The sextet were sentenced in Ashtabula Municipal Court by its judge, Laura DiGiacomo.
Agency officials say the six West Virginia non-resident anglers came to Lake Erie to enjoy the Central Basin’s deserved reputation as a walleye wonder when it comes to catching fish. But the six men became greedy.
The Wildlife Division reports that in July a six-officer surveillance operation was undertaken, members consisting of agents with the agency’s Sandusky-based Lake Erie law enforcement unit as well as officers with the agency’s District Three (Northeast Ohio) Office in Akron.
Each angler was charged and convicted on three counts of exceeding the daily bag limit for Lake Erie walleye. The six men were Lawrence B. Davis, 61, Sutton, WV; Jeffrey H. Hamrick, 61, Sutton, WV; Bernard L. Malone, 67, Fairmont, WV; Brandon M. Malone, 36, Fairmont, WV; Darrell A. Shaver, 36, Morgantown, WV; and Keith A. Shaver, 58, Gassaway, WV.
The Wildlife Division law enforcement project saw the six men engage in what’s called “double dipping,” whereby an individual goes out, catches a limit of fish, and then proceeds to return to the water to fish and comes back to the dock with a second limit of fish, said Matt Leibengood, the Lake Erie unit’s supervisor.
“There wasn’t a specific call about this incident but the project came about from an historic series of complaints we’ve received regarding double-dipping in the area,” Leibengood said.
Wildlife Division officers observed as well how the poachers were passing fish off between their respective boats. These anglers also used different boat ramps every day to prevent detection by Wildlife Division officers.
“Typically when we do a project such as this one it will start well before daylight and not end until well after dark; up to a 16-hour day,” Leibengood said. “Some of our guys who were processing the evidence weren’t getting home until past 4 a.m.”
After observing the six men engage in the illicit activity, they were arrested and charged with catching a combined 99 walleye over their legal daily limits.
All six individuals were found guilty on all charges.
Judge DiGiacomo fined the defendants, ordered them to pay restitution for the 99 walleye. Likewise, the court revoked their Ohio fishing licenses for three years with the potential to shorten the revocation if all fines, costs, and restitution are paid.
And because of their convictions, each of the defendants will also be entered into the Interstate Wildlife Violator’s Compact. Such an entry almost certainly will result in each angler losing his respective fishing rights and privileges in 46 other states, including their home state of West Virginia.
In all, the fines amounted to $4,419 with restitution set at $4,950, for a total of $9,360.
“It was definitely just sentencing, and we are thankful the judge saw the illegal activity for the seriousness that it was,” Leibengood said.
Seizure and a petition to the court for forfeiture of the defendants’ boats, fishing equipment and tow vehicles were not sought because the walleye were not caught with the intention to sell the fillets, which would have been a matter of the illegal commercialization of the resource, Leibengood said.
Leibengood said also this incident is a great object lesson for any angler who thinks he or she can get away with committing an offensive of this nature by believing they can successfully thwart detection through subterfuge and adopting supposed evasive strategies.
“The Division of Wildlife has a very dedicated crew of officers who work to make cases like this happen,” Leibengood said. “Their efforts won’t be circumvented.”
As for the illegally taken walleye, the fish were forfeited to the state and will be donated to charitable causes, the Wildlife Division says.
- Jeffrey L. Frischk@Ameritech.net
JFrischk4@Gmail.com
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