NRP Blotter

Individuals in Somerset and Allegany counties were charged this week by Maryland Natural Resources Police officers with oyster poaching and hunting violations.

In Somerset County, five watermen were cited Thursday morning for illegally harvesting oysters from protected state waters.

Acting on a tip, officers established surveillance posts at the Somerset Oyster Sanctuary in Tangier Sound. Four vessels entered the sanctuary shortly before 9 a.m. and began harvesting oysters.

Ronnie Lynn Carman, 59, of Marion, Barry Clark Chew Jr., 39, Jason Filmore Evans, 39, Ronald Lee Hall, 47, and Ronald Lee Hall Jr., 27, all of Crisfield, were charged with harvesting wild oysters from a sanctuary.

They are scheduled to appear in Somerset District Court on April 7. If found guilty, each waterman could be fined a maximum of $3,000 and have his commercial license suspended by the state for up to one year.

In Allegany County, NRP officers Monday charged Timothy Lee Powers, 48, of Williamsport, with multiple counts of illegal deer hunting.

Officers went to the hunter’s home to check on a tip from the public that Powers had killed a 10-point buck, an 8-point buck and two does.

Powers was charged with hunting without a license, three counts of failing to report a deer harvest, two counts of hunting during a closed season, and exceeding the bag limit for firearms season. He also received warnings for possessing untagged deer parts, three counts of failing to report deer kills on his harvest record, three counts of failing to record confirmation numbers on his harvest record, hunting without written permission, and failing to field tag the two does.

Similar charges related to the killing of one of the bucks as well as a charge of transporting untagged deer from Maryland are pending against his son, Kyle Powers of Orange, Va. Officers of the Virginia Conservation Police seized the racks of the two bucks illegally harvested in Maryland.

Timothy Lee Powers is scheduled to appear in Allegany District Court on May 7. If found guilty of all charges, he could be fined a maximum of $11,100.