Man jailed after timber theft investigation

A Trenton man has been jailed following a tri-state investigation of timber theft on Lookout Mountain.

James Darren Scott, a 53-year-old man from Trenton and Bryant, Ala., accepted a plea to serve 11 months and 29 days in the Silverdale Correctional Complex in Hamilton County prior to a trial. A specialist with the U.S. Department of the Interior estimates Scott’s combined theft of the old-growth timber and damage to the park is approximately $60,000.

According to a National Park Service news release:

A park ranger patrolling Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Park Military Park in September 2020 noticed an illegal road created off Old Wauhatchie Pike on Lookout Mountain, as well as more than a dozen cut trees, including several old-growth oaks. One large tree section was dragged from the forest, down the road, to a parking lot.

The ranger installed several livemonitored game cameras and captured images of a man revisiting the site a few days later.

The ranger interviewed nearby neighbors, family members and acquaintances in Georgia, and visited a sawmill specializing in old-growth white oak trees in Alabama. The ranger obtained the suspect’s personal information, as well as information on the vehicle used to commit the theft.

The investigating ranger developed Scott as a prime suspect. Several individuals familiar with Scott identified him from the game camera photos and confirmed the make/model of his vehicle.

The ranger obtained an arrest warrant and took Scott into custody without incident.

Anyone with more information regarding this case or other related matters is asked to contact Park Ranger Justin Young, the case agent, at 706866-9241 extension 142. To submit a tip, call or text 888-653-0009.