PISGAH, Iowa — Two men have been charged by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources Law Enforcement Bureau with cutting down and selling Walnut trees from a state-owned park.
Bradley Lynn Hagerman, 38, of Pigsah, Iowa and Eric Robert Freihage, 30, of Council Bluffs, were charged on May 25 with one count of:
-2nd degree Theft, a class D felony
-Timber Buyer – Bond or Accounting Violation, a serious misdemeanor
-Timber Buyer Violation, a serious misdemeanor.
Hagerman and Freihage admitted to the transportation and selling of nine trees between January 24 and January 30 of this year.
The men sold the trees, which came from Loess Hills State Forest, to Midwest Walnut in Council Bluffs for nearly $5,000.
The nine trees had an appraised value of over $7,500.
Hagerman and Freihage turned themselves in to authorities after the arrests warrants were issued and are currently out on bond.