Dutch Harbor report

From the local police blotter:

Theft, Dec. 20 — A Grinch violated the spirit of Christmas by stealing a nutcracker from the very boughs of a tree in the lobby of the Grand Aleutian hotel.

Trespass, Dec. 21 — Officers issued a trespass advisement, per UniSea management, to a Grinch who had stolen an ornament from a Christmas tree.

Environmental, Dec. 21 — An empty container van was blown by gusting winds from the Horizon Lines yard into a nearby lake.

Noise disturbance, Dec. 21 — Caller reported a nearby wind turbine was creating an awful racket.

Fire response, Dec. 24, 0212 hours — Caller reported a vessel had ruptured its hull and was sinking, with 24 people on board, in Captains Bay. Fire and EMS personnel were toned to the area.

Search and Rescue, Dec. 24, 0213 hours — Fire and EMS personnel responded to a report of a vessel sinking in nearby waters, but found nothing even vaguely resembling an emergency of such nature. The original caller told Public Safety personnel that the vessel was clearly visible and was a submarine, then a 500-foot vessel with hundreds of passengers from which missiles and gunshots had been fired. Caller John F. Courage, 56, of Unalaska, to be charged with filing a false report.

Assault, Dec. 24 — UniSea security reported a fight involving four people, one of whom had walked away from the scene with a considerable amount of blood on his face. Officers contacted this man, who had indeed been in a fight and had suffered mightily as a result, but who refused to provide any information about the other participants.

Dutch Harbor report

From the local police blotter:

Sexual assault, Dec. 12 — Crewman on a fishing vessel reported he had been sexually violated by another member of the crew, about two days earlier. Officers were able to substantiate this allegation, and subsequently arrested James Maybe, 46, of Oregon, on one count of sexual assault.

Civil, Dec. 13 — KeyBank staff requested immediate assistance at their local facility. Officers arrived to find one patron arguing with another intoxicated patron about the sale of a exorbitantly priced cell phone. Officers suggested to the seller that perhaps she should wait for the potential customer to sober up before gouging him.

Fire response, Dec. 14 — Fire and EMS personnel responded to an automated alarm for the oil drilling rig Kulluk.

Theft, Dec. 17 — Out-of-town caller reported the theft of some fishing gear from a defunct processing facility. Under investigation.

Kodiak man cited on 'intent to operate' violation

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Adak
Type: No intent to operate
On 12/7/10 Dutch Harbor Wildlife Troopers issued a summons to Ludger Willie Dochtermann, 68, of Kodiak, for shipping halibut from Adak to Anchorage on a fish ticket without first completing an intent to operate form and receiving written authorization from the Department of Fish and Game to operate as a catcher seller. Arraignment is scheduled for 12/29/10 in Unalaska District Court.

Dutch Harbor report

From the local police blotter:

Lost property, Nov. 29 — A skiff, from the Spit Dock.

Trespass, Dec. 1 — Security personnel at a processing plant reported that an unidentified older man has been lurking about their facility in recent days, and becomes aggressive when asked to leave. Security was asked to contact police the next time the stranger is on the property.

Theft, Dec. 3 — Complainant reported an organizational member had misappropriated a considerable sum of money, which was used to pay for an attorney in a civil suit that had not been authorized by the organization. Under investigation.

Animal, Dec. 6 — Friendly female feline forfeited to future family.

Theft, Dec. 10 — Caller reported his pickup truck, which had been parked with the keys in the cab, had been stolen from in front of his home earlier this day. Officers located the stolen vehicle and learned that poor communication and some misinformation had led the crew of a fishing boat to take this particular white Ford pickup in error. No charges were filed.

Two charged with failure to record geoducks

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Klawock
Type: Fail to record fish ticket
On 12/8/10 Alaska Wildlife Troopers, Klawock Post, contacted Robert W. Mead, 41, of Olympia, Wash., aboard the fishing vessel Golden North. Jeffrey Olsen, 41, of Sitka, also was contacted at Absolute Fresh Seafoods in Craig. Olsen is the owner of Absolute Fresh Seafoods. Both Mead and Olsen were summonsed to appear in court for failing to record 100 pounds of commercially caught geoduck clams on an Alaska Department of Fish and Game fish ticket at the time of delivery to Absolute Fresh Seafoods. Arraignment is set for 12/15/10 in Craig District Court.

Yakutat man charged with illegal lingcod catch

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Yakutat
Type: Take lingcod in closed waters
On 12/2/10 Alaska Wildlife Troopers in Yakutat contacted Scott Chadwick, 42, of Yakutat. Investigation revealed that Chadwick had commercially harvested a lingcod in closed waters and did not have either a valid 2010 Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission permit or a government-issued photo ID with him when contacted. Chadwick was issued a summons with an arraignment date of 12/16/10 in Yakutat District Court.

Troopers accuse Maine man of permit falsification

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Unalaska
Type: Unsworn falsification
On 12/1/10 Dutch Harbor Wildlife Troopers issued a summons to Crosby Gillan Leveen, 30, of Manchester, Maine, for receiving a 2010 Alaska resident Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission permit card without meeting the residency requirements set out by the CFEC. Arraignment is scheduled for 12/22/10 in Unalaska District Court.

Six fined at Sitka for herring pound violations

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Sitka
Type: Herring pound violations
On 6/15/10 Sitka Wildlife Troopers charged Rudolph K. Johanson, 73, David A. Walker, 36, James A. Tissychy, 38, Rachel A. Williams, 60, and Amy Majors, 24, all of Ketchikan, and Archie W. Demmert, 49, of Klawock, for failing to maintain herring pounds in original configuration. Investigation on 5/14/10 near Emmons Island in Hoonah Sound revealed each permit holder's herring pound webbing had been removed from its original configuration before allowed by regulation. Regulations require the pounds and webbing to remain in place for four weeks after harvest, to allow herring eggs deposited on the gear to hatch. On 12/1/10 all six defendants entered guilty pleas in Sitka District Court. Each defendant was fined $2,500 with $1,250 suspended and placed on probation for a period of one year.

Southeast shrimper hit with multiple violations

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Craig
Type: Shrimping violations
On 12/4/10 Alaska Wildlife Troopers, Ketchikan Post, cited Dustin Peters, 33, of Ketchikan, for commercially fishing for shrimp during a closed season, for failing to equip his commercial shrimp pots with a biodegradable escape mechanism, and for longlining more than five commercial shrimp pots on one line without having a buoy attached to both ends of the longline. These violations occurred in the marine waters of Moira Sound near Prince of Wales Island. A mandatory court date was set in the Craig court.

Crewman to be deported after harassment plea

From the U.S. attorney's office:

Dec. 2, 2010

Crewman sentenced for sexual harassment of fisheries observer

ANCHORAGE — U.S. Attorney Karen L. Loeffler announced today that a crewman on a fishing vessel was sentenced in federal court in Anchorage for sexual harassment of a National Marine Fisheries Service observer.

On Nov. 30, Victor D. Chavez-Ramirez, 28, a citizen of Mexico illegally in the United States, admitted that while a crewmember on the fishing vessel F/V Frontier Spirit, from August 2008 through October 2008, he sexually harassed the NMFS observer assigned to the vessel.

After accepting Chavez-Ramirez's guilty plea, U.S. Magistrate Judge Deborah Smith sentenced him to be immediately deported, imposed a term of probation of three years and imposed a fine of $1,500.

Smith also ordered him to attend sexual harassment training and ordered that he not obtain employment in any fishing-related industry nor any employment on any fishing vessel for the three-year term of probation. Smith imposed these conditions whether or not Chavez-Ramirez was present in the United States.

Additionally, Smith told Chavez-Ramirez that he could not re-enter the United States without first obtaining the permission of the attorney general or his designee.

During sentencing, the victim observer provided the court with a statement about the offense and its impact on her and how it has interfered with her work as a fisheries observer.

"We will not countenance sexual harassment in any business," Loeffler said. "All people have a right to perform their work free from harassment."

The case was investigated by special agents of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration with assistance from the Enforcement Removal Operations division of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

"We take offenses against observers very seriously," said Sherrie Myers, NOAA special agent in charge for Alaska. "These individuals work very long hours in a hazardous marine environ and they are entitled to work in a safe environment, free from any form of assault, harassment or interference. These type of offenses threaten both the observer's safety as well as their ability to collect biological data that is essential for effective management of the fisheries."