OPELIKA, Ala. (AP) — The Alabama fan who poisoned the iconic Toomer’s Corner oak trees at rival Auburn has been sentenced to three years in prison.
Court filings Friday show that Harvey Updyke Jr. pleaded guilty to desecrating a venerated object and damaging an animal or crop facility. The sentence requires him to serve at least six months in jail and spend five years on supervised probation. He has been credited with 104 days already served.
Lee County Circuit Judge Jacob A. Walker III also fined Updyke $1,000. The probation terms include a 7 p.m. curfew and prohibit Updyke from going onto Auburn’s campus or attending a college sporting event.
Auburn fans traditionally gather at Toomer’s Corner to celebrate victories. The resolution ends a case that highlighted the emotions in the year-round rivalry.
I’m sorry, don’t breath people, you could be doing some kind of harm to something, and go to jail over it! It’s a tree, give me a break!
more time than many gun crimes .. we have indeed lost our way ..
More than most child molesters! Wth? This country is so F’d up
First off it’s not one tree, it was 3 of them. The poison he used is one that will stay in the soil for 3 to 5 years and could possibly contaminate ground water. He also poisoned the trees as a retaliation.
So I’m not sure why anyone would argue that 3 years is too much punishment for someone destroying property in such a way that it can’t be used for years, did it for malicious reasons, and could possibly put an entire community in danger due to contaminating ground water.
Of course all of that information would require people to actually read up on what happened to obtain facts instead of jumping to absurd conclusions.
Facts? Our government has destroyed NATIONS under false pretenses with no “jail time”. Israel has broken 61 UN resolutions with no repercussions. Iraq broke 2 and we destroyed the country for decades to come. Hundreds of square miles in Japan, uninhabitable, our doing. No jail time.
Good! Wish the fool had gotten minimum of TEN years and five extra in Psychiatric Ward for killing that tree! Pretty scary with “all these people that are crazy running around!” They really need to open up the hospitals for the Mentally Ill.
Wow!!!!!!!!!! Just because your brain shat out an idea doesn’t mean you should share it.
Ridiculous!
What??? Did he pee on the tree?