FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 11, 2008
FORESTRY COMMISSION ARRESTS “REPEAT OFFENDER”
(Columbia, SC) Joe Calvin Ouzts, Jr., a familiar face to South Carolina Forestry Commission law enforcement officers, has been arrested again on charges of failing to pay for timber he harvested from victims’ land. Ouzts faces one count of Breach of Trust with Fraudulent Intent for failing to pay for timber cut from land in Richland County. Under South Carolina law, a timber cutter has 45 days to pay the landowner the agreed-upon amount. In this case, the amount owed the landowner was $2,900.00. Ouzts paid only $700.00 of that, according to SCFC investigators.
Ouzts has been arrested numerous times in the past on similar complaints.
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For more information, contact Scott Hawkins, 803-896-8820
Legal Reference:
SC Code 16-13-0230 Breach of trust
This release reports an arrest. All suspects are innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.
