Police Handle Fishing Violations; Charge Unsafe Boater

Maryland Natural Resources Police officers handled recreational crabbing and fishing violations, and charged a boater with unsafe operation in some recent cases.

A Fort Howard man was sentenced to serve 30 days in jail and fined $300 in Anne Arundel County District Court Aug. 23 for stealing crabs from commercial gear set near Bodkin Point.

Robert Allen Dorrier, 45, was found guilty of theft after two watermen testified that on Aug. 7, 2015, they watched as the defendant dumped crabs from commercial pots onto the deck of his skiff, threw the pots overboard without closing them and sped off.

An officer intercepted Dorrier and charged him.

Dorrier also was found guilty of two counts of disrupting lawful fishing activity and two counts of removing fish, nets or gear of another.

Dorrier was taken into custody after his trial.

An Anne Arundel County resident was charged Tuesday with multiple recreational crabbing violations by an officer on patrol on Rock Creek.

William Carl Geho Jr., 61, of Pasadena, received citations for exceeding two crab pots for residential use; having cull rings closed on recreational crab pots; and failing to have by-catch reduction devices on residential pots. He also received a warning for failing to register his crab pots.

An officer watched Geho remove crabs from three recreational crab pots near his pier, one more than state regulations allow landowners adjoining state waterways. As the officer talked to Geho, he learned that the landowner had 21 crab pots adjacent to his pier. Upon checking the pots, the officer saw that they did not have Turtle Excluder Devices to prevent turtles from entering the pots or cull rings to allow small crabs to escape the internal compartments. In addition, the officer learned that Geho had not registered his pots, which is free and required by the state.

A court date has preliminarily been set for Oct. 21 in Anne Arundel County District Court in Annapolis.

A Severna Park man was charged with unsafe operation of a personal watercraft on Deep Creek Lake that led to a collision and injury.

Michael Vincent Campbell, 23, received a citation Aug. 27 for operating at a speed greater than 6 knots within 100 feet of another vessel. The accident happened at about 10:30 a.m. A witness said Campbell attempted to turn his rented personal watercraft away from another personal watercraft that was not moving, but crashed into it instead.

The victim, Benjamin Bouma, 24, of Millersville, was taken to Garrett Regional Medical Center in Oakland for treatment of a fractured and lacerated left foot. Damage to Bouma’s rented personal watercraft was estimated at $2,431.

Campbell’s trial is scheduled for Nov. 10 in Garrett County District Court.

Officers on patrol Tuesday night on the Monocacy River in Frederick County charged a Silver Spring man with illegal fishing.

Francisco Mauricio Zelaya, 46, was stopped shortly before 9 p.m. as he attempted to leave the Park Mills boat ramp, part of the Monocacy Natural Resources Management Area, which closes at sunset.

He attempted to evade the officers, but finally stopped. Zelaya told officers he had not been fishing and did not have any fish in his van. He then allowed officers to check his cooler, which contained sunfish, catfish and 11 smallmouth bass. That stretch of the river is designated for catch-and-return of largemouth and smallmouth bass, so possession is illegal. Ten of the 11 smallmouth bass measured under the 12-inch minimum size.

Zelaya is due in Frederick County District Court Oct. 12. If found guilty, he could be fined as much as $1,000.