Drunk Driver Convicted; Two Crabbers Charged

A drunk driving conviction and the charging of two crab poachers highlighted recent cases handled by the Maryland Natural Resources Police.

A Garrett County man was ordered to serve 18 months in jail after he was found guilty Wednesday of drunken driving in a state park.

Samuel Fheo Polce, 45, of Oakland, was arrested on June 1 as he tried to leave Swallow Falls State Park by an officer. Polce failed a field sobriety test and refused to take a breathalyzer test.

The officer was alerted by Maryland Park Service rangers, who noticed Polce’s erratic behavior and feared for the safety of park patrons. He was charged with driving under the influence and driving on a suspended license.

This was the fifth drunken driving conviction for Polce. He was immediately taken into custody at Garrett District Court to serve his sentence. The judge ordered Polce to enter mandatory alcohol treatment and placed him on three year’s supervised probation.

A Somerset County waterman was charged Tuesday with four counts of illegal crabbing after officers checked his catch and found 328 undersized male crabs and peeler crabs.

John Robert Horner, 66, of Wenona, was approached by officers after he tied up in Wenona Harbor on Deal Island. An inspection found 93 undersized peelers in his float and two-and-a-half bushels in the cabin of his boat. After issuing citations, the officers returned the crabs to the water.

Horner must appear in Somerset District Court to answer two of the charges, each carrying a maximum penalty of a $1,000 fine and/or one year in jail. The two additional charges could result in an additional fine of $850. His court date is Sept. 13.

A Wicomico County waterman was charged last Friday with two counts of crabbing violations after officers checked the catch on his boat.

Hans Eric Kuntze, 59, of Nanticoke, received citations for possessing 97 undersized male crabs and having eight female crabs in a mixed bushel.

After an inspection revealed the violations, Kuntze told officers his crab gauge must be wrong. However, Kuntze did not take up an officer’s offer to check it. Officers seized the crabs and returned them to the water.

Kuntze is required to appear in Wicomico District Court on Sept. 6 to answer for both citations because of previous convictions for the same offenses. He also is scheduled to appear in court that day on charges filed in June that he harvested oysters out of season and violated health regulations.