Florida Fish and Wildlife Agent Shot

A state wildlife officer on patrol in a desolate area of Brevard County was shot three times Wednesday night by a man wanted by the law.

Vann Streety, a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission veteran of more than a decade, was on routine patrol west of Cocoa when he made a traffic stop about 8 p.m. and discovered there was an outstanding arrest warrant on the driver, said Officer Lenny Salberg, a commission spokesman.

That's when Streety found himself in a hail of bullets.

He was hit in the hand, arm and shoulder but was shot at many more times, Salberg said.

Streety was in stable condition early today at Holmes Regional Medical Center in Melbourne.

Investigators were interviewing him to try to figure out the sequence of events that led to the shooting.

Streety always wore a bulletproof vest, and Salberg said investigators think Wednesday night was no exception.

The suspect, whose name was not released, escaped on foot.

More than 50 law-enforcement officers from agencies including the Brevard County Sheriff's Office and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement were searching in the dark for him with the aid of helicopters and dogs.

Although no commission officers have been hurt recently, the job is dangerous, Salberg said.

"We work alone a lot, and we're in the woods a lot," he said.

Streety was on patrol looking for fish and deer poachers.

The shooting happened on a dirt road near a lake off State Road 520, about three miles west of Interstate 95.

The area is sparsely populated.

Streety previously made the news in 2002 when he inadvertently struck and killed a manatee while patrolling the Indian River in Merritt Island.

Streety was described at the time as a diligent officer who once worked until 1:30 a.m. trying to find an injured manatee and was very upset about the accident.