[Walleye Pete]

I was just lurking around the Maryland Judiciary site after seeing the below guys listed in the DNR site for being charged with some violations on Dec 18 on the chester river.
If this was already brought to the attention of TF folks I appologize for bringing it back but man......the rap on Dierker and Ashley is UN Freak'in Bu Lievable. I did a search on Dierker and Ashley and couldn't believe how many violations they each have on the water directly connected to poaching Stripers with unmarked, anchored gill nets ect.., and lots of oyster violations and Ashley has been in the pokey for quite the drug stuff. How can these guys be let on the water on any commercial boat anywhere? Only in Maryland? I'm confused.......


Daniel L. Dierker, 30, William M. Ashley III, 30, and Anthony Vandewal, 42, all of Rock Hall were each charged with fishing for striped bass with gill net during restricted time; unlawful use of anchored gill net; improperly marking gill nets and unattended gill nets in the Chester River near Piney Point.

The three men were allegedly fishing gill nets during the pre-dawn hours of Dec. 18 when NRP boarded their vessel. Dierker was also charged with failure to obey a lawful order of a police officer and littering upon the waters of the State after he cut a line attached to an anchor at the end of one of the nets. NRP seized as evidence one box of stretched mesh gill net, five anchors, one drag bar and 385 pounds of striped bass. A court date of March 26 has been scheduled for the individuals in Kent County District Court.

A gill net is a net used for the commercial harvest of fish. The net is maintained in a vertical position in the water with sinkers or floats. The net captures fish by means of a mesh too small to permit passage of the body of the fish or withdrawal of the head once the posterior margin of the gill covers has passed through the mesh.

A drift gill net is a net not secured to or anchored to the bottom, including a net rigged with up to 20 pounds of weight at each end. These nets must be attended by the licensee in a boat within two miles of the net while it is in waters of the Chesapeake Bay, or within one mile when the net is in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean, its coastal bays and their tributaries, or a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay

 

[crabby and son]

It's a free for all out there..........the rap sheets are longer than the gill nets...Gary

 

[Oyster Man]

I don't whether to laugh or scream at what I discovered... Looking at Dierker's rap sheet, I noticed that he was convicted on January 6th of this year for an oyster violation that occurred earlier - other than the fine he paid, his was "sentenced" to a period of Probation Before Judgment (PBJ) - meaning that if the defendant can keep his nose clean for the duration of the PBJ period, no conviction will be entered into his record. Well Dierker's PBJ period was only ONE DAY!!!! So after leaving the courtroom on Jan 6th, he only need to steer clear of trouble until Jan 7th.

If that weren't ridiculous enough, I about fell out of my chair when I saw that Dierker nearly couldn't stay out of trouble for that ONE DAY... He was caught with the illegal gillnet on Jan 9th - just three days after leaving the courtroom and only two days after his PBJ period expired. Unbelievable.

From the Judiciary Case Search website:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Charge No: 001 Description: POSS UNCULLED/UNDERSIZED OYST.
Statute: Description:
Amended Date: CJIS Code:MO/PLLrobable Cause:
Incident Date From: To: Victim Age:
Disposition
Plea: NOT GUILTY
Disposition: PBJ UNSUPERVISED Disposition Date:01/06/2009
PBJ EndDate: 01/07/2009 Fine:$200.00 Court Costs:$22.50 CICF:$0.00
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Court System: DISTRICT COURT FOR KENT COUNTY - CIVIL CITATION SYSTEM
Case Number: 1Y66116128Tracking No:091001058923
Case Type: DEPT OF NATURAL RESOURCES CITATION
District Code: 03Location Code:03
Document Type: CITATION Issued Date:01/09/2009
Case Status: ACTIVE
Charge No: 001 Description: UNLAWFULLY SET GILL NETS
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[27 sailfish]

I got a feeling it's time to gather up an army of pissed off fishermen and go to Annapolis to demand once and for all that poachers stop getting away with stealing from all of us.

These criminals are stealing from every honest charterboat captain, guide,sport fisherman, commercial fisherman.

It is time to change the game fish laws and put these guys out of business.Far too many times the same people are getting caught by DNR- only to get a small fine that really amounts to nothing.

385 lbs of Rockfish. If they get $2.00 a lb - that's $770.00. Bet the fine is under $300.00. Real deterent there .

Drugs - now there is a surprise -NOT.No different a doper stealing GPS units or stereos from cars then stealing Rockfish.

Anybody else fed up with this sh*t ?

 

[JimRockfish]

We see posts from current and past law enforcement officers who become so disillusioned that these low-lifes are arrested, prosecuted, released and continue their ways. I'm glad that you are bringing this to our attention. I only wish there was a way to keep them off the water and run them out of the State. I'm extremely fed up.

 

[27 sailfish]

There is and it requires a lot of us to give up a few nights and ask for hearings on how to change the laws and fines.They sure are not working.

About 30 years ago - a bunch of fishermen walked down Rowe blvd in Annapolis to demand the DNR shut down the Rockish season.I was only 16 but saw what a large group could do.This was the very start of the MSSA :yes:.Look at what the moratorium did for Rockfish.Not just in Md but up/down the entire east coast.

F... the poachers.It's time to shut these POS down.

The task force for fishery is meeting at DNR the 17th at 6:30 pm.I say we pack the room and make changing the laws their only topic of the night.

 

[JimRockfish]

Agree

 

[joemassi]

I talk about fishing regulations with the Scouts all the time. When I first started doing the Fishing Merit Badge in 1996 the fine for possessing one illegal Rockfish was $1000, plus the DNR was allowed to impound your boat and sieze your car and everything in it. When did those laws change? Are we looking at a different standard for these guys?

 

[Johnfishes]

Fed up is an understatement. The sad reality in this state is that fish and game violations for the commercial sector are on the same playing field as jaywalkers are in traffic court. I have been researching the arrestees on DNR's Press releases for a while and almost every time it involves a commercial fishermen, they have previous violations. The way I see it the problem starts with the legislature and the judges. The laws that are in place are too weak in the first place. Then to add insult to injury, judges treat them with the mentality that these individuals are breaking the law to put food on their tables so give them a slap on the wrist. I can only hope that this only represents a very small percentage of commercial fishermen but how do we really know? There is something wrong with our system when the penalties for Joe the Fishermen are more severe for keeping one undersized rockfish than for Joe the Commercial Fishermen who habitually violates the law in much greater quantities. Fishing is a privilage, for those that dont follow the rules that privelage needs to be taken away. Three strikes and your out.

 

[27 sailfish]

Joe - see if you can find proof of that.We always heard $500.00 plus taking the truck but I'm not sure if that was the real law.Kinda like the farmer who used rock salt in his shotgun legend.

Everyone told the story of DNR taking "some guy's" truck/boat/trailer and gear but no one knew who it was.Perhaps DNR let everyone fear such harsh penalty to discourage poaching.

Hell , if everyone back then knew the fine was a joke - there would still be a closed season.

 

[Baldzilla 2.0]

that really is sad!

 

[goose70]

I am not defending the legal system (prosecutors who accept pleas too easily; judges who hand down very lenient sentences), but keep in mind that these same judges and prosecutors hear things daily that are much worse. Imagine, you have an overflowing docket or case load, jails/prisons well over capacity, you've just sentenced a drug kingpin, a rapist, a deadbeat dad, an armed felon, and then you get some easy going, soft-spoken "country boy" accused of trying to make ends meet by catching too many fish. Something has to give...the prisons can't hold them all...who's gonna walk? Who's going to get the benefit of your sympathetic side?

This doesn't mean that we settle for this type of treatment. It simply means that we have a lot of work to do to educate the legal system about why these crimes really do matter.

 

[27 sailfish]

Johnfishes - your B-mail is not open.

Would you be willing to teach me how to research the DNR arrest files. Please bear in mind - I have first grader level computer skills but I learn quick after being shown 3-4 times.

The more I'm reading about this - the madder I'm getting.We need to find a judge who fishes.Let me go take a **** on a golf course - most likely get 12 years in prison.Poach a ton of Rockfish - get a slap on the wrist.

 

[27 sailfish]

Goose - you bring some insight into this but after 10,15 or 20 arrests/convictions - doesn't a judge realize this guy is just not getting the message ?

 

[Seahunter]

Johnfishes - your B-mail is not open.

Would you be willing to teach me how to research the DNR arrest files. Please bear in mind - I have first grader level computer skills but I learn quick after being shown 3-4 times.

The more I'm reading about this - the madder I'm getting.We need to find a judge who fishes.Let me go take a **** on a golf course - most likely get 12 years in prison.Poach a ton of Rockfish - get a slap on the wrist.

Maryland Judiciary Case Search

Just register and your search to your hearts content

 

[forwhlr]

Skip try this website Maryland Judiciary Case Search it lists every court case in Md whether it is DNR, State or Local police. It is great for checking prospective employees also. Sometimes even your daughters prospective boyfriend's also( not that I ever did that though)

 

[goose70]

Goose - you bring some insight into this but after 10,15 or 20 arrests/convictions - doesn't a judge realize this guy is just not getting the message ?

Oh, I agree that it still is mind boggling, although you're likely talking about many different judges, not all of whom bother to even check the "rap sheet" in the heat of a busy courtroom, etc. The system is near a breaking point in some courts. Again, that's not to say that it needs to be this way....we simply need to do a better job of ensuring that prosecutors and judges understand that these cases aren't just filler.

And also....and this won't be popular....but frankly, we need to put more money into this. Prosecutors and judges are way underpaid and overworked. We also need more of them. Finally, and this is even less popular, we need to seriously consider decriminalizing certain drugs (e.g. - marijuana). I never thought I'd seriously consider that, and it still makes me uneasy given that I have two kids, but our legal system, from police to prosecutors to judges to jails, is absolutely drowning in minor possession crimes and mandatory sentence guidelines to the point where it's unable to cope effectively with other serious matters. And from what I hear, all this effort isn't making much of a difference in our society. I think that smoking a joint is stupid, but I feel the same about getting intoxicated, yet our civilization has survived alcohol. Save the prosecution for people who BOTH get high/drunk AND endanger others....get rid of the simple possession laws, at least for some drugs. Then we can focus on what truly negatively impacts society, from the big things like murder and terrorism, to the sickening things like crimes against children, to the less serious but still very harmful things like stealing/destroying of our natural resources.

Sorry...it's late and I'm way off topic, but I think it demonstrates the extent of our problem if our objective is better law enforcement tougher penalties for fisheries violations. End of rant.

 

[kidz]

The criminals seem to have more rights and legaleese going for them. The police and victims need to have an airtight case it seems in order for the law to work for the victims. Judges may be under paid, but are resticted it seems by the letter of the law. Repeat offenders know how to work the system to their benefit. There are a lot of police out there who know that the law helps them lock up violators, but it is the legaleese that puts the violators back out on the streets. Have to feel sorry for good police and prosecutors who know they will lose the case because of liberal judges and high powered defense lawyers. To the good police and lawyers, they know as soon as the violator is charged, it is an up hill battle to put the violator in a prison already overcrowded.

 

[Hookin-Up]

You know, the power of this board could really be shown. You know there's a TON of people reading this and the newspapers and are pi$$ed.

If Brandon were to get behind this & Skip, you could contact the MSSA Board and get them to send out urgent emails, to rally up that group to meet on the 17th. There are a few on the Board that can let the DNR what's going to happen ( large crowd) If the meeting is at DNR HQ, then we can tailgate in the Navy/Marine Corps parking lot in order . I'm sure it would be wise, to leave the beer at home, for this tailgate. Get some newpaper people out there taking a picture of a large overflow crowd trying to get in to voice dissatisfaction with the current laws.

It would be great to let these people ( at DNR AND the legislature is in they should notice) that we want stiffer penalties and sentencing guidelines so the good ole boy network can't continue.

 

[shorerunner]

It's the judges guys, plain and simple. These are all criminal charges with the possibility of jail time. DNR has it's hands tied. The judges can charge them hefty fines, put them in jail and seize their equipment, but they won't do it. "Guy trying to make a living," blah, blah.... DNR can't even put points on their license without a guilty verdict - PBJ won't do it. Crime pays.