NRP Blotter

Two men were charged with poaching 35 striped bass off Kent Narrows

Two men were charged on Saturday by a Maryland Natural Resources Police officer with poaching 35 striped bass while fishing from a boat off Kent Narrows.

Alexis Gustavo Corrales Osorio, 24, of Davidsonville, and Elvis Jose Corrales Rodas, 35, of Alexandria, Va., were charged with fishing without a Chesapeake Bay sport fishing license, exceeding the daily limit, keeping undersized striped bass and possessing striped bass between midnight and 5 a.m.

The officer saw the two men fishing, asked to check their cooler and found the illegal catch.

Osorio and Rodas are scheduled to appear in Queen Anne’s District Court on Nov. 19. If found guilty of all charges, each man could be fined as much as $4,000.

Frederick County

NRP is investigating a hunting accident on Saturday that hospitalized a Knoxville man with back and neck injuries.

Patrick Wade Knight, 50, fell 22 feet from his tree stand off Monocacy Bottom Road. Frederick County Fire and Rescue and the Carroll Manor Fire Co. brought the injured hunter down the Monocacy River in an airboat to the Monocacy Natural Resource Management Area boat ramp. From there, Knight was taken to Suburban Hospital in Montgomery County for treatment.

It was the first reported accident of Maryland’s hunting season.

Wicomico County

NRP officers seized more than 30 firearms and ammunition Saturday from the Salisbury home of a man convicted of a felony.

John George Dimarhos, 36, was charged with seven felony and seven misdemeanor counts of illegal possession of firearms and ammunition. He was released Sunday on bond from the Wicomico County Detention Center.

An NRP officer checking hunters on Sept. 1, the opening day of dove season, encountered Dimarhos. A records check showed that on April 20, 2005, Dimarhos pleaded guilty to aggravated assault in Cuyahoga (Ohio) County Court. He was sentenced to a year’s probation.

State and federal laws prohibit felons from owning firearms and ammunition unless they have gotten their record expunged or civil rights restored. Licensed dealers are barred from selling guns to felons.

A court date in Wicomico County has not been set. Each felony charge carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison. Each misdemeanor charge carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison.

The investigation is continuing.

Montgomery County

On Friday, NRP officers assisted Montgomery County Animal Control in corralling a 3-foot alligator found in a backyard pond in Brookeville.

A homeowner saw the alligator in his koi pond and called for help around 10 a.m. Officers drained the pond, caught the alligator and placed it in a crate.

It was taken by NRP to the Catoctin Wildlife Preserve and Zoo in Frederick County.

It is illegal to possess or sell alligators in Maryland. The violation is subject to a $1,000 fine.

NRP has seized nine alligators this year.

Cecil County

A man and his dog escaped injury when the 36-foot cabin cruiser they were on caught fire and sunk Saturday afternoon in the North East River.

Douglas Shirk of Elizabethtown, Pa., sent out a Mayday call at about 12:30, when smoke began pouring from his cabin cruiser, Good Time Girl. A good Samaritan rescued the boater and his dog.

Susquehanna Hose Co. of Havre de Grace put the fire out and Sea Tow arrived to bring the damaged vessel ashore. But despite efforts, the vessel sank shortly before 1:30 p.m. near Cara Cove.

Sea Tow recovered and towed a 200-gallon fuel tank to the Charlestown boat ramp. The Maryland Department of the Environment and the Coast Guard were notified.

The cause of the fire is not known. The investigation is continuing.

Worcester County

A 20-foot fishing boat was destroyed by fire Friday morning as it was being launched at the 94^th Street dock by two Laurel men.

Theodore Smith Jr., 71, and his grandson, Travis Smith, 22, said they heard a “pop” as they started the engine and then saw flames leaping from the  console. As the fire rapidly spread, they pushed the boat away from the dock and into deeper water.

An Ocean City Fire Department boat extinguished the flames, but the boat was a total loss. Neither boater was injured.

The city’s fire marshal and NRP are reviewing the accident.