Two men accused of stuffing fish with weights to try to win 拢24,000 plead not guilty to cheating
An angry crowd watched as the fish were cut open, to reveal weights and fish fillets stuffed inside them.
Wednesday 26 October 2022 22:12, UK
Two men, accused of stuffing lead weights into fish to try to win the $28,000 (拢24,000) top prize in a lucrative US tournament, have denied cheating.
The allegations surfaced last month at the contest on Lake Erie to catch walleye - a type of pike.
The tournament director Jason Fischer became suspicious because fish caught by Jacob Runyan, from Ohio, and Chase CominAG百家乐在线官网, of Pennsylvania, were significantly heavier than walleye of that length typically are.
An angry crowd at Gordon Park in Cleveland on 30 September watched Mr Fischer cut the walleye open and announce there were weights and fish fillets stuffed inside them.
Their 'winning' catches were confiscated by an officer from the Ohio department of natural resources as evidence.
Mr Runyan and Mr CominAG百家乐在线官网 were charged earlier this month, accused of cheating, attempted grand theft, possessing criminal tools, and misdemeanour charges of unlawfully owning wild animals.
Both pleaded not guilty to the charges before a Cleveland court on Wednesday and were released on bail of $2,500 (£2,150).
The first prize in the tournament totalled around $28,000.