Abalone Poacher Fined and Sentenced to Jail TimePleads Guilty To Felony ConspiracyRandy Lee Appleyard, 23, of Waterford, was sentenced to one year in county jail and three years of supervised probation for illegally harvesting 73 red abalone near Fort Bragg this year, according to reports from the Mendocino County District Attorney's Office. Appleyard will also pay a $20,000 fine and be banned for life from getting a fishing license. He was arrested Jan. 15,2007 by wardens from the California Department of Fish and Game who had received tips that Appleyard and three other suspects had been illegally harvesting abalone and selling them to restaurants in the Sacramento area, according to DA reports. Wardens conducted surveillance on the group for a day before arresting them on Highway 20 as they were leaving Fort Bragg. The suspects were found to be in possession of 73 red abalone, well above the state limit of three abalone per person per day. Arrested with Appleyard were Alan Palmer who, along with Appleyard dove for the abalone, and Robert and Joseph Barrett, who served as lookouts, according to DA reports. Palmer failed to appear for a court hearing and has been arrested on suspicion of failure to appear in addition to his other charges. Robert and Joseph Barrett both pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of commercial harvest of abalone and were sentenced to 90 days in county jail and three years probation and ordered to pay a $15,000 fine. Deputy District Attorney Tim Stoen, who prosecuted the case, praised Fish and Game Wardens Dennis McKiver, Gary Combes, Scott Melvin and Ronda Moore for their “solid investigation’ in this case. “Our office is committed to vigorous enforcement of the abalone laws,’ said Mendocino County District Attorney Meredith Lintott. “Each person who takes five abalone over the three-per-day limit now receives a jail sentence. Abalone are a public resource, which means all Californians are injured by abalone crimes.’ Appleyard is scheduled to surrender to the Mendocino County Jail on Jan. 2, 2008 (Courtesy, the Ukiah Daily Journal) |