Landowners fined after 36 Joshua trees found uprooted, buried on property
Victorville Daily Press
Two landowners accused of killing and burying 36 western Joshua trees to make way for a home were fined and ordered into a court program last week.
Per the agreement, Jeffrey Walter and Jonetta Nordberg-Walter won’t be prosecuted if they meet the conditions of the pre-trial diversion program, the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office said.
Authorities said an investigation began in February after the California Department of Fish and Wildlife received a tip that a landowner in the community of Joshua Tree “was intentionally uprooting Joshua Trees to make way for home construction and was burying them on the property.”