Two men accused of stuffing five walleye with lead weights and fish filets during a lucrative fishing tournament pleaded not guilty.
Jacob Runyan, 42, of Broadview Heights, Ohio, and Chase Cominsky, 35, of Hermitage, Pennsylvania, made no statements during their court appearances. After the hearing, their attorneys did not speak.
The assistant prosecutor for the county declined to speak.
The director of the Lake Erie Walleye Trail tournament became suspicious of Runyan's and Cominsky's fish because they were heavier than the average one. The crowd at Gordon Park in Cleveland was angry when they heard that there were weights and fish in the walleye.
The fish was seized by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.
Runyan and Cominsky were indicted on charges of cheating, attempted grand theft, possession of criminal tools, and unlawfully owning wild animals.
The two were released on personal bonds.
The first place prize in the tournament was over twenty thousand dollars.
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