GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — Authorities say a Grand Rapids man will face criminal charges after he illegally hooked a lake sturgeon and made away with the fish in a waiting pickup truck.
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources said in a statement Wednesday the 30-year-old man will be arraigned July 9 in 61st District Court.
The DNR says the man hooked the lake sturgeon in the tail May 17 and dragged it to a truck driven by his father. Onlookers took cell phone pictures and called after him to return the fish to the Grand River in downtown Grand Rapids.
The DNR says the fish has not been recovered.
The lake sturgeon is a protected species in Michigan. Poaching one can carry jail time of 30 to 180 days, revocation of a fishing license and other penalties.
