On Dec. 16, a Marrero man pleaded guilty to commercial fishing violations committed in Plaquemines Parish.
Jessie Gainey, 45, pleaded guilty to his second offense of theft of crab traps in the 25th Judicial District Court of Plaquemines Parish. Judge Michael Clement sentenced him to a fine of $250 plus court costs and a suspended jail term of six months.
Judge Clement also ordered Gainey to surrender his 2014 crab trap license. Gainey is also prohibited of being on any commercial crab boat as a deckhand or captain and possessing a crab trap license until 2017. He is also barred from selling crabs for the period of his license revocation.
The plea stems from an incident that occurred on July 9, 2014 when Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Enforcement Division agents arrested Gainey for removing the contents of crab traps that were not owned by him, failing to mark crab traps and theft of crab traps.
Agents set up surveillance on a line of crab traps in Grandpa Bayou in Port Sulphur. Agents watched Gainey run a line of crab traps and empty the contents into his vessel. Agents found the traps in Gainey’s boat untagged, tags cut and some with Gainey’s commercial fisherman’s tag on top of another fisherman’s tag.
Robert White with District Attorney Charles Ballay’s office prosecuted the case. LDWF Investigating agents were Sgt. Adam Young and Agent Travis Bartlett.
For more information, contact Adam Einck at 225-765-2465 or aeinck@wlf.la.gov.