The man who set fire to one of Auburn’s famous oak trees at Toomer’s Corner entered a guilty plea to first-degree criminal mischief at the Lee County Circuit Court, the Opelika-Auburn News reported Thursday.
Jochen Wiest, a 29-year-old German man, was sentenced to a three-year suspended sentence and five years of probation. He also agreed to pay $20,807 in restitution, along with a $1,000 fine and court cost.
Charges of desecration of a venerable object and public intoxication were dropped as part of the plea agreement.
“I’m sorry,” Wiest told the judge during the proceedings after admitting he started the fire.