On January 1st, 2024, Officer Moran of the FWC was dispatched to a call where it was said that a hunter had been threatened by an individual from shore with a pistol. And lucky for us, it turns out that the hunter uploaded that encounter on YouTube. You are on camera, sir. I don't give a hu. YOU'RE SHOOTING RIGHT OUTSIDE OUR back door. This is a public water out of here. I'm calling I'm calling FWC right now. Go right ahead and do it. TELL THEM YOU'RE OUT here shooting. And a few hours later, FWC I'd like to note that this is not the first time this hunter has actually been threatened. On October 23rd, 2023, he uploaded a video of Jacksonville police responding to a complaint made against him for hunting too close to residential housing. The original video is 31 minutes long, so I've decided to show just a few clips of it, but I think you're going to get the gist. Police get BACK HERE RIGHT NOW. THE HUNTER THAT we're going to identify as goose down can be seen right here around somebody's dock and he eventually paddles to the officer and he is requested to stand with the officers on shore while this officer secures his weapons. All right, I'm just going to pat you down just to make sure you don't have anything. I don't care about your ammo. Do you have any knives or anything like that still? No. My name's Officer Guter. Here's the deal right now. I don't know that you're wrong or right in this moment. So, we've got to figure that out. Okay. So, we're not assuming that you're wrong in any way at the moment, but we're going to get with FWC and and and make sure that that we're good to go here. Okay. But like I said, I would like to press charges against the woman in pink for hunter harassment. Okay. Well, that's you'll do that with FWC if they come out here. Okay. That's that's between you and them. We don't do that. What you do? while she was screaming at me injured birds and this is interfering with my house and that is a lawful activity. It is a crime. Okay. The two officers clearly have never dealt with the situation before and they had to make several calls to assure Goosetown was lawfully hunting all while making friendly chitchat about unrelated topics. What made you want to come? Do you live near here? What made you want to come to the Ortigga River right here? Okay. For for the record though, that was just me asking, not that was not a law enforcement question either. I'm just curious. Maybe when we're all done here, we I'll ask again. You can decide if you want to tell me. Oddly enough, it looks like what he's doing might not be illegal because he has all the licenses. It's migratory bird season. He's hunting Canadian geese and the uh those are Canadian geese in his the only time like we have we live on the water and somebody right across from us was shooting just to make the geese go away and they came out and they said it's illegal to hunt migratory birds when it's not migratory bird season. This woman complains for several more minutes and the officers ultimately get them to clear out. Well, I'm going to give their information to FWC and then they'll deal with that. I just don't want to see her get away because well she's I mean FWC FWC will do will do her number her information is in she called so we have her information I don't want them hanging out here while we're trying to deal with this as you know you're hunt as long as the rounds not impacting any residences I guess the concern you out here on the kayak. You hear gunshots. This area kind of has a lot of violence, a lot of violence over here. were kind of very concerned when we saw that sensiting with my hunt. I have a crippled animal up there that this interfered with me being able to Is FWC still coming? No, FWC did not arrive on scene that day as they were tied up somewhere else. Gootown did make an aftermath video, but he mostly just talked about his illegal detainment. And I'm not trying to make an enemy out of the auditor community, but I've got to say, I think the detainment was justified as they were just investigating a shots fired call. But what do I know? Watch the full video on his channel. You You tell me. I'll be dropping that link in the description. Here's another one he posted about a week ago before the events of today's video occurred. And you'll notice that this time he's wearing a body cam. Here's a sneak peek at another hunting incident. Can we get fish and wildlife, please? We got a call. All right. About you possibly shooting at residents and all that kind of stuff. Are you just out hunting geese? Yes. Okay. That was very simple. Was that Was that hard? This is This is not the first time I've been harassed by police. We're not being somebody called us. We could care less what you're doing. Can I Am I afraid to go now? So hang on. So So I'm being detained now. Yeah. Although this video is titled Sneak Peak, he's yet to post a full encounter. The one takeaway that I get from all these videos is he's very adamant about pressing charges for hunter harassment, and he's entitled to do so, I guess. And two weeks later, he's given that opportunity Do you have a gun? Somebody's calling me that might be JSO. Where's the person? He's uh that building right there. Not this one, but the next one over. And he threatened you with a gun? Yes. Is he out here still? Uh I believe he went back in his apartment. Hello. This is Let me see your hands. Do you Are you armed? No. Were you armed earlier? Yeah. All right. I need to see your hands at all times. They're right here. Check me. I'm not You don't have a weapon on you right now? No. Uh phone pack of cigarettes and light. All right. I'm going to pat you down. Okay. Yeah. Go ahead. Put your hands on your head and release your fingers. All right, stay there. Do not move. Do not put your hands in your pockets. I have video of him coming out here screaming at me with a gun. Okay. Where did you launch your kayak from? I launched from the boat ramp over there on fishing. All right. Can you get out and come up here? By the way, I'm going to talk to both of you separately. Okay. While you're doing that, I'm going to talk to him. Stay where I can see you. Okay. All right. Come back here in the back of my truck. All right. I'm just going to stay where I can see both of you. Okay. You ain't going to have a problem. All right. I appreciate it. But you understand the circumstance I'm rolling up on. Okay. Yeah, I do. I need you to tell me what happened. Your version of the story. Sitting inside, just watching TV. My wife's cooking dinner. Shotgun blasts go off right outside our back door. He's up here between the dock and our bank shooting the geese. He's got three or four in his canoe right now. Fish and wildlife. I talked to JSO on city ordinances and hunting and this is residential area. My neighbor has two little kids inside. He ain't got no business being in here blasting off shotgun in our backyard. I mean, it's just no. We had this problem last year and I talked with Fish and Wildlife then and was told that nobody is allowed to be shooting geese and why he's in a residential area in city limits shooting geese. It's question I'd like answered before we have to deal with people like this in our backyards putting his kids at risk. Okay. All right. So tell me what happened. What he's talking about. What he's talking about shotgun blast went off. come out. Gun stayed down the entire time, which you'll see on the video. He likes to talk about, never pointed at him. Told him to blast off one more round. There's going to be one [ __ ] return. I won't give warning shot. I'm not going to shoot at him, but no, you're going to get the hell out of here by whatever means it takes. So, you never pointed the gun at him? No, it was down the entire time. But you were And you'll He's gone on video. Okay. And so what did you say? That's it. That's what I told him. I said, "You pop off one more round, you only get one back." That's what I said. Okay. And that was the end of it. All right. I'm going to talk to him. I'm going to watch it. He picked up his geese and come down here and say talking about, "Oh, you're on video. I got you on video." I caught the law. Well, you know, I caught the law, too. Okay. All right. Um, stay here. All right. Is your firearm in your kayak? Yes, ma'am. Do you have a sidearm or anything on you? Pocket knife in my pocket. No weapons. No other weapons on you, though. just a pocket knife and ammunition. So, explain to me your version of the story. So, I was following a flock of geese until I had a clear and safe shot. And when I had a clear and safe shot, I fired two shots and took two geese from this flock of geese. And uh he came out of his apartment, wielding a a pistol in his right hand, screaming at that I leave. And I told him, "This is hunter harassment. This is a crime." and I gathered up my geese and threw them in my kayak and uh his uh wife or a female accomplice, I don't know, uh she came out and was screaming as well. Um I don't remember exactly everything that they said. I mean, my adrenaline's pumping and everything. I have it all on camera. This camera? Yes. What is that? This is a body camera just like similar to what you're wearing. Different brand. I'm sure yours is a lot nicer. So, you can send me that video on there. Uh, I can play it. Okay. Um, did he point the weapon at you at all? He pointed it at the ground. Okay. He never pointed it at you. I didn't see him pointed at me. Okay. But did you He threatened you? Uh, I don't remember him threatening me, per se, but just coming at me with a firearm in hand is threatening enough in my opinion. All right. So, do you hunt at all? Like hunt or fish? Is that open? So, so there's no like um specific distance that someone has to be hunting from the waterway. Okay. So, from what I'm understanding right now is that he was on the water a safe shot at geese. what you did is hunter harassment because you cannot interfere with a hunter, a fisher, anything while they are hunting, fishing. Even though JSO says it's against the law to hunt in residential, whether you're on the water or not and it don't get any more resine. So there's so there's no defined distance that you have to be you have to take a clear safe shot. Um picked the goose up and put it in his canoe. I mean that's 15 right there at the edge of the freaking water. Where would you say he was pointing the gun when he shot? Like where were the geese when he shot them? The geese were on the the geese were on the ground. They were up here on the shore. So he had he shot the gate on on the land. That I don't I don't know. We can't say the first is what got me up out of the chair and outside. The second one is where I come out on. So So he scares them out in the water. No, they're on the land. They're on the land. They're not actively swimming, but he scares them in the water so that he can say it's a legal shoot. So he what I saw in the the video that he showed, he shot the geese while they were on the water. Okay. If someone were to shoot across your property and take geese from the shoreline, that does qualify as trespassing. That is not what he did. So So it's legal to hunt in a residential area. It's legal to hunt on state water. So, this is the fourth time we've called about this guy. This is the fourth time we've called. It wasn't just a month ago that I called about him doing the same thing to that guy over there. Got right up on his bank while he's out mowing the lawn and got him come down with him. The exact same [ __ ] canoe. Yeah. I mean, how that's just You're pushing the limits too much. Yeah. That's just not even when it comes to people's homes. No. Do you did it could ricochet? could do anything. Did he shoot at the houses? No. Can't prove it either way. Okay. So, what I saw was when he harvested the geese, he shot them and they were on the water. Okay. So, that's because we got after him because he was right outside our door. And when when has it become legal? Because even talking with with fish and wildlife, this is even nowhere. No one has ever said it's all right to be hunting geese. You can you can hunt geese. It is um there is a hunting season for geese. You have to have the licenses which he does. So, and they have to be on the water. That's not what he That's not what he's doing. We watched him do the same thing last year right underneath this tree. There was a whole herd of them and he shot so they would all fly. The only thing the only thing I can really say I mean and I know you all got a job to do but as far as the hunter harassment goes if a hunter don't want harassed needs to get the hell out of people's backyards. Okay. But do you understand what I'm saying? You can't interfere with someone hunting. You cannot interfere with someone actively hunting. You can't scare their birds away. You can't interfere with them taking geese legally. Okay. Does he live around here? Yeah. I don't know. We've only seen him here. Every time he's here, this is what he's doing. So, probably not. I would shoot in the same area that I live in. He got run off from across the water, too. Just last month, I called the cops about the same guy and he did the same thing twice last year and he's always coming too close to the apartments. It's just not We are hunters. I mean, we used to hunt back in Indiana, deer and turkey, and that's not smart that you're taking risks. That's unnecessary. Okay, we understand what you're saying. But what is Wow. Okay, ladies. So, what do we need to do? Nothing. There's just nothing to do. Is this the I mean, we're going to talk to him and just make sure that he understands the um That's my boss. I thought I needed more. We didn't know. I say this dude's coming in quite aggressive. He's all right. That's my boss. It's like, man, I might have a hiccup at work tomorrow. No. Hi. How you doing? All right. Well, we would appreciate the talk. Well, I got 23 in trout. Can you Can you give us a second? Yeah, we're still um Yeah, I mean, all we can do is talk to him. Now, if if if and I don't mean to overstep. If you if he comes out here and you've got video of him pointing it at the residential area, that is a problem. Okay. But mind you, with that, if if it he's ready for you, Mo. Um if the you know, shotgun, right, it's not going to go as far as a pistol and all that jazz. Yeah. No, it won't. Right. So, if if his backdrop is water, there's no violation. But if he's kind of cutting it that the problem is is this building right here sticks out. Okay. So, if he's if he's cutting along the shoreline like that, I guarantee you just the position that he was in when I came out the door, that was the only angle of shot he had. Hold on. Hold on. Let me show you how close in proximity I said between the bank and the dock down here pointed this direction and was going this way. This is 10 ft. This is 10 ft from our door and he is shooting in between the dock and the bank. Okay, that doesn't need much room. Help me for a minute. Where's the dock in relation to this picture? The end of the pil right here. Okay. And the tree that you're seeing overhang is that tree that that totally our apartment is right on the end. So I mean, you know, he was between the dock and the bank shooting the geese. I'm telling you, he's shooting them. May I see that? Yeah. Yeah. That shows him headed back toward the open water that last. Yeah. Okay. That's when he was picking them up. Somebody texted you. You're not going to worry about that. That's Bath and Body Works. We don't need to do that. They're not in business anymore. where we're at as far as close proximity to the water and my neighbor having kids that is close enough for a shotgun. Yeah. See, I mean it really is. I mean and our back the whole back wall of our apartment. That's the living room and it's glass. So So this is the bank right here. I mean this is Let's alleviate this for the the next time. Okay. He comes back. You got a problem? Just call us. You shouldn't be coming out here wielding a a pistol. Fair enough. Fair enough. Okay, it's fair enough. Will you guys take care of it next time so that he doesn't return the best you can? We're going to go to She's talking to him now. I'm going to make sure that he he does understand as far as the backdrop cannot be a residential area. Okay. I mean, but if this happens, hopefully we can alleviate this tonight, but if it happens again, call us. Period. Don't even come out here. Don't make contact. If you can get video, get video in a safe proximity from them. I had video. Don't come out here with a a pistol. So that's all right. You got it. Because that that's hunter harassment and and you're you're in violation of that. Did you know that was such a thing? I've done it all my life. I would like to press charges if I can. You want to press what charges? Harassment. for one. I don't know if he could be charged with anything for wielding that weapon coming out screen. Okay. So, you come here often and you hunt this river often? Yes. Do you live around here in the Jacksonville? Okay. Do you come here like specifically because there's good geese hunting or? Yeah, mostly. Yeah. Okay. Um, and you took the hunter safety course and all that? Yes. I've done it in two states and that's Okay. Copy my certificates in here as well. So, you never point at houses or anything. Exactly. Okay. How far from shore were you when you shot? Uh, I was pretty close to shore, but nowhere near was I aiming at shore. Okay. So, they said something about the geese being on land. Um, they came into the water. They were swimming. They were swimming. I do what they call water spotting where you get them when they're on the water. Mhm. Okay. And that's all on camera here. I I saw when you shot them. Um I just would be very careful because when you're that close to shore with all of these houses around here and I'm I believe that you're an avid hunter and you take good shots. Right. Right. Okay. And from your video, what I saw was that you were pointing towards the open water when you shot the geese. Okay. All right. I'm going to tell you what I'm doing, okay? So that you're not stressing out. I'm going to write you two tickets. I'm going to write you one for hunt harassment. I'm going to run write one for improper display of a weapon. Okay? They are misdemeanors. They have a notice to appear. So you will be required to go to court. Okay? You can go to court. Explain your side of everything. Okay? I'm going to go do those. I'll bring him back. I'll explain how to take care of him. Okay. Okay. Now, even even though it was pointed down at the ground and never left my side the whole time and that was shown on his video, so it would be a different charge if you had like pointed him or something. So, what this statute is talking about is um displaying a threatening weapon while I think it said angry, but um the language will be on there and we'll go over it when I write it. Okay. Yeah. You don't want that. I threaten this guy. All right. Yeah. Give me a minute. Okay. Um he is getting two citations or court appearances. So, whatever. um brandishing a firearm and hunter harassment. Okay. Okay. I appreciate that. Now, would I be able to get y'all's business cards, please? As it turns out, this man had his day in court. And it appears that all the charges had been dropped. Better luck next time, Gootown. [Music] I'm na.