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Maryland Natural Resources Police Blotter
Carroll County – On Thursday, September 6, Gary Allen Groves, 35, of Sykesville pleaded guilty in Carroll County District Court to taxidermy and hunting charges that were filed by the Maryland Natural Resources Police (NRP) in July. Groves is the owner of Running Wild Taxidermy.
The investigation started when NRP received a report of a whitetail deer head for sale on E-Bay. Groves had not obtained the necessary documentation permitting him to sell the deer head.
With the exception of migratory game birds, a licensed taxidermist with written approval of the Department for each specimen may sell or dispose of any tanned, cured or mounted specimen legally acquired but unclaimed by the customer within 30 days after written notice to the customer by certified mail.
A subsequent inspection of his business uncovered multiple record keeping violations, untagged specimens, violation of the total possession limit for ducks, and inconsistent dates of harvest as recorded on Groves’ big game harvest record.
Groves was charged under the taxidermist and fur tanner's license requirements for failing to meet the requirements to sell or dispose of any tanned cured, or mounted specimen legally acquired but unclaimed by the customer, and for failing to keep and maintain records. He was also charged with possessing wild waterfowl in excess of federal and state limits, and failing to fill out a big game harvest record.
As part of a plea agreement, Groves pleaded guilty to failing to meet the taxidermist and fur tanner's license requirements, failing to keep and maintain records, and the charge of possessing wild waterfowl in excess of federal and state limits. He was fined a total of $935 and forfeited the waterfowl and animals that were illegal to possess.
Dorchester County – On Sunday, September 9, the Maryland Natural Resources Police charged Michael Shane Shockley, 31, of Preston with operating a commercial seafood business without a license.
The charges were the result of an investigation stemming from a traffic stop that occurred in August, when NRP stopped a seafood truck for displaying expired registration plates. A check of the tidal fish license (TFL) identification numbers displayed on the truck came back invalid.A commercial licensee must display the TFL identification number on every vessel, vehicle, gear or place of business that is used in the commercial activity.
A court date of Nov. 26 has been scheduled for Shockley in Dorchester County District Court.
Garrett County – On Saturday, September 8, at 1:45 a.m., the Maryland Natural Resources Police charged Gerald Edwards Downs II, 50, of Boonsboro with driving while intoxicated in Swallow Falls State Park.
NRP was in the area after hearing a complaint through the Garrett County Sheriff’s Office of a vehicle operating in a reckless manner. NRP located Downs in a vehicle matching the description of the complaint in the parking lot at the Youghiogheny River Bridge off of Swallow Falls Road.
After taking field sobriety tests, Downs was placed under arrest and transported to the Maryland State Police McHenry Barrack. Downs took a breath test, which showed a blood alcohol concentration of .08 percent. He was charged with driving a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol per se, driving a motor vehicle while impaired by alcohol, driving a motor vehicle while impaired by drugs or drugs and alcohol, and entering lands owned or managed by the Maryland Park Service after posted hours of closing to public use. He was released on his signature.
Queen Anne’s County – On Saturday, September 8, at 2 a.m., the Maryland Natural Resources Police charged four men with multiple striped bass violations at Kent Narrows.
NRP stopped Franklin Adali Rubio, 28, of Silver Spring for allegedly operating his vessel without the proper navigational lights displayed. The officer uncovered 40 undersized striped bass ranging in size from 5 to 16 inches in length from the vessel.
Rubio and his three passengers, Jose Olman Rubio-Perez, 26, of Lanham, Yony Amilcar Rosales, 34, of Hyattsville and Marlin Mauricio Rodriguez, 30, of Takoma Park, were each charged with possession of undersized striped bass, exceeding the daily catch limit for striped bass, and violating time restrictions for possession of striped bass while fishing.
Perez, Rosales and Rodriguez were also charged with fishing without a Chesapeake Bay Sport fishing license. Rubio was also charged for operating a vessel between the hours of sunset and sunrise without proper navigation lights and failure to possess a certificate of boating safety education.
Queen Anne’s County – On Sunday, September 9, at 2 p.m. the Maryland Natural Resources Police investigated a personal watercraft (PWC) accident that occurred north of Matapeake on the Chesapeake Bay.
Jeremy Dussan, 22, of Germantown was charged with exceeding 6 knots within 100 feet of another vessel. Dussan and a 15-year old Rockville boy were operating separate PWCs northbound when Dussan allegedly altered his course and turned into the path of the 15-year old. The boy was transported to Anne Arundel Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries.
NRP reminds persons operating personal watercraft within 100 feet of the shore, wharfs, piers, pilings, jetties, bridge structures or abutments, an individual or individuals in the water, and other vessels may not exceed a speed of 6 knots at any time.
September 12, 2007The Maryland Natural Resources Police (NRP) is the enforcement arm of the Department of Natural Resources (DNR). With an authorized strength of 280 officers and a dedicated staff of civilian and volunteer personnel, the NRP provide a variety of services in addition to conservation and boating law enforcement duties throughout the State of Maryland. These services include homeland security, search and rescue, emergency medical services, education, information and communications services on a round the clock basis. NRP is the only police force aside from the Maryland State Police that has statewide jurisdiction.
Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is the state agency responsible for providing natural and living resource-related services to citizens and visitors. DNR manages more than 449,000 acres of public lands and 17,000 miles of waterways, along with Maryland's forests, fisheries and wildlife for maximum environmental, economic and quality of life benefits. A national leader in land conservation, DNR-managed parks and natural, historic and cultural resources attract 12 million visitors annually. DNR is the lead agency in Maryland's effort to restore the Chesapeake Bay, the state's number one environmental priority. Learn more at www.dnr.maryland.gov