Prosecutor — Fishermen caught dishonest at match charged

CLEVELAND — Two anglers accused of stuffing fish with lead weights and fillets in an try and win hundreds of {dollars} in an Ohio fishing match have been indicted Wednesday on fees of tried grand theft and different counts.

Jacob Runyan, 42, of Broadview Heights, Ohio, and Chase Cominski, 35, of Hermitage, Pennsylvania, have been indicted in Cleveland on felony fees of dishonest, tried grand theft and possessing legal instruments and misdemeanor fees of unlawfully proudly owning wild animals. They’re as a result of be arraigned Oct. 26.

Neither man instantly responded to voicemails looking for remark.

The dishonest allegations surfaced Sept. 30 when Lake Erie Walleye Path match director Jason Fischer turned suspicious as a result of Runyan and Cominski’s fish have been considerably heavier than walleye of that size sometimes are. A crowd of individuals at Gordon Park in Cleveland watched Fischer minimize the walleye open and announce that there have been weights and walleye fillets stuffed inside.

An officer from the Ohio Division of Pure Assets confiscated the fish as proof.

Fischer additionally didn’t instantly return a phone name looking for remark.

Runyan and Cominski would have obtained $28,760 in prizes for successful the match.

In keeping with search warrant affidavits, the 5 walleye contained a complete of eight 12-ounce (.34 kilogram) lead weights and two 8-ounce (.23 kilogram) weights, in addition to the fish fillets. Officers from ODNR, the Hermitage Police Division and the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Fee seized a ship, trailer and fishing gear belonging to Cominski on Tuesday in Pennsylvania. The anglers had used the boat throughout final month’s match, the affidavits mentioned.

One of many affidavits disclosed that Runyan and Cominski have been investigated by Rossford police in northwest Ohio in April after being accused of dishonest in a distinct walleye match. In keeping with a Rossford police report, an assistant Wooden County prosecutor concluded that though the boys may need cheated, there was not sufficient proof to cost them.