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Natural Resources Police List Local Arrests

July 18th, 2021 by WCBC Radio

The Maryland Natural Resources Police recently charged several individuals throughout the state for illegal activities including weapons charges at a state park, operating watercraft while intoxicated, illegal fishing, and more. 


 

A Boonsboro man faces multiple charges, including operating a boat while impaired, after fleeing an NRP boat patrol on June 18. Officers patrolling the Potomac River in Frederick County spotted a vessel traveling without its required navigational lights. When police instructed the operator, Joel Weaver, 38, to dock his boat, he replied that he had too much to drink and then fled. After a brief pursuit, officers observed Weaver on Meadow Island, where he attempted to board his boat and run again. Police say they detected an odor of alcohol on Weaver, his eyes were bloodshot and glassy, and his speech was slurred. After Weaver refused to take the field sobriety test, police placed him under arrest for operating while under the influence of alcohol. Additional charges reckless operation, negligent operation, and failure to display navigation lights. He faces up to $3,270 in fines and a year and four months in jail. 


Police charged a West Virginia man June 11 with bringing a loaded handgun to a Garrett County state park, after he reported leaving it in a cabin. Officers say Brent Mallek, 30, reported that he left the gun in a cabin at Herrington Manor State Park; he informed staff about it after he had left and the cabin was occupied by new residents. Park rangers safely and immediately removed the gun. Officers learned that Mallek was prohibited from possessing firearms due to a prior conviction. After confiscating the weapon, police charged Mallek with felony possession of a firearm, illegal possession of ammunition, and possession of a weapon in a state park. Mallek could face up to 16 years in prison and $1,500 in fines. 


 

NRP charged two Washington County men with illegal possession of smallmouth bass after investigating a case that began in May. On May 30, police received information that Kevin Murphy, 28, and Casey Shank, 26, were in possession of seven smallmouth bass that were caught out of season. Both men later admitted to catching the bass in a creek in Washington County and using them for bait in a catfish tournament in Pennsylvania several days later  Police charged the pair on June 24 with seven counts of possessing smallmouth bass during the closed season; each man faces up to $7,000 in fines and suspension of their Maryland recreational fishing privileges.