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Mercer County man caught cheating at fishing tournament charged

Minnesota Lake Boasts World's Biggest Ice Fishing Competition BRAINERD, MN - JANUARY 26: A volunteer prepares to release a walleye caught at the Brainerd Jaycees Ice Fishing Extravaganza fishing tournament on Gull Lake January 26, 2008 in Brainerd, Minnesota. All of the fish caught in the tournament are released back into the lake once they are weighed and recorded. The tournament, billed as the world's largest ice fishing competition, attracted over 10,000 participants who competed for $150,000 in prizes. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images) (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

CLEVELAND, Ohio. — Authorities say two anglers accused of stuffing fish with lead weights and fillets in an attempt to win thousands of dollars in an Ohio fishing tournament have been indicted on charges of attempted grand theft and other counts.

Forty-two-year-old Jacob Runyan, of Broadview Heights, Ohio, and 35-year-old Chase Cominski, of Hermitage, Pennsylvania, were indicted Wednesday in Cleveland on felony charges of cheating, attempted grand theft, possessing criminal tools and misdemeanor charges of unlawfully owning wild animals.

They’re due to be arraigned Oct. 26.

They are accused of stuffing lead weights and fish fillets into walleye in attempt to win the Lake Erie Walleye Trail tournament, which had a first prize of $28,760.

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