A Columbia City tree trimmer is facing charges of theft after police say he stole trees from a neighbor of a property he was working on. Scott Huntley, 37, is facing one charge of theft, a level 6 felony. Huntley, doing business as Arbor Tech, had agreed to buy 23 trees from Edward Sommers in Kosciusko County, in order to harvest the wood. Police say Huntley spoke to a neighbor of Sommers about selling him trees for wood, but the owner said he wasn’t interested in selling, according to court records. As Huntley was harvesting Sommers’ trees, he allegedly crossed the property line and cut two trees down from the neighbor, according to a probable cause affidavit from the Kosciusko County Prosector’s Office. Sommers said he saw Huntley cross the line. The trees were found on Sommers’ property. Huntley’s co-worker told a conservation officer that Huntley told him to cover the stumps in the neighbor’s yard, and if the neighbor “didn’t like the fact that he stole the trees, if it comes down to it, I’ll just have pay the price for it,” the affidavit states. State Forester DeWayne McCoy appraised the price of the stolen trees at $7,707.47. Huntley was arrested Saturday afternoon and is currently out on bond.
