Brownsville, Texas—Using a machete and pocketknife, an unidentified homeless man chopped down five city-owned palm trees on Central Boulevard and FM 802 last Friday.
According to City Forester Edward Kuprel, a resident alerted greens worker Raul Llamas to what was happening.
Kuprel said Llamas and Brownsville police officers reached the location to find the man “acting as if he was about to die” and “in bad shape with actual maggots living on him.” The officers did not arrest or cite the man, according to Kuprel. The man had fled the scene by the time Kuprel arrived.
“Depending on the price of the trees, the penalty class would be between a Class A misdemeanor or a state jail felony,” Brownsville Police Lt. James Paschall said.
Willie Gonzalez, a supervisor at the city health department, told Kuprel the man had already caused “some trouble” before.
The palms, planted in 1992, were the first project overseen by the Brownsville Beautification Committee.
Guy Huddleston, committee chairman at the time, said the project was funded by the city and the Texas Department of Transportation.
“The project was very important to us — too important for somebody to just come in and destroy all of it,” Huddleston said.
“The trees are a public asset and very valuable. The man should be held responsible for what he did.”
Kuprel said the police “didn’t even want to touch (the man)” when they got to the site.
But, Assistant City Manager Carlos Ayala said police are following up on the event and if they find the man again, he will be held accountable.
The Brownsville Herald
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