Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries enforcement agents arrested a Ponchatoula man on Jan. 9 for allegedly using a vessel without authorization.
Agents arrested Blake A. Mitchell, 31, for felony unauthorized use of a moveable.
The arrest stems from an investigation that began Nov. 9, 2016 in Venice located in Plaquemines Parish. Agents were notified about an airboat being removed without the owner’s consent from a camp in Cypress Cove Marina.
The vessels owner reported that the lock and license plate were removed and the vessel’s ignition was removed and replaced. Agents later stopped Mitchell in the area of Buras where the vessel was being used for hog hunting and towing his own disabled airboat across the Mississippi River.
Agents then received video surveillance of Mitchell’s truck towing the vessel in the early morning hours of Nov. 8, 2016 from two separate security systems. Agents the secured warrants and arrested Mitchell at the Jefferson Parish Courthouse where he was answering to unrelated wildlife charges on Jan. 9, 2017.
Felony unauthorized use of a moveable having a value in excess of $500 brings up to a $5,000 fine and five years in jail.
Agents participating in the case are Lt. Adam Young, Sgt. Villere Reggio and Senior Agent Patrick Dempsey.