Natural Resources Police Handle Fisheries and Wildlife Cases

Maryland Natural Resources Police officers made three fisheries cases, charged a deer poacher and cited a man for dumping and burning rubbish on state land in recent enforcement action.

Three Somerset County men were charged Sunday with multiple counts of illegal harvesting from state waters and falsifying records to hide their activity.

Paul Franklin Tyler III, 31, Mark Nelson Sneade, 39, and Rodney William Burke, 37, all of Crisfield, face prison time and thousands of dollars in fines on charges they harvested oysters without a license.

After a nearly two-month investigation, officers determined that all three men were selling oysters to Southern Connection Seafood in Crisfield, using the active harvest license numbers of other watermen on shellfish sales records.

Tyler III, who had his oyster harvesting privileges permanently revoked by the state in April, partnered with Sneade to take oysters at night from the Kitts Creek Oyster Sanctuary in Pocomoke Sound. Burke acted alone in making 12 illegal sales.

Tyler was charged with four counts of fishing while under revocation. Each count carries a maximum fine of $25,000.

He and Sneade also were charged with two counts each of: conspiracy to commit perjury, willfully making a false entry in a public record, oyster harvesting without a license, failing to pay the tidal fishing license surcharge, harvesting in an oyster sanctuary, harvesting oysters outside legal hours, having oysters aboard a vessel overnight, and failing to supply necessary information to the buyer. The cumulative maximum penalty is 13 years in prison and fines of $16,000.

Burke was charged with one count each of: conspiracy to commit perjury, willfully making a false entry in a public record, oyster harvesting without a license, failing to pay the tidal fishing license surcharge, and failing to supply necessary information to the buyer. The cumulative maximum penalty is 13 years in prison and $3,000 in fines.

Tyler and Sneade are scheduled for a preliminary hearing Friday in Somerset County District Court. Burke, who was already in custody, was committed on a $15,000 bond. His trial is set for March 14 in Somerset County District Court.

An Allegany County man was charged Saturday with dumping and burning rubbish on state-owned land and was ordered to clean up the area.

Acting on a tip, officers found Steven Mark Nicol, 50, a 16-year-old male and a 17-year-old male, all from Lonaconing, burning rubbish at the end of Miller Road at Dan’s Mountain Wildlife Management Area.

Nicol said he was being paid to empty a shed and the two juveniles were working for him. He volunteered that he had brought two loads to the site. Officers found books, glass, metal, fiberglass and other materials in the fire and other materials in a nearby pond.

He did not have a burning permit from the county health department or the state.

Nicol was charged with dumping on state-owned land and setting a fire without a permit. The juveniles received written warnings. They were given 24 hours to clean up the land and water.

He is scheduled to appear in Allegany County District Court March 27. If found guilty of both charges, he could be fined $750.

A Carroll County man received six citations and 14 written warnings Thursday for deer poaching and antlers from two bucks were seized as evidence.

William Thomas Ramsay, 50, of Sykesville, was charged with two counts of failing to check in deer; two counts for exceeding the antlered deer bag limit, on count of failing to purchase muzzleloader stamp, and one count for failing to purchase a bonus antlered deer stamp. He also received eight written warnings for failing to record deer kill on the state Big Game Harvest Record; four warnings for failing to check in deer kill and two warnings for exceeding bag limit of antlered deer.

An officer on patrol in Patapsco Valley State Park noticed Ramsay walking his dog while holding an open can of beer. While writing a warning for having alcohol, the officer and Ramsay talked about the deer hunting season and Ramsay volunteered that he had killed a buck and three does.

While checking Ramsay’s deer check-in record later, the officer noticed that Ramsay had recorded just one buck and one doe. The doe was checked in during muzzleloader season, but Ramsay had not purchased a muzzleloader stamp.

The officer interviewed Ramsay at his home and learned that he had killed five or six bucks on his property to curb crop damage. The officer seized the skulls of an 8-point buck and a 9-point buck.

A hearing date in Carroll County District Court has not been set.

A Pennsylvania man was arrested last Wednesday night and charged with impaired driving after an officer on patrol saw him driving erratically on Route 66.

Jason Michael Goulet, 35, of Fayetteville, was charged with five counts of driving while impaired. All offenses require him to appear in Washington County District Court. A hearing date has not been set.

An officer pulled Goulet over after seeing his black sedan cross the double yellow line 6 times and the white line 7 times while northbound near Route 64. While questioning Goulet in his vehicle, the officer smelled alcohol on his breath.

Goulet failed a standardized field sobriety test and was arrested. He agreed to take a Breathalyzer test, which indicated he had a blood alcohol content of 0.11, well above the state legal limit of 0.08.