Plea deal reached in Lake Tahoe tree cutting

RENO -- An Incline Village woman who hired a company to chop down trees on national forest land to enhance her view of Lake Tahoe agreed on Thursday to pay $100,000 restitution and do 80 hours of community service in a plea deal with federal prosecutors that probably will keep her out of prison.

Patricia Marie Vincent, 57, was indicted in January by a federal grand jury in Reno on felony charges of theft of government property and willingly damaging government property. She faced up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each of those original counts if convicted.

But in exchange for her guilty plea, Assistant U.S. Attorney Ron Rachow agreed to drop the felony charges and charge her with one misdemeanor count of unlawfully cutting trees on U.S. land.

That crime carries a maximum sentence of one year in prison, a $100,000 fine and possible restitution. But Rachow said under the plea agreement, she would face a year of probation, 80 hours of community service and pay $100,000 in restitution, with $35,000 going to the U.S. Forest Service and $65,000 going to the National Forest Foundation.

The ultimate sentence will be decided June 3 by U.S. District Judge Brian Sandoval.

Vincent originally pleaded not guilty to the charges. But she admitted to Sandoval on Thursday that she hired a tree-cutting company to fell the three 80- to 100-year-old Ponderosa pines on Forest Service land next to her property.