TAMPA – A person is beneath arrest for stealing Smokey Bear indicators from throughout Florida.
The backstory:
“Smokey is all the time round our forest and simply obtained fortunate in the present day that he noticed the dangerous man and obtained him handcuffed,” mentioned Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson. “What an fool, what an fool.”
Regulation enforcement officers with the Division of Agriculture say the suspect was posting the indicators on the market on Fb market for $1,900 apiece.
“(Smokey) goes to colleges, he is recognized by our youngsters, he is recognized by our households, he’s recognized all through america,” mentioned Simpson. “Who goes and steals a picture of Smokey the Bear after which tries to revenue off of that?”
Dig deeper:
The thefts shed a highlight on the state’s effort to stop forest fires, which destroyed 24,000 acres in 2024.Â
The division did 277,000 acres of managed burns in 2024, spent $93 million on upgraded gear, and sure, they dispatched Smokey to remind us that “solely you may forestall forest fires.”
It is also why they’ve their very own regulation enforcement division.Â
They caught this thief within the act.
“If you are going to go in and commit crimes in our forests, you most likely must discover a completely different place,” mentioned Simpson. “Not solely will you discover smoke in a few of these forests, however you will discover our automobile officers.”
This time, Smokey obtained his revenge. He isn’t throwing this legal haphazardly into the woods.Â
“We’re probably the most pro-law enforcement state within the union,” mentioned Simpson “Smokey Bear is on the job additionally.”
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What’s subsequent:
The person, whose title was not launched, was taken to jail.
Prison fees are pending, however Simpson mentioned he might face jail time.
The Supply: FOX 13’s Evan Axelbank gathered the data for this story.
