West Plains man sentenced for stealing trees from Mark Twain National Forest

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — A man from West Plains charged with illegally harvesting and stealing trees from the Mark Twain National Forest has been sentenced in federal court Tuesday.

40-year-old Justin Lee Massey of West Plains will serve two years and six months in federal prison without parole and will serve that sentence consecutively with his other unrelated criminal sentences. He must also pay back the earnings he made from his theft by paying restitution of $30,000 in earnings to the U.S. Forest Service and forfeiting $30,000 to the government.

Massey pleaded guilty on July 19, 2023, to one count of theft of government property. According to the plea agreement, he admitted to illegally cutting down at least 10 trees in the Mark Twain National Forest near HC Road 5120 in Howell County from Dec. 15, 2020, to Jan. 20, 2021.

After cutting the trees, Massey gave the trees to a local sawmill to be sold. The value of the trees stolen and damaged due to the illegal harvesting resulted in the restitution of $30,000.

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