Re: Federal judge sentences tree cutter to 27 months in prison

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eeek

Federal judge sentences tree cutter to 27 months in prison
July 16, 2009 01:38PM

Admin
Registered: 15 years ago
Posts: 17,111

TRUCKEE, Calif. — A federal judge Tuesday sentenced John W. Clifton, 21, of Truckee and Sierraville to 27 months in prison for illegally cutting trees last year at Stampede Reservoir. Clifton's sentence, handed down by U.S District Court Judge John A. Mendez, includes $70,430 in restitution to the U.S. Forest Service for destruction of government property. Clifton allegedly felled at least three, and potentially up to 33, mature Jeffrey pine trees in April 2008 on the shoreline of Davies Creek and Stampede Reservoir, north of Truckee.

http://www.sierrasun.com/article/20090716/NEWS/907169987/-1/RSS

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Vince

Re: Federal judge sentences tree cutter to 27 months in prison
July 16, 2009 03:11PM

Registered: 15 years ago
Posts: 1,232

You have to read the article to find out why the sentence is what otherwise would be too harsh. I'd have sentenced him to 27 months of planting trees until I read the part about the handgun. Cya later.

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y_p_w

Re: Federal judge sentences tree cutter to 27 months in prison
July 16, 2009 03:40PM

Registered: 15 years ago
Posts: 1,374

I saw someone taking a hacksaw to a bush at Kalaloch Campground at Olympic NP because it was otherwise brushing up against a popup trailer.

However - one comparable case was the owner of a house in Incline Village, Nevada. Apparently the Forest Service owns a stand of 80-100 year old pines in a suburban setting. They kept them because if cut they would increase soil erosion and runoff into Lake Tahoe. They also apparently blocked her views of the lake. So she hired a tree service to cut them down. It was apparently rather blatant too. She allegedly repainted a line marking the boundary of federal property.

http://www.tahoedailytribune.com/article/TB/20080123/NEWS/159410591/
http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/ltbmu/news/2008/01/24-federal-charges-incline-woman.shtml
http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1333182/lake_tahoe_resident_could_face_prison_over_tree_removal/index.html?source=r_science

The last I heard, she was sentenced to probation and forced to pay a hefty fine. It was actually 4 minutes of probation. Supposedly the probation had to go on record, but she had already served the 80 hours of community service.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/06/04/national/a185512D47.DTL