On or about 9/18/00 about 40 tickets were issued for various reasons on the Ocqueoc River near Lake Huron. My 16 year-old was among the MANY juveniles ticketed. My son was stopped in his car by officers. He was not checked or stopped on the river.
He was charged with recreational trespass and
"attempting" to snag. I took a day off from work to check out HIS side of the story. I went and asked a landowner on Lake Huron with my son along with me...sure enough, he and his friend had come there with fishing gear and had obtained permission to cross
her property. They then waded Lake Huron waters and entered the river from the mouth and did not trespass from the US-23 access. There was also no evidence of any snagging or even a check of his fishing gear. So how could one PROVE snagging...let alone
attempting to snag. Now my boy has been to Fred Trost's Banquet with his Master Angler bluegill, we have fished side by side with Bob Gwidz. Neither he nor I have any NEED to SNAG fish. I researched and prepared my case...ready to defend equestrian rights,
etc. These officers were overheard in a local
restaurant bragging about all the $$ they would bring in from this night. Many parents were pressured into paying the fine...not willing to take a day off work...if this had gone to trial I would have lost a minimum of
three days work. Today I received this....Gerald R. Gray Jr. prosecuting official, moves for a nolle prosequi in this case for the following reason(s) Insufficient evidence. The officers names appear as Morey/Ross and Ackabled?? Who also need to learn to write legibly....Glad to hear Fred Trost and other are having a meeting concerning trespass. What really gets me is that boys can be doing worse things than
fishing. Shouldn't law enforcement TEACH my son and other kids instead of issuing them a ticket and making the DNR look like the ones to hate? We have driver's ed, snowmobile safety, hunting safety...HOW do kids without licenses (under 17) learn all the ins
and outs of vague laws? I do MY best as a father...I think the state needs to share some responsibility here.
This blanket ticketing sounds like a way to get revenue, make the DNR look like idiots, spoil young people's views of law enforcement and waste the taxpayers money. In court I would have made them and those charges look foolish....good thing the charges were dropped!
signed: a dad who would have loved a day in court
with you
Linear Mode
