BAY MINETTE — A Robertsdale man took pruning to an  extreme May 12 when he destroyed more than 150 feet of decorative trees and shrubs in the median along Alabama Highway 59 in Bay Minette.

Ralph Waldon Wheeler Jr., 50, parked his truck and trailer in the parking lot of the former Department of Human Resources building, unloaded his tractor with a Bush Hog attachment and proceeded across the highway into the median where he mowed down 72 Crape Myrtle trees and 100 Juniper bushes.

"He did about $11,000 worth of damage, with labor and all to replace it," J.J. Hall, superintendent of parks and grounds, said. "That doesn't include the time for the sheriff's deputies and police officers."

Hall said he heard the commotion Tuesday evening but was not aware what was going on until the calls started coming in.

"The chief called and said you might want to get down here," he said.

Bay Minette Police Investigator Sgt. Lester Banfield said a sheriff's deputy was flagged down sometime between 6:30 and 7 p.m. by a bystander and informed of what was going on.

"He pulled up behind Mr. Wheeler and turned on the blue lights, and Mr. Wheeler attempted to run," Banfield said. He said when officers got Wheeler off the tractor, he responded that he was "just pruning."

"When they asked if he had the authority to do that, he said 'not exactly.'"

Wheeler is charged with felony criminal mischief, which carries a sentence of up to a $15,000 fine and up to 10 years in prison.

Hall said a statement made by Wheeler's father, Ralph Wheeler Sr., stating the trees had not been pruned in years, was erroneous.

"When I got here in 2007, they were whacked down," he said of the Crape Myrtle trees. "When you do that, and they start growing back, it makes the trunk get bigger."

Hall said that creates another problem because state law mandates a tree on the state's right of way be no larger than four inches in diameter at the base.

"If it's any bigger than that, you have to replace it," he said. Additionally, he said the trees had been allowed to grow taller so that drivers could see through the trees.

"When they are shorter, drivers and police officers can't see through to the other side of the road. You could see a sign that if it was above the trees, but you need to be able to see one lower, too," he said.

Though the trees' height was allowed to increase, Hall said the trees are trimmed or thinned out at least twice a year. "They were checked in October for caliper (trunk size)," he said.

The trees will be replaced eventually, but Hall said the process is involved.

"First we have to remove the broken roots, then (the trees) will have to be replaced depending on where we get the money. That's a lot of money," he said.