A man who authorities said used a chainsaw to cut down 13 trees — primarily in downtown Los Angeles — pleaded no contest Wednesday to vandalism charges and was immediately sentenced to two years behind bars.
Samuel Patrick Groft, 45, pleaded no contest to nine felony counts of vandalism and two misdemeanor counts of vandalism over the prosecution’s objection after Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Yvette Verastegui offered the two-year term, which will be served in county jail, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
A restitution hearing is set April 15 in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
Authorities have estimated that there was nearly $350,000 in damage.
Groft had been ordered to stand trial last May following a hearing in which two of the 11 felony charges were reduced to misdemeanor counts.
Judge George Lomeli agreed then with the defense’s argument that the prosecution had not proven that there was more than $400 in damage to the four trees involved in those two counts that had been newly added to the case.
Detective Jose Hidalgo was among a team of Los Angeles Police Department personnel who arrested the defendant last April 22 at an encampment in the area of Custer Avenue and Sunset Boulevard, adjacent to the Hollywood (101) Freeway and Arroyo Seco (110) Parkway, in downtown Los Angeles. Hidalgo testified at last year’s hearing that Groft said “something about you’re arresting me on Earth Day” and told police, “I love trees. I love bark. I’m an arborist.”
A chainsaw that was originally red but had been spray-painted black was recovered at the scene, along with other items, including a bicycle, a baseball cap and the chainsaw box that were seen in surveillance video footage, the detective testified.
David Miranda, a street tree superintendent for the city of Los Angeles, testified last May that he estimated damage at just under $175,000 for trees that had been located on city-owned property, but said he did not do an assessment of replacement costs involving all of the trees — some of which he said were on private property.
LAPD Detective Roberto Gutierrez testified at last year’s hearing that he was told by a woman that three juniper trees reported to cost about $10,000 each were cut down April 14 in front of her business in the 700 block of West Temple Street. He said the woman provided surveillance video footage showing the suspect holding a chainsaw and cutting down trees while wearing black gloves.
The charges involve 13 trees that were cut between April 13 and April 19, including one that had a limb chopped off in broad daylight.
Los Angeles Police Detective Ryan Watterson — who said he was investigating a tip regarding a tree being vandalized on the afternoon of April 13 on the east side of Avenue 26 near Figueroa Street — testified that he determined a chainsaw seen on surveillance video footage was sold exclusively by Harbor Freight Tools. He noted that surveillance video footage from the store showed the suspect paying for the chainsaw at the nearby Harbor Freight store and that Groft’s name was on a receipt that day from the store.
LAPD Officer Manuel Rojas testified that he responded last April 19 to a call about damaged trees at 350 S. Grand Ave. and “saw three trees cut down and laying on the street.” He said video surveillance footage showed a suspect approaching with something in his hand, the suspect moving away and a tree falling. The officer testified that he subsequently saw another tree cut down farther south on Grand Avenue along with an additional one on Hope Street just south of Ninth Street.
He said all the trees were cut down in the same manner.
Another officer testified that he responded to a report of a tree that was vandalized April 17 in the 500 block of North Broadway, saying the tree had been cut in half.
Three other trees were vandalized last April 18 in the 1500 block of Eighth Street, Hidalgo testified.
“What took years to grow only took minutes to destroy,” District Attorney Nathan Hochman said in a statement after the case was filed last year. “Trees not only provide shade and comfort but nourish those who live and work in our communities. Selfish and senseless acts that strip away a vital piece of our ecosystem are profoundly disturbing and my office will prosecute anyone who engages in such criminal conduct to the fullest extent of the law.”
City Councilwoman Ysabel Jurado, who represents downtown neighborhoods, highlighted the way in which residents came together in the aftermath of what she described as a “random act of violence.”
“Thanks to the generosity of various community organizations and community members that have reached out … we’re replacing the trees two to one,” Jurado said.
LA Conservation Corps and North East Trees will donate new trees, she said.