Fishermen stuffed fish with weights at tournament, officials say. Now they’re charged
_fitted.png "Two fishermen were caught cheating at a fishing tournament in Ohio when the event organizer found weights and fish filets (pictured above) inside their fish.")
Fish caught during an Ohio fishing tournament weighed in heavier than they appeared — catching the eye of the event organizer.
That’s why organizer Jason Fischer sliced open and gutted the fish caught by two anglers at the Lake Erie Walleye Trail tournament on Sept. 30, McClatchy News reported.
Weights spilled out from the fish caught by Jake Runyan and Chase Cominsky as the crowd cursed and made threats, video shows. (Warning: Strong language)
The duo had competed together as a team in hopes of catching the five heaviest walleye in Lake Erie.
Their team was “immediately disqualified and instructed to leave the tournament” and police were called, according to Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael C. O’Malley.
Not only did the two lose their shot at the $28,760 grand prize, but now they also face criminal charges in the Ohio county.
“I take all crime very seriously, and I believe what these two individuals attempted to do was not only dishonorable but also criminal,” O’Malley said in an Oct. 12 news release.
A grand jury indicted Runyan, 42, and Cominsky, 35, on the following charges:
- Cheating, a fifth-degree felony
Attempted grand theft, a fifth-degree felony
- Possessing criminal tools, a fifth-degree felony
- Unlawful ownership of wild animals, a fourth-degree misdemeanor
The last charge — unlawful ownership of wild animals — is connected to fish filets found on their boat used during the tournament, officials said.
Each felony in the fifth degree carries a maximum sentence of one year in prison and a $2,500 fine, officials said. The misdemeanor can yield up to 30 days in jail and a $250 fine.
Authorities said they have seized Cominsky’s boat — used in the tournament — and his trailer.
Runyan and Cominsky will be arraigned in Cuyahoga County. A date had not been scheduled as of Oct. 12.
In the video in which Runyan and Cominsky were accused of cheating, they said nothing of the accusations.
Others, though, wondered if they have cheated before.
They placed first in 2021’s Lake Erie Fall Brawl, and would have walked away with more than $100,000 in winnings, until they were disqualified because one of the men failed a polygraph test, the Toledo Blade reported.
“Disgusted guys and gals, I’m sorry for letting you down for so long and I’m glad I caught cheating taking place in YOUR LEWT at the same time,” Fischer said in a Facebook post. “I hope you know now that when I say ‘you built this LEWT and I will defend its integrity at all costs’, I mean it. You all deserve the best.”
This story was originally published October 13, 2022 at 10:33 AM with the headline "Fishermen stuffed fish with weights at tournament, officials say. Now they’re charged."