Fishermen Receive 10-Day Prison Sentences After Pleading Guilty To Cheating In Tournament, Putting Weights Inside Fish

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The two fishermen who were accused of stuffing their catches with weights and parts of other fish during a tournament in Ohio last year have been handed 10-day prison sentences. The duo, Chase Cominsky and Jacob Runyan, will also serve an 18-month probation sentence.

A video of the incident went viral in October 2022 showing tournament organizers cutting open fish that exposed weights inside of them.

Runyan and Cominsky were indicted on a number of charges including attempted grand theft, felony cheating, unlawful ownership of wild animals, and possessing criminal tools.

TMZ reported that other competitors already had suspicions that Runyan and Cominsky were trying to pull off something...fishy. Once the discovery has been made, the other fishermen tried to convince the tournament organizers to file a police report, which we now know came to fruition.

After originally pleading not guilty, the two fishermen plead guilty to cheating and unlawful ownership of wild animals. On top of spending 10 days in jail and serving 18 months of probation, Runyan and Cominsky have to pay a $2,500 fine and their fishing licenses are suspended for three years.

Cominsky took another hit in the form of surrendering his $100,000 fishing boat.

Follow Mark Harris on Twitter @ItIsMarkHarris

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Mark covers all sports at OutKick while keeping a close eye on the world of professional golf. He graduated from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga before earning his master's degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee. He somehow survived living in Knoxville despite ‘Rocky Top’ being his least favorite song ever written. Before joining OutKick, he wrote for various outlets including SB Nation, The Spun, and BroBible. Mark was also a writer for the Chicago Cubs Double-A affiliate in 2016 when the team won the World Series. He's still waiting for his championship ring to arrive. Follow him on Twitter @itismarkharris.