Bienville Parish Timber Theft Arrest

BATON ROUGE – Investigators with the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry (LDAF) arrested a Bienville Parish man suspected of stealing timber.

Sixty-six-year-old Wayne Durbin of Saline, La., was arrested at the Bienville Parish Detention Center on two counts of theft.

In April of 2018, LDAF enforcement agents received two complaints of timber theft that occurred on two separate tracts of timber land. These thefts involved timber harvested from a total of 439 acres in Bienville Parish. 

LDAF Commissioner Mike Strain, D.V.M., said, “During a four-month investigation, Durbin admitted cutting the timber and not paying the two landowners for the timber he harvested.  The value of the timber harvested from the 439 acres is estimated at $64,273.47.”

Warrants for Durbin’s arrest were issued on May 24. He was arrested and booked into the Bienville Parish Detention Center on May 29 on two counts of theft. Bond was set at $100,000. 

If convicted, Durbin faces up to 20 years in prison with hard labor or may be fined not more than $50,000, or both.