TACOMA, Wash. – A timber thief who allegedly started a massive wildfire on the Olympic Peninsula in 2018 was convicted on Thursday, July 8th.
39-year-old Justin Andrew Wilke was found guilty on charges of conspiracy, theft of public property, depredations of public property and other charges.
He conducted an illegal logging operation in the Olympic National Forest and transported maple timber to a mill in Tumwater.
Wilke claimed the maple had been harvested on private property, but investigators used tree DNA evidence to match the illegal wood with trees in the Elk Lake area of the park.
It’s the first time tree DNA has been used in a federal criminal trial.
Sentencing is scheduled for October 18th and he’s facing up to 10 years in prison.