Authorities close to Cleveland, Ohio, have introduced felony fees in opposition to a brother and sister accused of slicing down a 100-year-old black walnut tree in a neighborhood park and promoting the precious wooden.

Todd Jones, 56, and his sister, Laurel Hoffman, 54, each face fees of grand theft and falsification in Cuyahoga County Widespread Pleas Court docket. They're scheduled to be arraigned on the fees later this month.

When reached by telephone Tuesday night, Jones declined remark to Newsweek. Hoffman couldn't be reached for remark.

However each advised cleveland.com and The Plain Seller that they consider the tree was positioned on household property adjoining to Cleveland Metropark's Mill Stream Run Reservation and they need to not face fees.

"That is so ridiculous that they are doing this," Jones advised the paper. "That is insane. There was no ailing intent."

Black Walnut Tree
In Ohio, a brother and sister had been charged, accused of illegally slicing down a black walnut tree and promoting its wooden. Above, a black walnut exhibits off its autumn colours. Getty Photos

Jones and Hoffman advised the paper that their late father purchased the property 36 years in the past and had persistently referred to the black walnut tree as "his." Hoffman questioned why park officers did not elevate any considerations when the tree was being reduce down throughout every week in September.

"I don't know the place that is coming from," she stated. "It is ours. I simply do not perceive any of this."

The Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Workplace didn't reply to a request for remark from Newsweek Tuesday night.

Authorities started trying into the incident in September when an official with Cleveland Metroparks seen that the tree had been "freshly reduce" and just lately planted saplings close by had been broken, reviews native Fox affiliate WJW.

Police contacted Jones, who initially advised officers he needed to pay a positive and transfer on, in keeping with the station. He advised investigators that he by no means lived on the property and had acquired it from his father. Based on the incident report, Jones stated he wasn't going to "have this massive investigation into all these things" as a result of "this isn't the crime of the century."

Metroparks Director of Pure Assets Jennifer Grieser advised The Plain Seller that the black walnut was exceptionally giant, at 5 1/2 ft in width and 17 1/4 ft in circumference, placing it among the many largest of its variety within the state.

"We should be doing all the things we are able to to guard timber, particularly giant mature timber like this one," she advised the paper.

Jones and Hoffman bought the tree to a logging firm for $2,000, in keeping with paperwork cited by native media. However park officers "conservatively" put the price of the tree at $28,814 together with $102,909 for the broken saplings. The logging firm didn't know the tree's origin and isn't going through fees.

Paperwork cited by native media say the tree was 7.5 ft from Jones' property. However Jones advised to The Plain Seller that the fees are a tactic to strong-arm him into promoting the property to Metroparks, which he stated tried to purchase the property months in the past for lower than the property worth.

"The Defendant's intentional motion of slicing down a mature tree on Cleveland Metroparks property and promoting the milled wooden to a 3rd get together is on no account associated to the potential curiosity in acquisition of the Defendant's property," park officers stated in an announcement to the paper.