CLEVELAND, OH – Jacob Runyan, 43, and Chase Cominsky, 36, pleaded guilty yesterday to cheating and the unlawful ownership of wild animals during the Lake Erie Walleye Trail tournament in September 2022. The men competed in the tournament near North Marginal Road and Lakeshore Boulevard in Cleveland, Ohio, where they attempted to win a total prize of $28,760.
The director of the tournament noticed that Runyan and Cominsky’s walleye fish weighed more than they appeared and found ten weights inside the fish, eight weighing 12 ounces and two weighing eight ounces, along with several walleye filets. The men were immediately disqualified and instructed to leave the tournament, and the Cleveland Metroparks Police Department responded to the scene.
According to an investigation by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Runyan and Cominsky pleaded guilty to one count of cheating and one count of unlawful ownership of wild animals. They will be sentenced in May 2023. Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael C. O’Malley emphasized that crime does not pay and expressed satisfaction with the guilty plea.