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Maryland Natural Resources Police Blotter
Talbot County – On Sunday, Feb. 24, at 5 p.m., the Maryland Natural Resources Police charged Edward Bruce Lowery Jr., 42, of Tilghman with multiple fishing violations.
Lowery was charged after NRP inspected his commercial fishing vessel in Dogwood Harbor. During the inspection, the officer found more gill net onboard than allowed and that Lowery had exceeded the daily harvest limit of striped bass.
Maryland regulations prohibit using or maintaining on a vessel, more than 600-yards of gill net per licensed fisherman and prohibit the harvesting of more than 500-pounds of striped bass per day per licensee; however an overage of 10-percent is allowed.
NRP seized as evidence 245-pounds of striped bass and issued Lowery citations for possessing in excess of 600-yards of net per licensee and exceeding 10-percent of allocation for striped bass.
Washington County – On Tuesday, Feb. 26, Aaron Michael Haines, 21, Courtney Lynn Beers, 20, both of Chambersburg, Pa. and Travis Westley Haines, 18, of Hagerstown pleaded guilty in Washington County District Court to casting rays of artificial light on fields or woodland while having a weapon in possession capable of killing deer and hunting at nighttime. Aaron Haines pleaded guilty to shooting on, from or across a roadway and Travis Haines pleaded guilty to possession of a loaded weapon in a vehicle.
The charges stemmed from a Dec. 29, 2007 incident where Maryland Natural Resources Police initiated a traffic stop after observing the truck the three occupied spotlight a field along Route 56. During the course of the stop, NRP located and seized as evidence two .50 caliber muzzle loading rifles, one .270 caliber rifle, one .300 Winchester Magnum caliber rifle, and ammunition for all four firearms, a hand held spotlight and a headlamp.
The three individuals were sentenced to perform 75 hours of community service, issued a 5-year suspension of their Maryland hunting privileges and all seized equipment was forfeited to the State. Each was fined $2,500; however, all fines were suspended in court.
Worcester County – On Thursday, Feb. 21, at 6:20 p.m., the Maryland Natural Resources Police charged a Whaleyville man with hunting violations on Blueberry Road, near Whaleyville.
NRP charged Jerry Wayne Miller Jr., 22, of Whaleyville with hunting deer during closed season, failure to field tag deer and possession of untagged deer parts. NRP responded to the area after receiving a report from a concerned citizen of illegal hunting activity. Officers located Miller’s truck and deer after conducting a search of the area. A court date of April 11 has been scheduled for Miller in Worcester County District Court.
March 3, 2008 Contact: Sgt. Ken Turner
410-260-8003 office I 443-534-5598 cell
kturner@dnr.state.md.usThe 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