Alleged fish poachers cleared of charges: Appeals court rules in band members' favor.
Feb 10, 2015
ST. PAUL -- Four Bemidji area men accused of poaching fish on tribal lands between 2009 to 2011 were cleared of charges in federal appeals court Tuesday.
A total of 10 men were indicted on felony charges of transportation, sale and purchase of fish taken in violation of tribal law. Of the 10 people indicted, eight now have been cleared of the charges stemming from "Operation Squarehook."
On Tuesday, a judgement filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals Eighth Circuit Court in St. Paul cleared charges against Michael D. Brown and Jerry "Otto" A. Reyes, of Cass Lake, and Marc L. Lyons and Frederick "Bud" W. Tibbetts of Bena. Lyons died on Nov. 22.
"I fought this for four years. It's been a long time coming, this case," Brown said Tuesday.
Brown said he hopes the case has exposed the truth about what actually happened regarding the alleged poaching and the ruling may protect people's rights from being violated in the future.
Netting and fishing on the reservation is part of the Ojibwe culture. Brown learned to net from his grandfather in the 1970s. Brown said he always had a permit when netting and he traded fish and donated it for wakes, funerals and memorial services.
"They don't talk about that in the court case," Brown said. "We got treated worse than meth dealers in court. All over fish...My kids were woken up at gunpoint. It was a pretty scary situation over walleye."
Arrests in 2011
In 2010, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources began Operation Squarehook, which investigated illegal sale of fish in northern Minnesota focusing on allegations that tribal members caught walleye on lakes within the reservations and sold them to non-Indians at below market rates. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, state law enforcement and authorities from the Red Lake and Leech Lake Indian Reservations were involved in the investigation. The 10 men arrested in 2011 were among 30 people charged with criminal offenses resulting from Operation Squarehook.
According to court documents, the indictments against Brown, Reyes, Lyons and Tibbetts alleged they had netted fish for commercial purposes within the boundaries of the Leech Lake Reservation in violation of the Leech Lake Conservation Code, then sold the fish.
Authorities said that was a violation of the Lacey Act, which was originally signed in 1900 and is a conservation law enforcing criminal and civil penalties for the illegal trade of animals
Brown, Reyes, Lyons and Tibbetts moved to dismiss the indictments on the grounds their prosecution violates fishing rights reserved under the 1837 Treaty between the United States and the Chippewa. Brown, Reyes and Lyons are members of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe. Tibbetts is enrolled with the White Earth Band.
Charges against Brown, Reyes, Lyons and Tibbetts were terminated in November 2013, but federal prosecutors submitted an appeal to the court's decision to dismiss indictments, arguing the Lacey Act promoted tribal sovereignty. Tuesday's judgement denied the appeal.
"After giving consideration to the arguments by the United States, we conclude that appellees are entitled to assert the Chippewa Indians' fishing rights and that this prosecution under the Lacey Act conflicts with those rights," as stated in the court's judgement.
Indictments against Larry Good, Thomas P. Sumner and Brian W. Holthusen, of Red Lake, and Larry W. Bellefy, of Bagley, who also were arrested in the case, were dismissed in 2014.
Charges still are pending against Michael J. Nei, of Bemidji, and Alan D. Hemme, of Bena, for one count of felony transportation, sale and purchase of fish taken in violation of tribal law, according to court documents.
Bellefy, Sumner, Holthusen and Good were accused of taking fish from Red Lake between July 2009 and July 2011 without approval from the Red Lake Fisheries Association, according to federal officials. Sumner and Holthusen allegedly obtained the fish and sold them to Bellefy, who resold the fish.
Brown and Nei were accused of netting fish from Leech Lake for commercial purposes between July 2010 and July 2011. Brown allegedly netted fish and sold them to Nei, authorities allege. Brown said Nei was not with him when he netted on reservation lakes.
Reyes, Lyons, Tibbetts and Hemme were accused of taking fish from several lakes on the Leech Lake Indian reservation between July 2009 and July 2011. Allegedly, Reyes, Lyons and Tibbetts sold the fish to Hemme, who owned a restaurant in Bena.
The indictment against Good, a member of the Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians, was also dismissed in November 2013, citing the 1837 Treaty with the Chippewa. The United States appealed the decision but the appeal was denied in March of last year. Soon after, indictments against Sumner, Holthusen and Bellefy were dismissed.
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Topic: Alleged poachers cleared (Read 3613 times)
