1 year ago
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A brace of fishermen astatine the halfway of a cheating ungraded that rocked the satellite of athletics sportfishing past period were indicted Wednesday connected aggregate felonies, accused of stuffing their drawback with metallic weights astatine an Ohio tourney successful an effort to triumph tens of thousands of dollars successful prize money.
Jacob Runyan, 42, and Chase Cominsky, 35, were indicted successful Cleveland connected felony charges of cheating, attempted expansive theft, possessing transgression tools and misdemeanor charges of unlawfully owning chaotic animals.
Neither Runyan nor Cominsky instantly replied to requests for remark from The Washington Post. Court records bash not yet database attorneys for the men.
The indictments stem from the Lake Erie Walleye Trail sportfishing tournament’s last title contention connected Sept. 30. Runyan and Cominsky, a two-man sportfishing team, appeared to person won the one-day lawsuit successful Cleveland, having submitted 5 food that weighed successful astatine astir 34 pounds. That drawback besides would person secured them team-of-the-year honors — and astir $30,000 — since they’d won aggregate different events implicit the past fewer months.
But tourney manager Jason Fischer told The Post successful the days aft the tourney that helium grew suspicious erstwhile Runyan and Cominsky’s drawback was officially weighed and the standard topped 30 pounds. Eyeballing the entry, Fischer had estimated the acceptable of 5 food would travel successful astir 20 pounds.
“It conscionable benignant of deflated me, due to the fact that I conscionable knew it wasn’t right,” Fischer told The Post.
Acting connected his hunch, Fischer grabbed 1 of the food and felt thing hard successful its stomach. He past chopped unfastened the dormant walleye and made a startling discovery.
“We got weights successful fish!” Fischer shouted, pulling retired 1 of 10 weights that would beryllium recovered successful Runyan and Cominsky’s entry.
As Runyan stood red-faced conscionable a fewer feet away, Fischer disqualified him and Cominsky successful melodramatic fashion, according to a one-minute video that Fischer shared with The Post.
“Get retired of here!” the tourney manager barked, utilizing a curse connection to stress the point.
Fishermen Jacob Runyan and Chase Cominsky were disqualified from a sportfishing tourney successful Cleveland connected Sept. 30 aft allegedly stuffing their food with weights. (Video: Jackson Barton, Sarah Parnass/The Washington Post)
After Runyan and Cominsky’s disqualification, tourney organizers contacted the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, spokeswoman Stephanie O’Grady told The Post earlier this month. Wildlife officers went to the lawsuit site, wherever they collected evidence, and began moving connected a study for the Cuyahoga County prosecutor’s office.
Runyan and Cominsky are scheduled to beryllium arraigned successful Cuyahoga County transgression tribunal connected Oct. 26.
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