.com/go/409084ba8a629a0fc1-annual

Yesterday, Game Wardens Brock Hoyt and Ryan Shorter investigated a hunter that was illegally hunting in a secluded section of Sweetwater Creek State Park via boat. Game Wardens successfully located the individual and took him into custody. He was charged with multiple violations including hunting with a crossbow on a closed state park, hunting without fluorescent orange, operating a vessel without lights in hours of darkness, recording a harvested deer in the wrong county, operating a vessel with insufficient PFDs, and operating a motor vehicle as an unlicensed driver. The confiscated deer meat was donated to hardworking first responders in Douglas County.

This is an important message! We have already had several people fall from climbing stands this year who sustained serious injuries. Please don't shortcut any steps when preparing to climb and make sure to carefully inspect your stand for worn or broken parts before attempting to hunt from it. We want you to walk out of the woods at the end of your hunt, not have to be carried out.

On Friday 10/9/2020 Corporal Jay Bright received a call about someone possibly hunting deer at night. The suspect's vehicle had left the area but returned a short time later. A look out for the vehicle was given to the local Sheriff’s Office who located it a short time later and stopped it, discovering a large buck in the bed of the truck. After a brief investigation Corporal Bright was able to determine the buck was taken illegally and several charges were made including hunting deer at night, hunting from a vehicle, hunting from a public road.

Currahee Station in Toccoahad their Grand Opening today. The restaurant is owned by Dennis Bell, a career law man and long time friend of Capt. Stan Elrod who was killed in September. The Elrod family and several local Game Wardens and other friends of Stan were on hand to see the unveiling of one of Stan’s uniforms which will continue to hang prominently in the restaurant.

The Georgia Chapter of Safari Club International's annual Youth Deer Hunt was a great success this week. DNR game wardens, biologists, and hunting and shooting education specialists provided great educational value to the day and the kids had a great time learning and gaining valuable experience hunting and practicing firearm safety. Thanks to all who made this happen!!

Bow season for deer began several weeks ago. Primitive weapons season began this week and deer firearms season begins this Saturday, October 17th! If you haven't already checked, now is the time to inspect your tree stand to be sure it is in tip top shape for safety. Also, make sure you have a good harness and lifeline. as you'll see in this video, most tree stand injuries and fatalities occur when climbing, during the transition to your seat, or during the descent. Make sure you don't become a hunting incident statistic.

Yesterday, while on patrol in Taylor County, Cpl. Josh Swain and Game Warden Ryan Buice located James Cross and 14 year old Taylor Cross. Taylor harvested this nice doe during the youth deer season. Way to go, Taylor!

Firearms deer season is less than 10 days away and we know there is a lot of excitement as the season begins but now is a great time to be sure you have all your safety equipment ready to go. Today, be sure you have your blaze orange. In Georgia, a hunter, and anyone accompanying the hunter, must wear as an outer garment at least 500 square inches of daylight fluorescent orange... above the waist (which may include a head covering) when hunting: deer during the primitive weapons or firearms deer season bear during the primitive weapons or firearms bear seasons feral hogs during firearms deer or bear seasons See more

This morning, Game Warden Austin Biggers was patrolling Horse Creek WMA during a Specialty Firearms hunt and checked Tom Dobbelaere and his 12-year-old son Jacob who had harvested two nice bucks. Congratulations!

Yesterday, the Gainesville Kiwanis Club posthumously presented the John W. Jacobs, Sr. Memorial Award for Excellence in Law Enforcement to Captain Stan Elrod. The award was accepted by Capt. Elrod’s widow, Julie. Each year, the award is given to officers from agencies within the Hall County Area for their outstanding contributions in law enforcement. Those agencies include: DNR, GSP, Gainesville P.D., Hall Co. S.O., Flowery Branch P.D. and Oakwood P.D. The award has been in existence since 1997.

To all the hardworking Georgians in the fields and woods, or out on the ponds, lakes, and rivers, happy #NationalHuntingAndFishingDay!

Earlier today, Tybee Island Mayor Shirley Sessions and the City Council recognized and honored Commissioner Mark Williams and 15 Game Wardens for assisting the Tybee Police Department with enforcing the Governor’s COVID-19 Executive Order Beach Patrols in the Spring. We truly appreciate this great partnership. These are the GWs honored with the Commissioner: Capt. Chris Hodge Sgt. Mark Carson Sgt. Cindy Miller Cpl. Barry Britt... Cpl. Kiel Toney Cpl. Randy Aspinwall Cpl. Bobby While Cpl. Tim Hutto GWFC Doug Chambers GWFC Tim Morris GWFC Judd Sears GW Quintin Reed GW Chandler Hamrick GW Bobby Sanders GW Cassidy Gerstorff See more