# Read before fishing Wingfoot



## bassinator_oh (Sep 28, 2011)

So I decided to fish Wingfoot today, what a mistake that was. Park ranger waited for me to load my boat than pulled me over. First thing he ask, who's truck are u driving(keep in mind he hasn't checked my ID yet and implying that I'm driving a stolen truck). Then I proceeded to give him all the nessary paper work to prove that the truck belong to me. Then he says my registration is expired but it clearly stats on there that it expires 3/29/12. Then he runs my plate/vin number and says the truck belongs to a different person(he's got my title in his hand). So he goes to ask who boat is this? so I give him the title etc..etc.. So after begging and pleading him not to tow my truck/boat he was nice enough not to. But he says I cant just let u leave without a ticket! So after proving that the truck/boat belong to me he writes me a ticket for fictitious/expired plates. I'm sorry but I needed to get this off my chest and would appreciated any advice. I strongly believe I was a victim of harassment. Just bc Im young and have a decent truck/boat I been singled out. Moral of the story, have all ur paper work rdy before hitting Wingfoot. Lol


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## jonnythfisherteen2 (Mar 5, 2011)

that really sucks.


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## Net (Apr 10, 2004)

If it happened like you said...you should have no problem contesting the ticket in traffic court.


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## ssv1761982 (Jun 2, 2004)

I hope you get it straightened out. If everything is in order, how could he claim anything was fictitious?

He must have "little big man" syndrome.


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## sonar (Mar 20, 2005)

That Officer NEEDS to be,seriously reviewed,by his Seniors!!! That was a profiling shake-down,and it shouldn't go without a report........AND,,a dismissal of citation!! I would not have been overly enthralled with a JOB like run down on me,either!! Sounds like you kept your head about yourself,Bassinator..I hope it works out for you,with the ticket,Too bad it even had to of happened! ----->>>>>sonar<<<<<-----


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## bassinator_oh (Sep 28, 2011)

I guess the reason why he didn't have my stuff towed is bc I had all the paper work he asked for. Even though I had the title in hand, he said it was a fictitious title and registration lol. Never heard of that one before, not like I can print it from my computer or something. My title was accepted by the DMV to make my registration lol. He didnt even check to see my fishing license or check my boat to see if it complied with stat law which it did. I swear that was a county prosecutor not a park ranger. I know I can contest the ticket but could I contest the court cost?


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## bassinator_oh (Sep 28, 2011)

Only reason y I say I was single out is because there were 6 other boats there too waiting to load. First 3 guys left unchecked, then me(u know the story), last 2 guys left unchecked also. Well it doesn't pay to be a smart a$$ with authority Ive learned in the past.


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## sonar (Mar 20, 2005)

You did the right thing,Bassinator,and you weren't towed!! I would however,,,follow up with a call to his post,,,and inquire as to why you were treated in the manner of being less than a honest/legal/compliant citizen,,,,this is not the way that it is done... and ask for the standard policy,in an instance,such as that...Not,complaining,,but,inquiring.... You are by law,,entitled to that,,IF- they are willing,to reveal it... I've found that if you don't ask,,you may be TOLD! (JUST MY OPINION) Good luck!Let us know.. ----->>>>>sonar<<<<<-----


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## AC_ESS (Nov 15, 2008)

Net said:


> If it happened like you said...you should have no problem contesting the ticket in traffic court.


+1

I would contest tho no reason for you to get a lawyer either. If your court date is before 3/29 when you go into court bring your plate in with the sticker on it. do not put a new sticker on it. the sticker has the myth on it but also your license plate number. then bring in the rest of your paper work. Sounds like a new ranger just got out of school. not to mention fictions plates would mean you altered your plates.

If your court date is after 3/29 take picture of the plate and an up close picture of your sticker.

Good luck


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## FISNFOOL (May 12, 2009)

sonar said:


> That Officer NEEDS to be,seriously reviewed,by his Seniors!!! That was a profiling shake-down,and it shouldn't go without a report........AND,,a dismissal of citation!! I would not have been overly enthralled with a JOB like run down on me,either!! Sounds like you kept your head about yourself,Bassinator..I hope it works out for you,with the ticket,Too bad it even had to of happened! ----->>>>>sonar<<<<<-----


What the hell, if he really believed the papers were fictitious, there was no reason to let you continuing driving. That alone should prove your case.


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## bassinator_oh (Sep 28, 2011)

Thanks for the support everyone. My court date is in a week so I'll keep u posted. Any advice for Ravenna court/about the judge? Never been there. Please keep in mind that I made this thread to let off (alot)some steam and gain advice to my situation not to disrespect any park rangers. Oh by the way the fish are schooled up so if u find them, it's going to be fun.


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## bountyhunter (Apr 28, 2004)

I<D called the state patrol for assistence. some thing not right about all this.


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## poloaman (Mar 26, 2008)

You definitely need to follow through with this. I know that it sucks that it happened to you but if u let it go it could happen to any of us next time. I would call this guys superior and talk to them also. This guy needs disciplined for his actions. Also if it's thrown out at court u will not need to pay court cost either.


Polo
Outdoor Hub mobile


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## leeabu (Apr 10, 2004)

With all due respect to Bassinator, I would be very interested to hear the same story as told by the Ranger. The story, as told, does not make sense in my opionion. If it went down as stated, there should be absolutly no concern about going to court.


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## bassinator_oh (Sep 28, 2011)

Trust me the thought did cross my mind to make a buck off the state, but decided it wasnt worth the trouble and besides I rather spend my time fishing rather than being in court all the time. Does a park ranger have the same powers of a cop/state trooper? When he refused to accept my paper work I knew something wasn't right and suggested that he or I will call out a state trooper, that's when he agreed to let me off.


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## leeabu (Apr 10, 2004)

I hope all goes well for you in court! Please keep us posted as to the outcome. Did you get the Rangers name or badge number?


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## bassinator_oh (Sep 28, 2011)

leeabu said:


> With all due respect to Bassinator, I would be very interested to hear the same story as told by the Ranger. The story, as told, does not make sense in my opionion. If it went down as stated, there should be absolutly no concern about going to court.


I would like to know too. I want to know y my legit paper work wasn't good enough for him proving that everything belonged to me. Trust me I'm not worried about court, I'm looking forward to my day in court so I can voice my opinion.


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## Eliminator (Aug 26, 2006)

Your license registration renewal is due on your birthdate, The grace period is 10 days for renewal penalty fee's only. In other words if you drive with expired registration 1 day past your birthday you can get a ticket, but if you have driven for 10 days past expiration date without getting a ticket then you pay the penalty, any time in between 1 & 9 days after you buck the system I guess.


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## Bantam3x (Sep 12, 2010)

A lesson for me. I didnt know park rangers could write your basic traffic tickets.


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## Eliminator (Aug 26, 2006)

I don't get it .. were the pates expired or not?
Why did the registration not match the title? 
It's good you had the title with you, my titles stay home in a file.
If all was in order then your a victim for sure no doubt.
The rangers actually do have full juristiction and can do anything a sheriff or trooper can plus odnr stuff!


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## Ozdog (Jul 30, 2007)

I had a similar incident in Ashland county with a Park ranger @ charles Mill. The dude hassled me everytime I fished (night fishing). I was cited for no operators / under suspension. It was all bogue, the Ashland County Judge dismissed the charges. 

Did you just buy your truck & boat? I don't know many people that travel around with their titles.


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## Ozdog (Jul 30, 2007)

[The rangers actually do have full juristiction and can do anything a sheriff or trooper can plus odnr stuff![/QUOTE]

Only in the park.


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## Eliminator (Aug 26, 2006)

Ozdog said:


> [The rangers actually do have full juristiction and can do anything a sheriff or trooper can plus odnr stuff!


Only in the park.[/QUOTE]

Technically yes only in the park, but they are in direct contact with city officials and they all work together.


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## gapwedge (Jun 6, 2011)

when you give an insecure idiot a badge and a little authority, stuff like this happens.


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## kingfisher42 (May 7, 2009)

Hey more important. Did u catch anything???

j/k. that sucks man. good luck in court


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## bassinator_oh (Sep 28, 2011)

Eliminator said:


> I don't get it .. were the pates expired or not?
> Why did the registration not match the title?
> It's good you had the title with you, my titles stay home in a file.
> If all was in order then your a victim for sure no doubt.
> The rangers actually do have full juristiction and can do anything a sheriff or trooper can plus odnr stuff!


It clearly states the expiration date of 3/29/12 on my registration. I keep copies of all my titles with me just for these special occasions. My title and registration all match up proving that I'm the rightful owner, but he keeps insisting that the truck belongs to some1 else. So now I gotta go to court and show the very same papers to the judge lol.


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## Eliminator (Aug 26, 2006)

What does that guy look like? Have to ask him if he a has a problem with fisherman in general or just ones that tow boats with their truck. It sucks to know he's still out there, I sure hope you fix his wagon in court, I'm on your side.
I'd rather take my chances with a sneak thief than have an official like that hanging around.


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## Full_Choke (Apr 13, 2004)

So why does he keep insisting that the truck belongs to some1 else? 
I dont understand this part.
You might be better off gettting this worked out (take it to his supervisor) before you go to court.


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## Snakecharmer (Apr 9, 2008)

I'm confused... The title doesn't show when your plates expire, the registration does. 

Do you have a sticker on your plates, both trailer and truck? and when do they expire?

Did you check to make sure the VIN number on the truck matches the title and registeration?


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## cmiller (Jun 3, 2008)

When I am harrassed like that mention that you'll be talking to his superior(s) and slightly metion lawsuit and harrassment charges. 

This happened to me a few time before. When hustled I pull out my wallet and my Atty card and start calling him up with cop present. The last time it happened, I talked with a superior and it was like I was still at fault. My Atty sent him a letter to either Stop charges or face a full fledged lawsuit against the Department. They were dropped.


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## Snook (Aug 19, 2008)

Not saying your not telling the truth but that is one totally screwed up situation


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## tadluvadd (Feb 19, 2012)

seems like we are missing somthing here.


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## bassinator_oh (Sep 28, 2011)

Snakecharmer said:


> I'm confused... The title doesn't show when your plates expire, the registration does.
> 
> Do you have a sticker on your plates, both trailer and truck? and when do they expire?
> 
> Did you check to make sure the VIN number on the truck matches the title and registeration?


Yes I have all my stickers visible in plain sight. The truck vin matches my title and registration. My boat vin matches my boat title too. But the ranger says when he runs my truck plate number it comes back a different make and model, belonging to some1 else. Therefor, he said my paper work was fictitious and that makes me a suspect(remember I was already a suspect before I came in to load my boat and that was before checking any of my paper work). Apparently he ran my plates while I was out on the lake and waited hours for me to return.


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## bassinator_oh (Sep 28, 2011)

Eliminator said:


> What does that guy look like? Have to ask him if he a has a problem with fisherman in general or just ones that tow boats with their truck. It sucks to know he's still out there, I sure hope you fix his wagon in court, I'm on your side.
> I'd rather take my chances with a sneak thief than have an official like that hanging around.


Never seen him before, must be a new guy bc I've fished the lake long before it ever open to the public. Short guy, maybe 5ft tall(when talking to him I had to look down and I'm only 5'7), stocky guy with brown hair.


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## bdawg (Apr 14, 2009)

From reading all these posts, the only things I can think of that could be the reason for the officer having a problem is that the state has an error in their database, or you did not have the original registration, but a copy instead. Either one of these issues could cause the officer to be "on edge". You could call the BMV to check on your plate registration for you truck and see what they come up with. 

I almost got a ticket 2 years ago because I had a copy of my boat registration on me instead of the original. I thought it would be a good idea to keep the original at home where it wouldn't get wet, but apparently this is not allowed. 
The officer let me go with a warning.


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## Double J (Jan 7, 2009)

If these are the facts you have nothing to worry about.


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## dmills4124 (Apr 9, 2008)

I will agree with the sentiments of everyone else here that there is something fishie for sure about this story. The officer was either a complete rookie or a$$. He was sure confused by the facts he had in hand which makes me think like bdawg that there is something screwed up at the DMV. Several threads on this site have been about ID theft and everything around that subject. I would take your paperwork into the local DMV and see if there is somekind of problem that the officer saw and was confused about. If you can find and correct the problem before court you will be ahead of the game. The court may just pull your paperwork and driving privleges till they can get the prosecuter and/or DMV to fix it. I have found that the DMV office here in Kent on SR43 only has a 5 min waiting line whenever I go in there. Do your homework yourself. Dont expect the court to fix the problem. You need to make sure that the facts you have in hand are correct. Otherwise the courts only choice is to rule against you, till YOU, not the court, corrects whatever the problem was that confused the officer. The court will be just as confused with the facts that the officer was looking at. Unless the officer was a complete BOOB and was just there to harras you. If all your paperwork is correct with the state then he is just a big rookie needing more training.
JMTCW
donm


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## Snakecharmer (Apr 9, 2008)

bassinator_oh said:


> Yes I have all my stickers visible in plain sight. The truck vin matches my title and registration. My boat vin matches my boat title too. But the ranger says when he runs my truck plate number it comes back a different make and model, belonging to some1 else. Therefor, he said my paper work was fictitious and that makes me a suspect(remember I was already a suspect before I came in to load my boat and that was before checking any of my paper work). Apparently he ran my plates while I was out on the lake and waited hours for me to return.


I'll bet the DMV transposed a number in their system. They should be able to look you up by name and see what plates you have in their system or see if someelse is assigned to the plates you have. 

Do you plates have any letters or numbers that can be confused? O or 0 , I or 1. B or 8?


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## sterno (Jul 20, 2011)

Went to the dmv on 43 some years ago.They asked me if i wanted a new plate or just a sticker.I just wanted a sticker.But they gave me a new set of plates.never thought anything about it at the time.Put them on my car and drove for a year.The next year i went to the dmv in Stow to renew.The clerk went and got another person who came up to the counter and told me my plates were reported as stolen.After a lot of checking her is what had happened.The clerk on 43 gave me plates.When the next person came in they were to get the next set of plates in their inventory.But the plates had already been issued to me.So they reported them as stolen.If I had been stopped anywhere in the year I drove on them i would have been in serious trouble.Went to Canada twice that year.That would have been fun if I got stopped up there.


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## sterno (Jul 20, 2011)

Another thing that happened to me was about 2 weeks after I bought my first Harley.Bought it from a guy in my neighborhood,who was a few years younger than myself.Went to school with his sister.On July 4th,driving through akron i was stopped at a light.A police car was on the opposite side of the road.Upon seeing me he turned on his lights and motioned for me to pull over.By the time I turned my key off he already had two more backup cruisers there (a total of 6 cops).The sgt. that pulled me over came up to me.I handed him my license,title and registration.He threw them on the ground and told me they were fake and i had stolen the bike.He was calling a tow truck.Back in that day they used to throw your bike on a sling and wrap chains around it.he then threw me on the hood of the cruiser and frisked me.He asked where i worked.I told him and also informed him that i worked with a few off duty officers who could vouch for me.He asked names,and told me i could go but the next morning to have my Harley on the sidewalk of the police station or he would come to my work place and arrest and handcuff me and cause a commotion so i would lose my job.My boss told me not to go,however I did.Took me up to auto theft.A detective went back down with me a told me he was just harassing me.He said he was just on a power trip.I was also told by an attorney that I had no legal rights to question him.Total bunch of BS.I looked the part,long hair,beard,Harley.Wish i still had hair


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## Tatonka (Aug 23, 2007)

bassinator_oh said:


> Trust me the thought did cross my mind to make a buck off the state, but decided it wasnt worth the trouble and besides I rather spend my time fishing rather than being in court all the time. Does a park ranger have the same powers of a cop/state trooper? When he refused to accept my paper work I knew something wasn't right and suggested that he or I will call out a state trooper, that's when he agreed to let me off.


You wouldn't have won a dime anyway, if found innocent and this is tossed out of court you suffered no loss


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## Skish (Nov 4, 2008)

Any chance he's dating an exgirlfriend of yours?


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## Pooka (Jan 30, 2012)

The Harley story makes me chuckle. I have been through this many times, in several States, over the years. 
I ride a 72 Sporty (since 84) that at some point had the engine or the cases changed from the original. Hence the numbers do not match from cases to frame. 

Big red flag, right? 

Wrong. If you know a bit about the history of HD you will know that at that time the bikes were titled to the frame and NOT the engine. 

Add to that, no speedometer and no turn signals (not required at time of manufacture) and it makes for great fun every time the old long hair with the beard gets pulled over. LOL!!


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## ssv1761982 (Jun 2, 2004)

Any update? Just curious.


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