Deer and Striped Bass Poachers Charged

Deer and striped bass poaching cases topped the cases handled in recent days by the officers of the Maryland Natural Resources Police.

Two Baltimore area men were charged Monday afternoon with multiple counts of illegal hunting in Anne Arundel County and had their shotguns seized.

Acting on a tip, officers found Eric Michael Nelson, 26, of Hanover and Dominic Salvatore Umstot, 19, of Elkridge, hunting in the woods off Family Areas Road in Hanover.

Neither man had a Maryland hunting license nor did they have written permission to hunt on private property. They were deer hunting with shotguns during archery season and had not purchased a bow hunting stamp. Neither man was wearing fluorescent orange for safety. Additionally, Nelson was in possession of drug paraphernalia.

Each man received five citations and two warnings. They will be scheduled for a hearing in Anne Arundel County District Court. If found guilty, they could each be fined as much as $1,550.

Officers on overnight surveillance in Dorchester County Friday and Saturday caught six recreational anglers poaching striped bass.

On Friday, officers saw two men catching fish near Fishing Creek Bridge and stopped their vehicle as they drove away. Inside, they found 86 undersized striped bass.

Martin Majano, 41, of Walkersville and Jose Osmar Martinez Gonzales, 44, of Gaithersburg, were each charged with keeping undersized striped bass and keeping striped bass under the legal minimum size of 20 inches.

Both men must appear in Dorchester County District Court. Their court date is Jan. 18. The maximum penalty for each man is $3,000.

On Saturday, four people were charged with illegal fishing in the same area after officers stopped their vehicle and found six fish inside.

Lila Del Carmen Hernandez, 54, of Washington, D.C., Idalia Elizabeth Hernandez, 30 and Roberto Carlos Fuentes Joya, 28, both of Beltsville and Jose Maria Hernandez Alberto, 54, of Silver Spring, were each charged with keeping undersized fish, exceeding the daily creel limit and keeping striped bass between midnight and 5 a.m.

They all are scheduled to appear in Dorchester County District Court Feb. 15, where they could be fined as much as $1,500 for each offense.

Five Montgomery County men were charged with poaching striped bass Thursday by officers on overnight patrol in Kent Narrows.

The men, aboard a recreational boat, were stopped as they returned to the public boat ramp on Kent Island. A search found 17 fish, 16 of them under the legal minimum size of 20 inches, hidden away. The largest and only legal striped bass was 20 1/2 inches and the smallest was 12 1/4 inches.

Silver Spring residents Evaristo Hernandez-Ortiz, 44; Gilberto Anibal Contreras, 33; Juan Cristino Jonguitud, 36; and Rene Alexis Salvador, 28, and Rockville resident Carlos Mario Sanchez, 28, each were charged with keeping undersized striped bass, exceeding the daily creel limit and keeping striped bass between midnight and 5 a.m.

If the five men choose to plead guilty and pay their fines in advance of their Queen Anne’s County District Court date, their combined penalties will total $2,025. If they go to court and are found guilty, they could be fined a maximum of $1,000 per offense.