ANNAPOLIS (April 26, 2016)—A Charles County man was fined $1,000 and sentenced to two year's probation Wednesday after he was found guilty of illegal dumping.
Reid Nathaniel Franklin, 22, of Benedict, was charged in February after officers were called to private property where a pile of dead geese and fish were dumped.
Officers thought the fish looked similar to those seen in Franklin's truck on Feb. 3, when he was charged with poaching. They questioned people in the neighborhood and other sources and came to the conclusion that Franklin was responsible. When questioned, Franklin acknowledged that he dumped the fish.
Franklin was also found guilty in March in Charles County District Court for failing to have a tidal fish license in relation to the dumping incident.
In a separate incident, Franklin was found guilty in the same court of exceeding the daily bag limit for geese, and hunting without a license and migratory bird stamp, after officers found him and two other hunters with 24 birds. The geese were donated to charity.