Busted LMAO!

[taxidermist]

http://www.kfvs12.com/Global/story.asp?S=6...07&nav=8H3x

Local fisherman arrested for cheating during a fishing tournament

By: Ryan Tate

WAPPAPELLO LAKE, WAYNE COUNTY, Mo. - Gary Jones of Poplar Bluff finds himself in the Wayne County Jail for allegedly cheating during a fishing tournament Sunday on Wappapello Lake.

The Missouri Highway Patrol got a tip Saturday that Jones was acting suspicious near a duck blind on the lake. Troopers forwarded the tip to the Water Patrol and Conservation Department. Officers and Agents searched a blind and found two stringers, with a bass on each one. The agents tagged the fish, then set up surveillance near the blind. Jones arrived Sunday at the blind, and agents caught Jones on videotape taking the fish and putting them in his well.

Jones went to the weigh and presented the fish, gathering enough weight to finish in second place. He also had the third biggest bass, which won him a gift certificate. Jones won a total of more than $800 dollars in cash and prizes. As he exited the stage, Water Patrol officers arrested him. "They spend a lot of money and they lose sometime, but when they lose to deceit they get pretty upset by that," Missouri Water Patrolman David Nelson said. "If you can't trust the people fishing in the competition, people won't enter the event," Julie Stuever said. Stuever is the Assistant Director of the fishing tournament.

Wayne County authorities say Jones faces two to seven years behind bars if convicted.

[MrsDucky]

I really am not sure how to reply to that...for one thing I can't stop laughing, for another how desperate do you have to be to CHEAT at FISHING????????? $800 just isn't worth it to me...unless of course the gift card was for the local fly shop...

[jOrOb]

Bass Fishermen!

Chunk and wind, chunk and wind....

[jjtroutbum]

Throw the book at em. Wonder if they impounded the boat/rods for evidence.

[SilverMallard]

2 to 7 years for cheating in a fishing tourney, but the average rapist spends 4 years and a typical murderer gets 8? Somehow, we've got our priorities out of order.

But I'm glad they caught the jerk. And I think 2 years of having to answer the question, "So, buddy, what are you in for?" by saying, "I cheated in a bass tournament," is probably about right. He'll be the laughing stock of the exercise yard!

[ozarkriverrat]

He probably wont go to jail, but i hope he got all of his equipment taken away and a fine bigger than $800.

[tippet7]

Why not take away his fishing & hunting license in MO and surrounding states for 2 years, fine him, take his gear that he had when he was caught cheating, including the boat and donate it to a charity, like the boys & girls club or something like that.

I think that would send a message, use this SOB as an example.

[SilverMallard]

I think this situation is ripe for some "creative sentencing." I do NOT agree with confiscation of private property! I can't believe so many Americans have become so accepting of this unconstitutional practice. But there are all sorts of cool things they could do to this jerk short of sending him to prison. I would start with making him give back the $800 to the tournament. They should sue the guy for damaging the credibility of their tourney, too. Then, I'd say about a $1,000 fine (minimum), a WHOLE BUNCH of community service to be performed on weekends cleaning up around the lake and stuff like that to keep him off the water for a couple of years, and a 2-year loss of his hunting and fishing licenses should suffice. For an avid fisherman, that's close enough to prison. Just keep him from fishing for a couple of years. Oh, and let's add in a lifetime ban on fishing tournament entries within the state of MO for this jerk.

[tippet7]

I do NOT agree with confiscation of private property! I can't believe so many Americans have become so accepting of this unconstitutional practice.

under Missouri law, seized property cannot be auctioned off until its owner has been convicted of a crime.

He is charged with a felony and the property was used during the commision of a crime. It now belongs to the town, county, state, federal govt. Thanks for playing, we will take YOUR ball and go home now. I have no sympathy for him.

[SilverMallard]

I have no sympathy for HIM, either! That's not the point.

It is not the auctioning off of private property that the Constitution forbids without due process. It is the SEIZURE that is forbidden. The USCON is clear: it is not legal to seize private property based on SUSPICION of a crime by law enforcement. It can only be seized when a warrant is issued based upon probable cause OR as the result of a conviction/judgment in a court of law.

Now, in this case, I'm sure they had a warrant. And all of that stuff should be seized as evidence of the crime. I also agree with the seizure and sale of proven ILL-GOTTEN gains from criminal activity. But a guy getting his bass boat stolen by the gov't because he violated a game law (which is NOT the case here, but does happen) is BS unless he's a tournament pro and the boat was part of a pro-deal with a sponsor.

This is a special concern for waterfowlers because all of the laws are federal. A recreational hunter should NOT lose his guns, dog, boat, and truck because he shot the wrong duck!

And the IRS, Justice, and DHS use these confiscatory policies based on SUSPICION of all sorts of crime to freeze assets, force evictions of homeowners, etc. without a conviction being in place yet. It's excessive and abusive.