The mysterious case of a chainsaw vandal who was seen randomly destroying trees in and around downtown Los Angeles last year has come to a sad end.
As the trial of Samuel Patrick Groft is about to begin, the 45-year-old student instead pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges of vandalism stemming from the seven-day massacre.
He was sentenced to two years in state prison and will pay restitution in an amount due in court in April, according to Cynthia Valenzuela, an LA County deputy district attorney in the environmental crimes division.
City officials have previously testified that the loss of three trees – their cleanup and replacement – will cost about $175,000.
Dan Halden, a spokesman for the city’s Bureau of Street Services, did not immediately respond Wednesday to questions about the total cost of the tree loss or the replanting process. In May, he said the city has started replacing these trees.
Groft is accused of felling 12 trees, and sawing off a leg on a 13th, in a seven-day period from April 13 – sometimes during the day, sometimes at night. Officials have asked for the public’s help in identifying the suspect, who was wearing all black and was riding a bicycle with a backpack and duffel bag, who they believe was carrying a chainsaw.
Detectives were able to identify Groft as the suspect after finding his name on a receipt for the chainsaw, which he bought before authorities say he cut a large branch from a tree on North Figueroa Street.
On Wednesday, Groft pleaded not guilty to nine counts of vandalism and two counts of malicious destruction of property.
Valenzuela declined to comment further on the case. Groft’s lawyers also declined to comment.
Without a trial, it is unlikely that the public will know what caused the strange series of tree fellings.
Groft, who was imprisoned in the Chinatown camp, had been living on the streets for a long time. There were some concerns about his mental health and whether his state of mind played a role, especially after he told officials he was surprised they were arresting him on Earth Day, and saying he was related to trees.
“He said something like, ‘I like trees, I like bark, I’m a tree planter,'” Los Angeles Police Department Det. Jose Hidalgo testified after his arrest.
In 2023, Groft also told a student reporter at Cal State LA that he had completed a mental health court diversion program, which provides residential mental health treatment to people facing prison time as an alternative to incarceration.
Groft’s attorneys in November expressed doubts about his sanity, but a judge found Groft competent after an evaluation.
In court filings, his attorneys also indicated that Groft “may be addicted to drugs” and said he could agree to participate in a drug program as a condition of his pretrial release.
However, it was not immediately clear if he had ever participated in such a scheme, as the judge rejected a request for pretrial release. In his plea, his lawyers said his arrest allowed Groft to “think about the sober life he so desperately wanted.”
