Tree Thief Sentenced to 2.5 Years for Stealing from National Forest

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A West Plains man was slapped with a 2.5-year federal prison sentence for stealing from a national forest, and the punishment doesn’t stop there.

Justin Lee Massey, 40, of West Plains, Mo., was sentenced in federal court today for illegally harvesting and stealing trees from Mark Twain National Forest. According to court records, Massey cut down at least 10 trees in the area of HC Road 5120 in Howell County, Mo., between Dec. 15, 2020, and Jan. 20, 2021.

The trees were removed from the area and taken to a local sawmill, where they were sold. Based on the value of the trees illegally harvested and stolen from Mark Twain National Forest and those trees damaged due to the illegal harvesting, the total restitution is $30,000.

Massey pleaded guilty to one count of theft of government property on July 19, 2023. The court ordered the federal sentence to be served consecutively to the unrelated state criminal convictions for which Massey is currently incarcerated.

As part of the sentence, Massey must also pay $30,000 in restitution to the U.S. Forest Service and forfeit to the government $30,000, which represents the proceeds of his theft. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Carney. It was investigated by the U.S. Forest Service.

The brazen theft of resources from a national forest is a slap in the face to the American taxpayer. Trees and natural resources are meant to be preserved for future generations, not harvested for personal profit. It’s a shame that Massey chose to put his own interests above the law and the well-being of our nation’s natural resources.