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Walleye fishermen accused of cheating indicted on felony charges

Oct 13, 2022

The fishing scandal that fascinated the nation last week is entering its courtroom phase.

After Jacob Runyan, 42, of Ashtabula, Ohio, and Chase Cominsky, 35, of Hermitage, Pennsylvania, were accused of cheating during a fishing tournament on Lake Erie, a Cleveland grand jury indicted them on fifth-degree felony charges of cheating, attempted grand theft and possessing criminal tools. In addition, the two have been served with the first-degree misdemeanor charge of unlawful ownership of wild animals.

Runyan and Cominsky were accused of stuffing the walleye they brought as their tournament catch with lead sinkers and fillets, discovered when a tournament organizer weighed the fish and saw them come in at far more than an expected weight. A close inspection of the fish, followed by an on-the-spot dissection, proved that the fish were indeed illegally stuffed.

Source: Yahoo Sports

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