Shop shut down over mounted fish

L & D Bait, Tackle and Taxidermy in Lakewood has shut down, and colorful owner Larry "Pete" Petersen is due in Lakewood Municipal Court for illegally selling mounted game fish.

Cuyahoga County wildlife officer Jason Hadsell said he recently stopped at the shop at 18508 Detroit Road and saw two dozen mounted fish bearing price tags.

Hadsell advised Petersen it is illegal to sell game fish, including fish mounts. About a week later, said Hadsell, a plain clothes wildlife officer purchased mounted fish at the shop, and Petersen was cited on four counts of selling sport fish.

Petersen was arraigned before Judge Patrick Carroll in Lakewood Municipal Court and is scheduled for sentencing Dec. 11.

Petersen had owned taxidermy shops in Valley City and Olmsted Falls, the latter destroyed by fire a couple of decades ago. He is currently in a legal wrangle with the Ohio Division of Wildlife over funds from point-of-sale fishing and hunting licenses. According to wildlife officials, Petersen claimed the license money was stolen from a hiding place in the tackle shop's freezer.

The telephone at the Lakewood shop has been shut off. Petersen could not be reached.