Man arrested after illegally cutting Cherry Blossom tree branches from LA park

Cherry Blossom thief arrested

A man accused of cutting limbs off cherry blossom trees has been arrested in Hacienda Heights.

LOS ANGELES - A man in the Hacienda Heights area was arrested this week, accused of illegally cutting Cherry Blossom tree branches from a popular park and selling them.

The incident happened at Schabarum Regional Park where every spring hundreds of people visit every day to take pictures of the cherry blossoms.

"This type of crime, really damages the community," said Detective Alexander Harvey from L.A. County Sheriff’s Department. "You want to come out and see a beautiful park instead of trees dying."

Throughout the last few years, authorities said they have noticed missing branches from trees at the park. Some trees have been cut so much that they’ll likely die. Officials estimate the illegal cutting will likely cost taxpayers more than $50,000.

"I’ve been doing this for 20 years and this is the first time I’ve ever seen anyone stealing branches off trees," said Kevin Kane, a Master Arborist with LA County. "It will take structural rehabilitative pruning, probably 5 or 6 years, for these trees to come back."

As a result of the costly damage, authorities started investigating. Eventually, their investigation led them to the Flower District in downtown Los Angeles. There they located branches for sale that looked similar to the ones at Schabarum Park.

"They were just selling them downtown for anywhere from $20 to $40," said LASD Detective Bao Dang. "We got some more information from the seller that they were going to get more this week. So, we came here and did surveillance."

While surveying the park this week, authorities watched as a man came and started illegally cutting branches of Cherry Trees. Detectives confronted the man and ultimately arrested him for theft and vandalism.

"When I contacted him, he threw down the cutting instrument," said Harvey. "He knew what he did and has been doing. He was cooperative."

One arrest has been made in this case, but authorities believe more people could be involved. If you have any information, call (626) 854-5560.