NRP Notified of Imposter

Annapolis, Md. (February 3, 2012) – The Maryland Natural Resources Police (NRP) was notified that one of the waterman police officers charged on Friday for oyster violations was using someone else’s name and tidal fish license without permission.

Mason T. Coursey, 19 of Centreville, notified NRP after seeing his name in the media that someone had used his identification. He was accused of illegally diving for oysters in a restricted area of the Little Choptank. Coursey told police that someone else had illegally used his tidal fish license and gave it to the Officers during the incident. Coursey had kept his license on a boat and the imposter found it.

Officers have identified the imposter and are pursuing the investigation. The initial incident occurred when Officers found four people diving for oysters in a restricted area, on Friday at around 9 a.m. The other three people NRP charged were Bryan R. Grimes, 36 of Chester, Edward E. Grimes, 61 of Stevensville, and Christopher L. Marvel, 19 of Grasonville. A trial is set for the watermen who were illegally harvesting oysters for April 18 in the District Court of Maryland for Dorchester County.

Note: If you choose to use an acronym, please refer to the Maryland Natural Resources Police as “NRP.” Thank you.

The Maryland Natural Resources Police is the enforcement arm of the Department of Natural Resources (DNR). With an authorized strength of 247 officers and a dedicated staff of civilian and volunteer personnel, the NRP provide a variety of services in addition to conservation, maritime and 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.

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources is the state agency responsible for providing natural and living resource-related services to citizens and visitors. DNR manages nearly one-half million 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 11 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