2-day fishing license, purchased 12/20/02

Collected on: December 26, 2002

Collected by:  Detective Al Brocchini, then given to Rudy Skultety

Initial Suspicion

When Detectives Brocchini presented Scott with the search warrant about 5 p.m. on the 26th, Scott read it over and then immediately produced the 2-day fishing license he had purchased on December 20.  The next day, Brocchini gave the license to Rudy Skultety to be booked as evidence. 

Scott had told Brocchini on the night of the 24th, that going fishing was a "morning decision," and yet he had purchased a 2-day fishing license on the 20th, as well as some fishing lures and a fishing rod, from the Big 5 Sporting Goods store.  The purchase included an Ocean enhancement stamp, indicating the plan to go fishing on the ocean in southern California, as this stamp is only needed south of Point Arguello.  Or else Scott simply didn't know the regulations and thought the stamp was needed for any ocean fishing.

What saves Scott's explanation though, that it was a morning decision to go fishing instead of golfing, is that the Dates Valid were not written in by the store clerk, as they should have been.  Rather, they were written in by Scott.  Obviously, when he purchased the fishing license on the 20th, he didn't know which days he would use it.  When he decided to fish on the 24th, he wrote in the dates 23/24 as the Dates Valid.  2 dates have to be written in -- so it was just as well that he chose the 23/24 as to choose the 24/25, as he was unlikely to plan on fishing on Christmas Day.

Conclusion

The purchase of the fishing license was totally unnecessary if he were using the boat to dispose of Laci's body.  It does, however, show that on the 20th he decided to go fishing sometime before the end of the year.  If he had not gone on the 24th, he could have gone between the 26th and 31st.  Or for that matter, he could have gone anytime during 2003, as the license was valid until December 31, 2003, for any two consecutive days.