When it comes to ‘things I’d do to protect my fishing lines’ I’m not sure that grabbing my shotgun would be atop the list.
Despite my personal best intentions, unfortunately they are not always inline with the intentions of others.
That fact is very apparent in a recent case that saw an Oregon angler entangled with the law after some boats, in his opinion, got a little too cozy with his prized fishing lines.
Fishing from shore, the accused, Nicholas Clifford Ervin Fetters, of Bend, was in search of trout for the dinner table when he could no longer accept his motorized neighbors out on the lake. In reports outlining the subsequent 911 calls, Fetters started by shouting at the boaters saying that they were too close to his fishing lines out in the water. He reportedly found that he could no longer vocally express his distaste for their company, he retrieved a shotgun from his tent and sent a few rounds in their general direction.
The police were dispatched to the scene and using a drone to investigate, found exactly what they were looking for. As the police-issued drone approached Fetter’s fishing camp along the banks of the Crane Prairie Reservoir, police watched as he sprayed a couple of rounds at their drone.
With more than ample evidence of foul play, police moved in to make the arrest.
In mid-June charges were filed against Fetters which consisted over 11 felony counts including: three counts of Unlawful Use of a Weapon; three counts of Recklessly Endangering Another Person; three counts of Menacing; one count of Disorderly Conduct in the Second Degree; one count of Attempted Criminal Mischief in the First Degree.
Three men were named in court documents who are presumably the boaters from the altercation. Each of them had filed restraining orders against Fetters that went into effect the same day that the accused was released on $5,000 bail.
Fetters has reportedly reached a plea deal with the Deputy District Attorney which led to a dismissal of all charges filed against him. The details of the plea deal include orders to comply with the restraining orders, he must remain in the state of Oregon unless with written permission from the court and his right to possess a firearm has been revoked. He can no longer be within five miles of the campground on the Crane Prairie Reservoir.
