Natural Resources Police Handle Bear, Oyster and Striper Cases

Bear baiting, and oyster and striped bass poaching cases highlighted enforcement actions taken this week by the Maryland Natural Resources Police.

In Garrett County, three men were charged with illegal hunting on Monday, the opening day of black bear season.

Officers found Michael Aaron Gezelle, 49, of Woodbine, and John Nelson Lester, 71, of Sykesville, hunting over several areas baited with dog food, peanut butter, pastries and a fresh deer carcass.

A third man, Timothy Jerry Kvech, 49, of Woodbine, was charged with aiding and abetting illegal hunting after he acknowledged he assisted in baiting his Oakland property.

The men are scheduled to appear in Garrett County District Court Jan. 19. The maximum fine is $1,500.

In Washington County, a Smithsburg man was charged with illegal bear hunting on Monday after an officer identified a baited area and trial camera about a week before the season and again near the start of the season.

Brent Andrew Corbin, 27, was issued a citation when he was seen climbing into a tree stand with a compound bow and a .450-caliber pistol with a scope just 15 yards from a pile of tubes of ground beef, feed and corn.

A date has not been set in Garrett County District Court. The violation carries a $1,500 maximum fine.

Also in Garrett County, officers on surveillance this morning, the final day of the bear season, caught a hunter aiming a rifle in the direction of a pile of shelled corn.

Kelly William Seal III, 43, of Freeland, will be charged Nov. 4 with hunting with the aid of bait, possessing a rifle after being convicted of a violent crime, possessing a rifle after being convicted of a disqualifying crime and illegal possession of ammunition.

A court date in Garrett County District Court has not been set. If found guilty of all charges, he could be fined as much as $3,500 and sentenced to a maximum prison term of 15 years.

In Frederick County, officers found a baited area and a trail camera overlooking the site a week before the start of the season and saw it had been freshly baited with corn two days before opening day.

An officer returned before dawn on opening day and watched as Chad Barrick, 37, of Walkersville, approached, walked beyond the baited area and settled with his rifle on a rock overlooking it.

Using a range finder, the officer concluded that Barrick was 85 yards from the bait pile, well short of the required 150-yard minimum. In addition to the baiting charge, he received a citation for failing tom carry a second form of identification and received a warning for failing to wear the required amount of fluorescent orange.

Barrick is scheduled to appear in Frederick County District Court Dec. 8.

A Wicomico County waterman was charged Tuesday with harvesting and selling oysters on a suspended state tidal fish license.

Vaughn Edward Collins, 46, of Tyaskin, received a citation after an officer found that he sold 12 bushels of oysters to Southern Connection Seafood for $504 in Nanticoke Harbor.

Acting on information from the Maryland State Police, the officer collected the buy ticket and the purchase order and interviewed the mate aboard Collins’s work boat, Ali-Bri.

Collins was prohibited by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources from engaging in any commercial fishing activities from Oct. 17 to Nov. 15.

In February 2015, Collins and another waterman were caught inside the Nanticoke River Oyster Sanctuary.

Both men were charged with illegal oyster harvesting more than 150 feet inside a sanctuary; harvesting oysters before legal hours; possessing oysters onboard a vessel between two hours after sunset and before sunrise; being over the daily harvest limit; failing to tag oysters; and two charges each of possessing unculled oysters at 40 percent below legal size. Collins also was cited for operating a vessel without running lights. The 32 bushels of oysters aboard his boat were returned to the sanctuary and the dredge was seized.

In 2014, Collins was found guilty of setting commercial crab pots in a prohibited area in Wicomico County and was fined $395. He is scheduled to stand trial in January for possession of undersized blue crabs.

Collins is scheduled to appear in Wicomico County District Court Dec. 6. As a second-time offender, he must appear. The maximum penalty is a $1,000 fine and/or on year in jail.

Three Prince George’s County men were charged with poaching striped bass shortly after midnight Thursday by officers on surveillance in Dorchester County.

Rigoberto Melendez Galdamez, 46, of Laurel, Oseas Daniel Roque, 33, of Hyattsville, and Juan Jose Santos Peneda, 59, of Bowie, were each issued citations for exceeding their limit of striped bass and for possessing undersized striped bass. Seventeen of the 21 fish measured were undersized.

Officers stopped a car driven by Galdamez for motor vehicle violations as it left the area near Ferry Bridge on Hooper Island. The location has been the scene of a great deal of illegal recreational fishing activity this year.

The three men are due in Dorchester County District Court Jan. 18. The pre-payable fine is $125 for each violation. However, Pineda, who had 11 undersized fish, must appear in court and faces a maximum fine of $1,500.