Salmon poachers arrested after chase in Niagara County

Three men have been arrested after allegedly poaching salmon in Niagara County, then leading police on a chase through the woods.

The New York State Department of Conservation (DEC) says officers were patrolling along Lake Ontario around 2 a.m. Wednesday when they found garbage bags filled with 69 fresh salmon.

The DEC says two men approached the area and were ordered to stop, and then ran off into the woods. Officials say one suspect was caught hiding in the brush and another jumped into the creek. Authorities later caught up with the man and was taken into custody. A third man was found waiting in a pickup truck.

DEC officials say the men are 41-year-old Sergey Yatchuk, of Getzville, 29-year-old Petro Parfenyk, of Erie, Pennsylvania, and 39-year-old Mikhail Sakalosh, of Spartanburg, South Carolina.

Authorities say the men have been charged with 32 violations and were taken to the Niagara County Jail in lieu of bail.