Catfish shockers guilty in Louisiana, but not in Mississippi

Three men admitted they illegally shocked fish on the Pearl River in Louisiana, but when they were prosecuted for doing the same thing on the same day in Mississippi, a Justice Court judge in Pearl River County dismissed the charges.

“We were seeking full prosecution on our end,” said Lt. Chris Reed of the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks. “We’re disappointed in the dismissal of the charges in Pearl River County court.”

Reed said six Mississippi agents worked on the case for three weeks. Three Louisiana agents also worked on the case. Evidence included one hour of video surveillance that showed the three men fishing, shocking fish and scooping them up in nets.

When agents from both states confronted the men at a Louisiana fish camp on the Pearl River, the men turned over all items they were using in the operation, Reed said. According to an investigative report, one of the men even said as the Louisiana officers arrested the men: “How is he charging us with that? We were shocking fish in Mississippi.”

The agents seized 24 catfish filets, one whole catfish and other catfish parts, a 14-foot boat and 25-horsepower motor, and the “catfish shocker.”

Wildlife and fisheries agents in both states put the men under surveillance after an anonymous tipster reported them, according to a news release from the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. The August arrests of Lance O. Davis and James A. Howard of Poplarville and Howard D. Rester of Lumberton made headlines across the region.

According to a clerk in the Washington Parish, La., court, Davis pleaded guilty in March to one count of taking fish using illegal methods. He was ordered to pay a fine of $450 plus court costs, or spend 30 days in jail.

Howard pleaded guilty in February to two counts of failing to comply with personal flotation device requirements and one count of possessing fish illegally taken. He was ordered to pay a $400 fine plus court costs, or spend 30 days in jail.

Rester pleaded guilty in December to one count of possessing fish illegally taken, with a $500 fine or 30 days in jail.

None of the men opted for jail, according to Washington Parish Sheriff’s Department records.

In Pearl River County, Justice Court Judge Donald Fail in June dismissed two charges against each man: Using unlawful methods of fishing and illegal possession of game.

Albert Necaise, the Gulfport attorney who represented the three men, said the video did not show what state the men were fishing in.

Reed concluded, “The judge’s reasoning for his dismissal was that he (the judge) fished the Pearl River also and he stated there is no way of knowing what state a person is in when they’re on the Pearl River.”

Reed said MDWFP’s evidence included GPS coordinates demonstrating the boat was on the Pearl River in Mississippi.

This story was originally published July 1, 2016 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Catfish shockers guilty in Louisiana, but not in Mississippi."