St. Roberts Man Sentenced for Stealing Timber from the Mark Twain National Park

St. Louis – Richard McKinnon, 38, of St. Roberts, Missouri, was sentenced to 18 months in prison on Thursday for theft of Government property.  He appeared in federal court before U.S. District Judge Stephen Limbaugh. 

According to court documents, between September of 2016 and December of 2016, McKinnon and his co-defendants, Dale Connour and Delmar Connour felled walnut trees located on federal land, from the Mark Twain National Forest in Laclede County and Pulaski County.  They removed at least 39 trees without authorization from the Mark Twain National Forest and then sold the stolen timber at a walnut sawmill located in Texas County, Missouri.  McKinnon and the Connours damaged at least 21 trees as a result of driving prohibited vehicles onto restricted areas of the Forest in order to cut down and remove the walnut trees.  The total estimated value of the National Forest timber and the cost of rehabilitation to Nation Forest land was $35,862.50.

The case was investigated by the Department of Agriculture Forest Service.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Gwen Carroll is handling the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.