State's Attorney's Letter to Winkelman
The Investigation Report included the following letter from the Morton County State's Attorney.
If you can't read the letter from the image, here is what is written:
"Dear Warden Winkelman:
Thank you for your referral to review the submitted investigative report and attachments involving the activities on April 21, 2019, on the Heart River downstream from the North Dakota State Highway 6 Bridge, in Morton County.
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 the witnesses’ statements, and the actual video of the event, our team is of a consensus view that the walleye in issue was foul-hooked or snagged in violation of Governor’s Proclamation.
That being the case, the Enforcement Division at the North Dakota Game and Fish Dept. has the full range of enforcement options available under North Dakota law and Title 20.1 above, to address the case presented by the well-documented harvesting of the fish by Mr. Thomas Volk.
Please feel free to call or contact our office if you or other wardens in the Enforcement Division require any further information or assistance in this matter. I am returning the report and attachment to you for further processing and safekeeping.
Sincerely yours,
Allen Koppy
State’s Attorney
AK/ak"
"After a careful and considered review...?"
The State's Attorney's letter states, "After a careful and considered review of the report, along with the witnesses’ statements, and the actual video of the event, our team is of a consensus view that the walleye in issue was foul-hooked or snagged in violation of Governor’s Proclamation."
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. Let me summarize what we learned so far in my blog 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 admitted he didn't see the hook in the walleye and didn't come to the conclusion it was foul-hooked until later. This witness also lied and it can be proven he lied. Another "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 without this clarification. Gibbs provided his official statement, and much of what he said which supported my walleye was hooked legally was intentionally left out of the report. This would include the statements he made about how, "The walleye was fighting normal the entire time...I had no doubts...there is a hole in the mouth of the walleye. Tom's saving the fish for you. He wants you to come get it." 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 that 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 for 45 seconds.
The State's Attorney based his decision on a one-sided, misleading investigation report, false statements from witnesses and a witness video which never documented where the hook was located when my walleye was caught and netted.
"Consensus view...?"
The State's Attorney letter states, "our team is of a consensus view that the walleye in issue was foul-hooked or snagged in violation of Governor’s Proclamation."Based on what direct evidence? It is highly unusual for a State's Attorney to make any kind of a statement of guilt in a written document. This is because a statement of guilt is made by a judge or jury after a trial. Was the response by the State's Attorney a coordinated response with the investigator to make me appear guilty?
"Well-documented harvesting of the fish...?"
The State's Attorney letter further states, "That being the case, the Enforcement Division at the North Dakota Game and Fish Dept. has the full range of enforcement options available under North Dakota law and Title 20.1 above, to address the case presented by the well-documented harvesting of the fish by Mr. Thomas Volk."Was the investigation report, witness' statements, and witness video a "well-documented harvesting" of my walleye? If you are like the large majority of people, you most likely agree there was a lack of direct evidence and have reasonable doubt about the conclusion by Game and Fish and the State's Attorney.
There was NO direct evidence documenting the location of the hook when my walleye was caught and netted.Can fish wrap themselves in the fishing string as they fight and tumble in the current? Can a fish spit hooks when it is netted? Can a fish re-hook themselves in a net as it flops and changes positions? The answer is yes on all three points.
Changes
The conclusion by the State's Attorney was based on NO direct evidence 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.
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, NOT a State's Attorney.
The State's Attorney's letter stated, "it was a well-documented harvesting of the fish." Before I ever made a statement about how it was a "well-documented harvesting of the fish," I would have made sure there was a picture or video documenting the exact location of the hook when the walleye was caught. Game and Fish did NOT provide that. The conclusion by the State's Attorney was based on NO direct evidence but rather false witness statements, statements from non-witnesses, a one-sided, misleading investigation report and a witness video which did not document anything at the time the walleye was caught and netted.
I was punished without direct evidence of a crime! And, it is illegal to punish people without due process of law.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
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