Officials: Forest rangers nab tree thief in pine barrens

After a Maryland man pleaded guilty this week to stealing trees from an area of the pine barrens, state officials handed him over to federal authorities because of an outstanding warrant with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Gilberto Arturo Bonilla-Sorta, 32, of Burtonsville, Md., was arrested last Thursday on charges of removing timber from state lands, petty larceny and trespassing. Officials said that state Department of Conservation forest rangers caught him with six junipers, some with their roots balled in burlap, at the Peconic River Headwaters Natural Resources Area in Calverton.

The Peconic River area of the pine barrens covers about 4,500 acres of pine and oak forest, fields, wetlands and small ponds between Route 25A and the Long Island Expressway.

After pleading guilty to all charges on Monday in Riverhead Town Court, according to the DEC, Bonilla-Sorta was turned over to federal authorities for processing. During that time, he is being held at the Suffolk County jail.

Harold Ort, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman, said Bonilla-Sorta was being held on a detainer, but he could not provide more information because of privacy laws. "Detainers are issued to people who may be removable from the U.S.," Ort said.

Ranger Kevin Slade, part of the team that arrested Bonilla-Sorta, said a DEC patrol got a tip from a man walking his dog on April 14 and then staked out the area. "The man who tipped us off saw him from a distance loading trees in a truck," Slade said, "and we just missed him that first time."

The next day, last Thursday at about 4:30 p.m., rangers who had been staking out the area caught Bonilla-Sorta with the junipers, officials said. Slade said, however, that further investigation revealed Bonilla-Sorta may have taken as many as 86 shrubs during a two-to-three-month period.

"Our initial take was he just started doing this," Slade said. "But after looking around and matching tire tracks, we found a lot more places where trees had been removed."

Slade could not say what Bonilla-Sorta was doing with the trees. "We're still investigating," he said. "He could have sold them to landscapers or nurseries. We're not sure."Junipers removed from the area can grow as tall as 15 to 20 feet and often are sold at nurseries for up to $150 each, said Slade, adding tree and shrub theft and illegal dumping on state lands is not uncommon.

The DEC relies on tips to catch violators. To report suspected violations, call the department's statewide 24-hour tip line, 877-457-5680.