VENTURA, Calif. (AP) — A man who bulldozed more than 300 oak trees on his property could face more than three years in jail after he was convicted on criminal charges.
William Kaddis, 58, could also face fines of nearly $100,000. He also was convicted Friday of illegally keeping 62 dogs on his property in the town of Ojai, altering a stream without permission and filing a false police report.
The oak trees, protected under a 1992 Ventura County law, were destroyed sometime before October 2001.
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"This was the largest rape of land in the history of Ventura County, and if they think we wouldn't prosecute anyone who destroyed our environment, they're wrong," Deputy District Attorney Karen Wold said.