Natural Resources Police Blotter

Trees covered in peanut butter to attract bears

The Maryland Natural Resources Police charged nine men in Garrett and Allegany counties with illegal bear and deer hunting in separate incidents.

Three men were cited Monday by officers with illegal hunting on the first day of the state’s black bear season.

Robert Read Batchelor, 49, of Silver Spring, and Donald Wayne Truax, 25, and Harvey Richard Cockrell, 79, both of Falls Church, Va., received citations for bear hunting with the aid of bait.

Officers found the men shortly after 7 a.m. on private property near Deer Park in Garrett County. Several locations on the property were baited with corn and peanut butter.

The three men are scheduled to appear in Garrett District Court on Dec. 10. If found guilty, they each could be fined up to $1,500.

_____________

Also on Monday, three Baltimore County men were charged with hunting bear over bait and hunting in a Chronic Wasting Disease area in Allegany County.

Walter Josef Gischel, 52, of Dundalk, and Allan Wayne Cecil, 47, and Brad Christopher Myers, 25, both of Essex, were caught hunting on land off Bear Creek Road in Flintstone that had been baited with corn, apples and mineral blocks.

The trio is scheduled to appear in Allegany District Court on Dec. 22. If found guilty, they each could be fined a maximum of $750.

_____________

On Saturday, a Baltimore man was charged with illegal possession of a firearm, illegal hunting and drug possession.

Officers found an untagged deer on private property off Swanton Hill Road. Just then, Andrew Milton Demski, 36,  came out of the woods and acknowledged he had killed the deer. While searching his hunting cabin, officers found a 12-guage shotgun. A baggie containing marijuana and a pipe were found in Demski’s pants pocket.

A check showed that Demski was convicted of second-degree assault in 2004 and prohibited from possessing firearms. Officers seized the shotgun and will file an application for a statement of charges for firearms possession by a felon.

_____________

On Sunday in Garrett County, two Oakland men were issued 14 citations for multiple hunting offenses and had two rifles and three deer seized by officers.

Acting on a tip, officers found Andrew James Jenkins, 22,  about to butcher a deer and found parts of two more on the property. None of the deer had been tagged.

Jenkins was charged with three counts of hunt deer during closed season, two counts of hunting from a roadway, hunting deer at night, casting rays of light with an implement (jacklighting), hunting from a vehicle, removing the head/hide before check in, and having a loaded weapon in a vehicle. He received warnings for hunting without a license and failing to field tag deer.

His hunting partner, Aaron Scott Kisner, 20, was issued citations for casting rays of light with an implement (jacklighting), possession of firearm-killed deer during a closed season, hunting from a vehicle, and hunting deer at night.

The rifles are being held pending disposition by the court. The deer were donated to charity.

Jenkins and Kisner are scheduled to appear in Garrett District Court on Jan. 13.