Southaven man sentenced for fishing violations
Photo: Enid Lake (Credit: Wikipedia)
Credit: U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Mississippi
A Southaven man was sentenced Wednesday, Nov. 29, to a total of $3,500 in fines and restitution for the illegal harvest of crappie from the Enid Lake Spillway.
According to court documents, Fu Chen, 52, of Southaven, pled guilty to one count of taking more than the daily creel limit of crappie from the Enid Lake Spillway on Jan. 1. Chen caught a total of 90 crappie from the spillway, which is 75 more fish than the allowed creel limit of 15 crappie.
U.S. Magistrate Judge David A. Sanders ordered Chen to pay a fine of $1,000 as well as restitution to the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks in the amount of $2,500. In addition to the fine and restitution, Chen was placed on probation for a period of one year, during which time he will be prohibited from fishing anywhere in the world and banned from all Corps of Engineers property in the Northern District of Mississippi as a condition of his probation.
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement Special Agent in Charge Stephen Clark stated, “We are committed to conducting criminal investigations with the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks to conserve, protect, and enhance fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats. The Office of Law Enforcement takes these federal violations . . . very seriously and remains committed to ensuring that these violations are fully investigated and prosecuted.”
MDWFP Colonel Jerry Carter stated, “We appreciate the collaborative investigative efforts of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and prosecution of this case by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. We will continue to work with our federal partners to conserve and protect Mississippi’s natural resources by utilizing all investigative tools available to ensure that those who choose to violate the laws of this state are investigated and prosecuted accordingly.”
This case was investigated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks. The case was prosecuted by AUSA Robert Mims.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service encourages members of the public to report allegations of wildlife crimes to the Service’s Office of Law Enforcement via the Wildlife Crime Tips page at https://www.fws.gov/wildlife-crime-tips or via phone at 1-844-FWS-TIPS (1-844-397-8477).
