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Man who sawed down trees in downtown LA sentenced to 2 years in prison
A fallen tree on the sidewalk at the intersection of Olympic Boulevard and Hope Street in Los Angeles on April 21, 2025.
(
Kavish Harjai
/
LAist
)
Topline:
A man who sparked outrage in downtown Los Angeles last year after using a chainsaw to cut down about a dozen streetside trees was sentenced to two years in prison.
Why now: Samuel Patrick Groft, 45, was sentenced Wednesday after pleading no contest to nine felony counts of vandalism and two misdemeanor counts of vandalism in Los Angeles County Superior Court.
The case against him: Groft sometimes hacked away at large, decades-old trees in the middle of the night, and for others, he wielded a cordless power saw on busy sidewalks in broad daylight, according to surveillance videos reviewed by the Los Angeles Police Department. Neighborhood outrage continued to grow as the destruction continued over the course of at least five days beginning April 17 until his arrest April 22 — Earth Day.
The damage caused: LAist’s media partner CBS LA reported that witnesses at trial estimated there was nearly $350,000 in damage caused to city- and privately owned trees. At the time, Zach Seidl, a spokesperson for the mayor’s office, described the incident as “truly beyond comprehension.”
What's next: Groft was ordered to pay restitution, a hearing for which is set for April 15.
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