Tree DNA helps convict Washington timber thief after fire

TACOMA, Wash. (AP) — A federal jury has convicted a timber thief who authorities said started a large forest fire on Washington state’s Olympic Peninsula. Prosecutors say the case marked the first time tree DNA had been introduced in a federal trial. A research geneticist for the U.S. Forest Service testified that the wood 39-year-old Justin Andrew Wilke sold genetically matched the remains of three poached trees. The jury deliberated for about seven hours before convicting Wilke on Thursday of conspiracy, theft of public property and other charges related to the 2018 timber poaching. But jurors did not convict him of starting the fire after some witnesses testified that they couldn’t see his actions in the dark.