MASON CITY – Two men accused of felonies for allegedly cheating in a Clear Lake fishing tourney are set for trials after not guilty pleas.
Law enforcement arrested two men who won the Clear Lake Yellow Bass Bonanza – a fishing tournament held on February 8, 2015: Aaron Lauber, age 23 of Clear Lake and Jason Schuttler, age 25 of Manly. Both men face a charge of second degree theft. The tournament featured teams of two persons who could catch up to 50 fish and then turn in their weight total.
“After the tournament, it was brought to our attention that cheating may have occurred,” organizers of the event said. “We immediately contacted authorities.”
Both men have entered not guilty pleas and are set for trials.
Schuttler is set for a jury trial on June 9, 2015.
Lauber is set for jury trial on June 23, 2015.
Both men are scheduled for pre-trial conferences prior to they trials, where plea deals are sometimes struck.
“Once this issue has been fully resolved .. we will address the questions regarding tournament standings,” tournament organizers said. “We are very disappointed that this great event has been over shadowed by the DISHONESTY (their emphasis) of these 2 individuals.”
