Natural Resources Police Report — November 2021

The Maryland Natural Resources Police (NRP) charged numerous individuals in November for conservation law violations including striped bass poaching and illegal deer hunting. 

A Pennsylvania man faces charges after police say he falsely obtained a hunting license and committed other deer hunting violations. On Nov. 27, officers were checking a Baltimore County property for illegal hunting activity when they observed an all-terrain vehicle ridden by two armed individuals wearing camouflage. Police spoke with one passenger, identified as Christopher Gunter Jr., and conducted a weapon safety check. Officers said Gunter was using an illegal caliber rifle. When police asked Gunter for his identification, hunting license, and written permission, he provided only his Pennsylvania identification. When asked if he had a non-resident permit, Gunter said he had a Maryland resident license, which police say he falsely obtained. Officers seized Gunter’s rifle and issued him citations for hunting on private lands without written permission, possessing a loaded firearm in a vehicle, using a rifle without using straight-walled cartridges for hunting deer, and falsifying a statement to obtain a hunting license. Gunter faces up to $1,500 in fines. 

A Carroll County man was charged with several deer hunting violations after police received a tip. Officers were informed that Michael Strine Jr., 18, had illegally harvested nine antlered deer since August 2021 and failed to check in some of the deer as required. According to police, Strine was hunting under a crop damage permit on a property in Westminster. However, the permit only allowed the harvest of three antlered deer between Oct. 26 and Nov. 24. Strine also shot one antlered deer with a crossbow but did not possess a bow stamp for the 2021 season, police said. After locating Strine, officers charged him with multiple hunting violations, including hunting without a license, failing to report the kill of deer to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, and failing to tag deer before moving while hunting under a deer management permit. He faces up to $1,500 in fines. 

Police charged a Prince George’s County man with illegally harvesting striped bass in Dorchester County on Nov. 6. Officers on patrol observed Capitol Heights resident Willian Antonio Arias Franco, 34, fishing on the Fishing Creek Bridge on Hoopers Island. After Franco left the bridge and got into his vehicle, police initiated a conservation stop. During a consensual search, police say they located seven undersized striped bass. Franco was charged with illegally possessing undersized striped bass and violating limit restrictions of having striped bass while fishing. He faces up to $500 in fines if convicted.  

Four Montgomery County men were charged with poaching striped bass at Kent Narrows in Queen Anne’s County. Police on patrol Nov. 7 observed four people fishing on the NRP’s boat docks. During their investigation, officers learned that the men had undersized striped bass located in a 5-gallon bucket next to them. Police also conducted a consensual search of the vehicle and discovered eight fish hidden underneath the rear passenger seat. Charged were Silver Spring residents Alvaro Luis Macario Garcia, 35; Aroldo Fernando Macario Garcia, 26; ​​Dany Garcia Hernandez, 25; and Cristian Hamilt Gabriel Romero, 30. Each man was cited for multiple fishing violations. They also face up to $3,000 in fines.