Lake Erie Outdoors
Fishing Forums => Lake Erie => Topic started by: Erie Deary on October 05, 2022, 12:16:19 AM
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All over the news and everything! I hope these scumbags get the maximum penalty!
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/fishing-weight-scandal-1.6605493
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Saw it on the news. Scumbags and crooks hope they go to jail
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Tournament fishing is dumb it has happened before lots of past cheaters They just move somewhere far take all the money they stole and have a good life. None of these guys will get a big penalty .. total BS
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Cheaters never prosper. Ha..in this case they did. I agree they will just move to an island and take all the money with them
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Watched the video those guys were lucky to get out alive. Some real angry people there. The other guy locked himself in his truck and they called the police. Not for cheating and stealing but to escort them safely away.
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Here you go, the verdict
2 fishermen caught cheating at Ohio tournament plead guilty
Mar 27, 2023 The Associated Press
CLEVELAND (AP) — Two men accused of stuffing fish with lead weights and fish fillets in an attempt to win thousands of dollars in an Ohio fishing tournament last fall pleaded guilty Monday to charges including cheating.
The cheating allegations surfaced in September when Lake Erie Walleye Trail tournament Director Jason Fischer became suspicious when the fish turned in by Jacob Runyan, of Broadview Heights, Ohio, and Chase Cominsky, of Hermitage, Pennsylvania, were significantly heavier than typical walleye.
A crowd of people at Gordon Park in Cleveland watched as Fischer cut the walleye open and found weights and walleye fillets stuffed inside.
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As part of a plea deal, Runyan and Cominsky pleaded guilty to cheating and unlawful ownership of wild animals and agreed to three-year suspensions of their fishing licenses. Cominsky also agreed to give up his bass boat worth $100,000.
Prosecutors agreed to drop attempted grand theft and possessing criminal tools charges.
Both men are scheduled to be sentenced May 11. Prosecutors plan to recommend a sentence of six months’ probation and later ask for an expungement of their convictions if they successfully complete their probation, said James Gallagher, an assistant Cuyahoga County prosecutor.
The plea is Cominsky’s first step toward moving on with his life and taking full responsibility, said his attorney, Kevin Spellacy. A message seeking comment was left with Runyan’s attorney.
According to search warrant affidavits, five walleye contained lead weights and fillets. Officers from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources confiscated the fish as evidence.
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They would have received a little over $28,000 in prizes for winning the tournament.
Court records also said that Runyan and Cominsky were investigated near Toledo in the spring of 2022 after being accused of cheating in a different walleye tournament. According to a police report, a prosecutor concluded that although the men may have cheated, there was not enough evidence to charge them.
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Well the sentence has been handed 10 days in prison and forfeit the boat. The amount of money they stole its nothing
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Well the sentence has been handed 10 days in prison and forfeit the boat. The amount of money they stole its nothing
Read about the sentence and it is just lame. Should be banned from fishing for life! BS
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x2 what a joke. Makes me sick! This is a pathetic sentence. Banned for LIFE!