A Forks man was found guilty of second-degree theft for cutting up a logging bridge on the Upper Hoh River so he could sell the wood.

Troy Stephen Crandall, 63, was convicted of first-degree trafficking of stolen property, first-degree malicious mischief, and second-degree theft last week in Jefferson County Superior Court.

The trial lasted three days and the jury returned with the guilty verdicts after 30 minutes of deliberations.

Crandall had been arrested Oct. 22 along with Jose Carmen Salinas after the pair had been found near the damaged bridge, covered with sawdust and reeking of chainsaw gas.

Authorities said the men had started to dismantle a logging bridge on land owned by the Department of Natural Resources. They were discovered about a mile and a half past a closed DNR gate off Upper Hoh Road after a deer hunter reported hearing a chainsaw in the woods where he was planning to hunt.

The hunter, according to court papers, then found a silver sedan and blocks of cedar wood in a nearby ditch. He immediately reported the wood cutting, and DNR Officer Allan Nelson responded and found two men, later identified as Crandall and Salinas, in a car parked near the bridge.

The men were cold and wet. When questioned about the cedar blocks, they allegedly said “they were hungry and needed cash,” according to court documents.

Crandall then told the officer, “This is corporate bull——; this bridge is rotting anyway.”

Upon further investigation, officers found that pieces of the bridge, made of old-growth cedar, had been cut from the span. Cables holding the bridge together had also been cut and were dangling beneath the span. Officers also discovered two large chainsaws, a Stihl with a 50-inch bar, and a Poulan with a 34-inch bar at the scene, as well as two axes, a metal wedge, and a peeve hook.

During the trial, officers said the cedar had been cut into pieces that could be sold at a lumber mill for cedar shake.

Tyler Kerschner, a bridge and roads engineer, said during testimony that the bridge would collapse on its own and the DNR road into the forest had to be closed.

After the trial, Prosecutor James Kennedy praised the officers involved in the case.

“This case also highlights the importance that everyone of us plays in promoting public safety,” Kennedy added. Had not the hunter called this case in, the damage might have gone unnoticed until the bridge collapsed under the weight of a passing vehicle.”

Crandall is facing a sentence of up to 20 months in prison and a $10,000 fine, plus restitution for damage done to the bridge.

His sentencing has been scheduled for Feb. 18.

Salinas, 42, also of Forks, is also facing charges of first-degree trafficking of stolen property, first-degree malicious mischief, and second-degree theft.

His trial had been set for Jan. 24, but Salinas is now expected to appear at a change-of-plea hearing set for Feb. 18.

The Friday before the start of Crandall’s trial, his attorney tried to have the case dismissed due to a delay from the prosecutor’s office in providing material in the case to the defense.

Attorney Lillian Powers accused the prosecutor’s office of misconduct for its slow release of materials needed by the defense.

“It comes down to mismanagement,” she said.

She also asked Judge Keith Harper to prohibit statements made by Crandall to officers after his arrest and photographs from the scene from being used in the trial.

Though Crandall had been advised of his right to remain silent before his arrest, Powers said he should have been reminded of his rights later, after he began to talk about the timber theft.

Deputy Prosecutor Anna Phillips, however, said there had been no materials withheld from the defense that included information that wasn’t already known earlier. An investigator for Crandall’s public defender had also visited the scene to get information and take photographs of the damaged bridge.

“The bottom line is: there is nothing new here,” Phillips said.

Harper agreed. He rejected the request to have the case dismissed, as well as the request to  have crime-scene photographs and Crandall’s comments kept from the jury.

“There’s nothing new or surprising depicted in any of the photographs,” the judge said.

Crandall’s comment about “needing cash” when first contacted by an officer, and an incriminating statement made during an earlier court appearance about needing a court-appointed attorney — “I wouldn’t have been stealing cedar if I had money; it was just a rotten bridge” — could also be used during the trial, Harper said.

“He just piped up and said what he said. The officer wasn’t even talking to him,” Harper said.