Page 9 of the Investigation Report referenced the State's Attorney letter
See the image of the Investigation Report where it referenced the letter by the States Attorney.
If you can't read the image, here is what it states, "On May 6, 2019 Winkelman met with Morton County States Attorney Allen Koppy. Winkelman provided Koppy with a draft report for his review. On May 7, 2019 Winkelman received a letter from Koppy stating in part: several members of the prosecution team here at the Morton County State's Attorney's Office, including me, had the opportunity to review your report and the accompanying video of the incident on April 21, 2019, involving Mr. Volk's angling activity on the Heart River and the landing of the walleye fish in question. After a careful and considered review of the report, along with witnesses' statements, and the actual video of the event, our team is of consensus view that the walleye in issue was foul-hooked or snagged in violation of Governor's Proclamation."
I would like to point out how the State's Attorney documented in his letter how they based their decision my walleye was foul-hooked on the investigation report, witnesses' statements and the witness video. Here is a brief summary of what we learned so far about these three things:
The Investigation Report was intentionally misleading. The investigator included false statements made by witnesses, statements made by non-witnesses and statements made by people who didn't want to testify in court or have their name seen. The Investigation Report intentionally left out nearly everything which supported the walleye was hooked legally like the statements made about the hole in the mouth of the walleye and how the walleye bit my hook. The Investigation Report intentionally left out the image I sent to Game and Fish showing my son holding up a walleye with the hook still in the mouth with Knuth in the background. The report also didn't include any of the images and videos Game and Fish took of the walleye documenting NO damage to the body, tail or fins of the walleye from a hook.
We learned that the only witness who provided an official statement lied and it can be proven he lied. Other "witnesses" didn't provide an official statement and didn't want to testify in court or have their name seen. Another so-called "witness" was NOT a witness and he even admitted it during the recorded conversation with the investigator, yet his statements were still included in the report. Gibbs provided his official statement where much of what he said supported my walleye was hooked legally yet nearly all of his statements including the one where he said, "there is a hole in the mouth of the walleye" were intentionally left out of the report. We also know that the investigator never included statements from the two officers who verified my walleye, the Game and Fish employee who took pictures and video of the walleye and anyone who witnessed the condition of the walleye at the three different locations where it was weighed.
And how can we forget about the witness video. It never documented where the hook was located at the time the walleye was caught and netted. The video was pointing into the ground at this time. In fact, the hook could not be seen on either side of the walleye as Gibbs walked with the net and fish over his shoulder. It wasn't until 45 seconds after the walleye flopped and changed positions in the net did the hook appear to be visible.
The Investigation Report was intentionally misleading. The investigator included false statements made by witnesses, statements made by non-witnesses and statements made by people who didn't want to testify in court or have their name seen. The Investigation Report intentionally left out nearly everything which supported the walleye was hooked legally like the statements made about the hole in the mouth of the walleye and how the walleye bit my hook. The Investigation Report intentionally left out the image I sent to Game and Fish showing my son holding up a walleye with the hook still in the mouth with Knuth in the background. The report also didn't include any of the images and videos Game and Fish took of the walleye documenting NO damage to the body, tail or fins of the walleye from a hook.
We learned that the only witness who provided an official statement lied and it can be proven he lied. Other "witnesses" didn't provide an official statement and didn't want to testify in court or have their name seen. Another so-called "witness" was NOT a witness and he even admitted it during the recorded conversation with the investigator, yet his statements were still included in the report. Gibbs provided his official statement where much of what he said supported my walleye was hooked legally yet nearly all of his statements including the one where he said, "there is a hole in the mouth of the walleye" were intentionally left out of the report. We also know that the investigator never included statements from the two officers who verified my walleye, the Game and Fish employee who took pictures and video of the walleye and anyone who witnessed the condition of the walleye at the three different locations where it was weighed.
And how can we forget about the witness video. It never documented where the hook was located at the time the walleye was caught and netted. The video was pointing into the ground at this time. In fact, the hook could not be seen on either side of the walleye as Gibbs walked with the net and fish over his shoulder. It wasn't until 45 seconds after the walleye flopped and changed positions in the net did the hook appear to be visible.
Changes
The conclusion by the State's Attorney was based on NO direct evidence at all but rather false witness statements, statements from non-witnesses, a one-sided, misleading investigation report and a witness video which didn't document anything at the time the walleye was caught and netted.
The State's Attorney concluded my walleye was foul-hooked even though Game and Fish provided NO direct evidence documenting where the hook was located at the time the walleye was caught. He goes on to state, it "was a well-documented harvesting of the fish."
The State's Attorney wrote, "After a careful and considered review of the report, along with witnesses' statements, and the actual video of the event, our team is of consensus view that the walleye in issue was foul-hooked or snagged in violation of Governor's Proclamation." It is highly unusual for a State's Attorney to provide a statement of guilt in a written letter.
Guilt is decided by a judge or jury after a trial or court hearing.
I was intentionally made to appear guilty and was punished without direct evidence of a crime! It is illegal for a state agency to intentionally omit information in a written document to mislead. And, it is illegal to punish people without due process of law. These types of actions must stop.
#northdakotaslargestwalleye #volkswalleye #justiceforthelargestwalleye
Comments
Post a Comment