A property owner who is also a timber buyer is facing a charge of felony theft over a couple of valuable trees that stood close to his property line. The trees were cut and taken after the neighboring property owner advised him the trees were on the neighbor’s property.      

Darron Vincent Tanksley, 27, of Williams, Ind., turned himself in to the Greene County Jail on Monday morning, September 16, after a warrant was issued for his arrest last Friday, September 13, following an investigation by Indiana Conservation Officer Greg Swanson.

ICO Swanson started his investigation back on July 2 when the neighboring property owner talked to Swanson about trees that had been cut and removed from his property without his permission.

Tanksley is a timber buyer for Indiana Timber and Veneer LLC.  Swanson determined that Indiana Timber and Veneer did have a valid timber buyer’s license and that Tanksley was a licensed agent for the company.

After talking to the neighbor who made the complaint in connection with property he owned in Greene County, Swanson continued to investigate through July and most of August with numerous interviews, visits to the property and checks. He had several conversations and meetings with the neighbor, with Tanksley, with workers on the cutting crew, and a surveyor.

ICO Swanson detailed these interviews and the information he gleaned in a lengthy probable cause document. According to Swanson, the neighbor had posted signs for the cutting crew not to cut the trees as well as no trespassing signs, called in a surveyor to mark the property line and had contacted Tanksley to discuss the situation.

Tanksley allegedly told the neighbor that he understood the issue and would not cut the trees in question. Although at one point in a conversation with ICO Swanson, Tanksley allegedly said the cuttings were just a mistake, he also said he took full responsibility for it.

To estimate the value of the trees, ICO Swanson met with the Timber Buyer Licensing Forester of the Division of Forestry at the property. The forester took measurements of the leftover stumps and tree tops from a white oak and a red oak. The total appraised value of the trees which contained an estimated 1,700 board feet was $1,024.58.

When Tanksley was arrested, bond was set at $4,000 surety with ten percent cash allowed. He posted $400 and was released.

He is scheduled to appear in Greene Superior Court next Monday, September 23, to be formally charged with theft – where the value of the property is between $750 and $50,000, a Level 6 felony.