Published: December 11, 2006 01:07 pm            

Cutting down some holiday cheer

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Making holiday wreaths on the cheap has landed a couple in jail.

Kurt James Cox, 40, and Rebecca Sue Cox, 30, were arrested Tuesday after authorities said they caused $230,000 in damage to roadside trees by chopping off limbs to make the decorations.

The pair had pruning sheers and were carrying tree limbs to a vehicle already stuffed with branches when they were arrested. The state-owned trees are worth $1,500 each, he said.

“We’re afraid that the growth has been stunted,” Florida Department of Transportation spokesman Mike Goldman said. “I’m not certain the trees are going to die, but they might not have the magnificent look that was intended.”

The pair of DeLeon Springs residents were arrested on charges of criminal mischief in excess of $1,000 and could face up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine.

The Cox family could not be reached for comment by The Times-Union, and a phone number they listed for their residence was out of order.

        

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