May 11 (UPI) -- Two men caught cheating during September's Lake Erie Walleye Trail tournament have been sentenced to short jail sentences.
Jacob Runyan, 43, and Chase Cominsky, 36, were each sentenced to 10 days in jail followed by a year of probation.
The pair had won a series of fishing tournaments in the lead-up to the discovery of their deception.
During the fishing contest at Gordon Park in Cleveland, Runyan and Cominsky were caught using lead weights to deceive judges into thinking they had caught heavier fish.
Tournament director Jason Fischer noticed that the pair's fish weighed more than expected for their size, so he checked inside the fish and discovered lead weights.
As onlookers recorded video that soon hit social media, Fischer pulled the weights out of the fish and said, "We got weights in fish."
"Ten weights were located inside the walleyes, eight weighing 12 ounces and two weighing eight ounces along with several walleye fillets," prosecutors said.
The pair pleaded guilty to one count of cheating and one count of unlawful ownership of wild animals.
Both men were ordered to pay $2,500 in fines and consented to having their fishing licenses suspended for up to three years.
Additionally, Cominsky's fishing boat, valued at $100,000, was transferred to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.
Theft charges were dropped as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors.
Cuyahoga County Judge Steven Gall said he would waive half of $2,500 fine if the pair makes a $1,250 donation to a charity that advocates fishing activities for children.
In court ,Cominsky told the judge, "It's something I wish I could say didn't happen, but I can't."
Investigators with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources found a secret compartment in Cominsky's fishing boat, which they said smelled like fish.
Out of 19 contests organized by Fischer, Runyan and Cominsky won nine.
In 2021, the pair were disqualified from the Toledo Walleye Slam fishing contest when they failed a polygraph test. Had they not been disqualified, the men would have received two fishing boats, worth $100,000 each.
Runyan also faces unrelated charges of domestic violence, which will go to trial in July. Cominsky faces unrelated charges of stalking a woman who says he followed her and hacked into her social media.
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2 men who used weighted fish in tournament catch light jail sentences - UPI News
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