The Los Angeles Police Department arrested the man on Tuesday. He was captured on surveillance footage using a chainsaw and cut down multiple trees in downtown Los Angeles.
The tree-cutting destroyers sparked great plot and rage when they spotted wooden massacres in South Grand Avenue and other areas owned by the city over the weekend. Many trees were cut at the base, others were cut a few feet above the pavement, some still connected to the trunk by bark threads.
Shortly before 5pm on Tuesday, LAPD released a community alert showing photos of the suspect on a bike that described him as a man in his 40s. About 90 minutes later, police announced they had been detained on suspicion of felony vandalism. Authorities did not immediately disclose his name.
The man is accused of cutting down a tree near 1550 W 8th Street at 3:40pm on Friday. Close to 350 S Grand Avenue at 1:22am on Saturday. Police said it was near 300 Treadwell Street at an unknown time. Additional locations of fallen trees are still under investigation.
Many trees cut down by the destroyers looked like Indian Laurel figs.
LAPD News: Central-Division Detectives are asking the public to help identify suspects seen in surveillance footage to cut down some trees in downtown LA area. @lapdcentral pic.twitter.com/ujsk38xsda
– LAPD PIO (@lapdpio) April 22, 2025
Anyone with information will be asked to contact Central Burglary Det. Gutierrez at (213) 924-8930 During normal business hours, Central Area Watch Commander (213) 486-6618.
Mayor Karen Bass said in a statement to ABC7 News that the situation was “truly beyond understanding” and that the public works crew are working to replace the trees as quickly as possible.
Trees offer many benefits to urban areas. They have been shown to clean the air, replenish groundwater, capture rainwater runoff, slow road degradation and reduce crime.
It also creates a very useful cooling effect. On hot days, the shade temperature under the wooden canopy can be up to 10 degrees cooler than direct sunlight. One study by the UCLA Ruskin Center found that shade can reduce human heat stress by 25% to 30% throughout the day.
Staff writer Suzanne Last contributed to this report.
