Alaska Wildlife Troopers and Sitka Police met a vessel taking part in the Winter Salmon Troll Fishery as it returned to the port in Sitka on Saturday and placed the operator under arrest on several charges that included Criminal Mischief and Reckless Endangerment, it was reported by the trooper dispatch.

Troopers report that they had attempted to board at sea during the fishery after receiving reports that the operator of the 47-foot  F/V Emmanuel, 33-year-old Klawock resident, Timothy Demmert, had ran over gear of other fishermen and had also tried to ram them on Saturday. Demmert refused to allow Wildlife Troopers aboard his vessel when they came alongside.

When troopers and police contacted Demmert at 6:24 pm when he arrived in port, they found that he was under the influence of alcohol and was also in possession of a loaded shotgun. Demmert was arrested on charges of DUI-Watercraft, Misconduct Involving Weapons IV, Refuse Boarding-Commercial Vessel, Interfere with Commercial Gear, Criminal Mischief IV, and Reckless Endangerment.

Demmert was remanded to the Sitka Jail with his bail set at $10,000 cash performance Bond.

Troopers state that the investigation is on-going and they anticipate more charges being forwarded to the District Attorney’s office in Sitka.[xyz-ihs snippet=”Adsense-responsive”]

  Alaska, criminal mischief, Demmert, dui, endangerment, fisheries, jail, klawock, sitka, Tim, Timothy, weapons