A Pikeville man has been ordered to pay restitution for damages arising from the wrongful taking of timber logs from Bledsoe State Forest.
In June, John T. Simmons was charged with theft, trespass and vandalism after he was seen loading the logs onto a trailer alongside a forest road. A grand jury later indicted Simmons on all charges. In August Simmons entered an agreement with prosecutors to pay restitution to the Tennessee Department of Agriculture for damages arising from the incident, as well as courts costs and other requirements.
If Simmons fulfills his obligations under the agreement, charges in the case will be dismissed.
The Tennessee Agricultural Crime Unit and the Division of Forestry worked with Bledsoe County’s law enforcement and district attorney to make charges on this case. The logs taken were part of a downed timber lot that was listed for bid under salvage sale.
“The estimated value of the timber and its retrieval costs were part of the damages assessed.” ACU Captain Greg Whitehead said. “When a person knowingly takes timber without the owner’s consent it can lead to criminal prosecution, and ACU will follow every lead and use every tool at our disposal to find and to prosecute timber theft.”