Des Moines Man Sentenced To 15 Months For Theft Of Walnut Trees From The Army Corps Of Engineers

DES MOINES, IA – On May 9, 2013, Randall Todd Walker, a 50 year old resident of Des Moines, Iowa, was sentenced to 15 months imprisonment for cutting and removing 32 black walnut trees from property under the control of the Army Corps of Engineers and the Department of Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, announced United States Attorney Nicholas A. Klinefeldt. United States District Judge John A. Jarvey also ordered Walker to serve three years of supervised release following incarceration. Judge Jarvey also ordered Walker to pay restitution in the amount of $56,225 and to pay a $100.00 special assessment for the Crime Victims Fund.

Walker had previously pleaded guilty to removing the walnut trees from the Neal Smith National Wildlife Reserve, which is under the control of the Department of Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, as well as from other property under the control of the Army Corps of Engineers at the following locations: the downtown Riverside area in Des Moines, Iowa; the Sycamore area, in Polk County, Iowa; and the Lake Red Rock area in Marion County, Iowa.

The investigation was conducted by U.S. Fish and Wildlife, State of Iowa Department of Natural Resources Law Enforcement Bureau, and the Army Corps of Engineers. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

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