Chainsaw-wielding man suspected of felling downtown L.A. trees is arrested
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The Los Angeles Police Department arrested a suspect Tuesday after several tips and surveillance video helped detectives identify a man who they say went on a 12-day rampage in and around downtown, using an electric chain saw to cut down at least 13 mature trees.
The vandalism sparked confusion and outrage when residents spotted the carnage on high-profile streets, including South Grand Avenue and Broadway, over the last several days. A number of trees were severed at the base, while others were cut several feet above the pavement and a few were still connected to their trunks by just a thread of bark.
Dozens of shade trees were hacked down throughout downtown L.A. this weekend.
Shortly before 5 p.m. Tuesday, the LAPD released a community alert showing a photo of the suspect on a bicycle that described him as a man in his 40s. Around 90 minutes later, police announced that Samuel Patrick Groft, 45, had been taken into custody on suspicion of felony vandalism.
Groft is accused of felling at least 13 trees since April 13, the majority in downtown but some also in Glassell Park and Westlake, according to updates Wednesday from the LAPD.
LAPD Det. Robert Gutierrez said just eight of the downed trees were worth an estimated $347,000. He expects that number will continue to increase as more incidents are confirmed.
“We’re getting more leads,” said Gutierrez, a burglary detective for the agency’s Central Division. The agency released Groft’s booking photo because detectives are still “seeking additional victims as they believe the suspect may be responsible for additional unreported crimes.”
Groft, who has a lengthy criminal history, had been living on the streets, LAPD officials said. He was taken into custody Tuesday at a homeless encampment on Sunset Boulevard and Custer Avenue in Chinatown. That area had been targeted in February by the mayor’s Inside Safe program, which works to move unhoused residents into temporary or permanent housing.
That cul-de-sac, which abuts a CVS pharmacy, had about half a dozen tents up Wednesday morning. The setup where Groft was apprehended was by far the largest, surrounded by sheets of a silver thermal material. On the sidewalk nearby was a burned-out tree and a stack of chopped-up tree branches.
One person who spends time in the neighborhood told The Times they had seen the suspect on Sunset previously, at one point using his chain saw on a metal pole.
“There was sparks and s— flying everywhere,” said the person, who asked to remain anonymous for safety reasons. “That ain’t normal.”
In 2023, Groft told a student journalist from Cal State L.A. that he’d been living on the streets for several years, ever since he had completed a mental health court diversion program, which provides residential mental health treatment to people facing jail time as an alternative to incarceration.
LAPD officials declined to comment on whether Groft was currently dealing with mental illness or substance abuse. They also declined to share any possible motive for the tree cuttings.
However, Cmdr. Lillian Carranza conceded that the vandalism was quite peculiar.
“I have 35 years on the Los Angeles Police Department, and I have never seen anyone go and attack trees, especially around the time of Earth Day,” Carranza said. Groft was arrested on Earth Day, which was Tuesday.
Many people who live near the affected trees brought up not only their safety concerns after the incident, but also the major environmental loss of important shade, stormwater management and habitat.
Groft was found in possession of a chain saw when he was arrested, police said Wednesday. He has previously been convicted of assault with a deadly weapon, driving under the influence, vandalism and a hit-and-run, according to court records. LAPD officials declined to comment further on his criminal history, but detectives said they were aware of him from prior cases.
Groft is accused of severing the first tree trunk on April 13 and his most recent on Tuesday, the day he was arrested, police said. Detectives said they are still confirming the exact dates and times of all the incidents, but said some occurred in broad daylight and others in the middle of the night.
One tree was cut in the 500 block of North Broadway; three were sawed near 1550 W. 8th St.; five were downed near 350 S. Grand Ave.; three were cut near 717 W. Temple St.; and one was taken out near 300 Treadwell St., according to LAPD officials. Additional locations of fallen trees are still being investigated.
StreetsLA, the city bureau, confirmed six trees were cut down in downtown L.A. over the weekend: three ficus, two sycamore and one Chinese elm. It wasn’t immediately clear what types of trees were cut down in Glassell Park and Westlake.
Anyone with further information is asked to contact detectives at (213) 924-8930 during regular business hours or the Central Area watch commander at (213) 486-6618.
L.A. Mayor Karen Bass said in a statement that the situation is “truly beyond comprehension” and that public works crews are working to replace the trees as soon as possible.
Trees provide many benefits to urban areas. They clean the air, replenish the groundwater, capture stormwater runoff, slow the deterioration of streets and have been shown to reduce crime.
They also create a very helpful cooling effect. On a hot day, the temperature under a tree canopy can be up to 10 degrees cooler than in the direct sun. One study by the UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation found that shade can reduce heat stress in the human body by 25% to 30% throughout the day.
L.A. City Councilmember Ysabel Jurado, who represents downtown, praised city agencies for their quick response — both with the arrest and the tree cleanup — and brought forward a motion that would increase penalties in the municipal code for tree injury violations in hopes of deterring such actions in the future.
“For many of our DTLA residents, the public right-of-way is an extension of their home, their urban backyard,” Jurado said. “So the loss of these trees is personal, especially for a community that so fiercely advocates for the revitalization of their neighborhood.”
Blair Besten, the executive director of the Historic Core Business Improvement District, said her organization was concerned about the trees in their area before the arrest — but luckily none were targeted. Still, it was an unsettling few days.
“This was a really disturbing type of vandalism because it’s really difficult to repair — you can’t make a tree grow faster,” Besten said.
Times staff writers Susanne Rust and Richard Winton contributed to this report.
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