Buckingham supervisor indicted on charge of illegally harvesting timber

A longtime Buckingham County supervisor with a history of legal and tax problems now faces a criminal charge.

On Tuesday a grand jury indicted Joe N. Chambers Jr. on a felony charge of timber theft. If found guilty, the 61-year-old could face 20 years in prison and be forced to pay several thousand dollars in restitution.

Chambers did not immediately return a phone message seeking comment.

The indictment stems from a Sept. 24, 2007, incident in which Chambers is alleged to have harvested illegally about 5 acres of timber on property along Route 601 in Buckingham.

Chambers is the president of the Joe Chambers Logging Co., which he has owned since 1970.

He apparently had approval to harvest timber on property that abuts the land in question, which is owned by Richard Morrison.

Morrison said Chambers did not have permission to take timber from his land, which he and a partner bought almost four decades ago to hunt on and as an investment.

The 70-year-old, who lives in Virginia Beach, said he had a difficult time convincing local authorities that a crime had been committed.

“Oh, I had a lot of problems,” he said Tuesday.

Though it took nearly two years just to get the case into the court system, Morrison said he had no thoughts of quitting.

“I’ve gone after this with a vengeance,” said the retired Virginia Beach police officer and firefighter. “I’m a tenacious old man.”

The case is similar to a civil suit filed against Chambers three years ago.

In April 2006, Charlottesville resident H.D. Bruns II filed a $315,000 lawsuit claiming that Chambers cut timber on 49 acres.

In a Daily Progress story, Chambers said he did not intentionally harvest the trees, explaining that workers must have crossed the line on property they were allowed to clear.

The case remains in Buckingham Circuit Court with no resolution.

Morrison said authorities told him that his case was civil and he should pursue it as such. But, being a former police officer with legal contacts, he knew he could pursue criminal charges.

He stuck with it until the Virginia State Police took the case, which was sent to a special prosecutor.

Because of a conflict of interest with Buckingham Commonwealth’s Attorney E.M. Wright Jr. — who also is the county attorney — the case was assigned to a special prosecutor from Prince Edward County.

If nothing else comes from this, Morrison said he at least wants it to be clear that the theft of timber from his land was a crime.

Morrison also pointed out, in an interview and a February letter to Gov. Timothy M. Kaine, his concerns about Chambers’ past.

The embattled supervisor has failed to pay taxes and business debts and last year was charged with drunken driving, which was later reduced to reckless driving. He served four days in jail for the conviction.

Chambers’ tax woes came on the local, state and federal levels. The biggest violation led the IRS to file two income tax liens against him for a total of more than $68,000.

Chambers has settled or lost several lawsuits worth thousands of dollars in Buckingham General District Court dating to 1998. Those suits included one in which he owed Tom England, owner of the Lucky Convenience Store in Dillwyn, $4,000 for diesel. Chambers paid his bill before the case could go to court.

Several other suits were also filed and dismissed.

Though Chambers’ past problems are well known in the county, Tuesday’s indictment shocked at least one supervisor.

“I’m very surprised,” said John Kitchen, the only supervisor reached for comment. “I hadn’t heard anything about it.”

He said he saw Chambers at Monday’s supervisor meeting and nothing was said about the case. Chambers was first elected to the board in 1991.

Morrison said that he once attended a Buckingham supervisors meeting, during which he stood up and told the board about the situation.

“I introduced myself and told them why I was there,” Morrison said.

He said he simply wanted people to know what was going on. Maybe if they knew, he said, something would do something about it.

Morrison is determined to follow the case through to the end.

And if Chambers is acquitted, he said there are other legal avenues.

“I’ve still got loaded cannons here.”

He wouldn’t elaborate.

Chambers is scheduled to appear in circuit court May 6.