Homeless man will stand trial for hacking down 12 trees in LA

LOS ANGELES (CN) — A Superior Court judge on Thursday ordered 44-year-old Samuel Groft to stand trial on nine felony counts of vandalism for cutting down 12 trees and sawing a limb off of another.

Groft is currently in jail, his bail having been set at $350,000.

During the second day of a preliminary hearing, LAPD detective Jose Hidalgo testified that police arrested Groft at a makeshift homeless encampment he’d been living at, in a cul-de-sac abutting a freeway. Hidalgo said that Groft told them: “I love trees. I love bark. I’m an arborist.” He also expressed a certain level of dismay at being arrested on Earth Day, April 22.

In Groft’s possession, police found a small electric chainsaw, a bicycle, a camouflage baseball hat with the word “Tijuana” on it, and a dark blue duffel bag emblazoned with the word “Kazakhstan.” Both the hat and the duffel bag had been seen on multiple pieces of security camera footage taken near the scene of trees Groft is said to have sawn down.

Groft’s tree-cutting spree, which took place over the course of one week in April, began at a hardware store, Harbor Freight, where he purchased the rechargeable battery-powered chainsaw and a pair of work gloves. He paid with a credit card; the receipt would later help police identify the suspect.

Groft immediately walked to a nearby gas station, and sawed a limb off a tree. He then left. The next day, April 14, he appeared in downtown LA and cut down at least three trees. He felled one more on April 17, three more on April 18, and at least five more on April 19, including two ficus trees and two Chinese elms.

Most of the crimes were committed in broad daylight, in and around the downtown area.

The rampage triggered widespread outrage online. One commenter on reddit called it and “evil thoughtless act of destruction.” Another wrote: “Whoever did this needs to be locked away from society.”

Another commenter claimed to have seen the accused in action, writing: “Last Sunday, I saw a tall, balding/shaved head white guy at the corner of Broadway/Ceasar Chavez hacking at a tree in front of an apartment with a cordless harbor freight chainsaw (the red Bauer one) screaming about being an ‘arborist.’ I drove away when he met my gaze cause, you know, chainsaw-wielding psychopath. But it absolutely had to be him.”

Prosecutors had charged Groft with 11 felonies, but the judge reduced two of the counts to misdemeanors. In order to qualify as felony vandalism, the damage has to be worth more than $400. Superior Court Judge George Lomeli found that prosecutors hadn’t proven the cost incurred by the damage to two of the trees.

Prosecutors did call a certified arborist employed by the city of LA, who testified on Thursday that he estimated the cost of six of the felled trees to be $174,900 — including the cost of hauling the dead tree away, removing the stump and replanting a new tree. The other felled trees received less detailed analysis.

If convicted, Groft faces up to six-and-a-half years in state prison. He has a lengthy criminal record, including previous convictions for assault with a deadly weapon, driving under the influence, felony vandalism and a hit-and-run.

In 2023, Groft was interviewed by a student journalist from Cal State LA for a story about homelessness. Groft was interviewed and photographed at the same encampment where he would later be arrested. He is easily recognizable, with a shaved head, goatee and a neck tattoo with the roman numeral “VI.” Groft told the journalist that he had graduated from a mental health diversion program following one of his convictions.

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