Kenneth Brian Cobb, 46, of Scottsdale, was sentenced to five years supervised probation with eight months of weekend incarceration and was ordered to pay $32,000 in restitution on January 28, 2013. Cobb pleaded guilty on Sept. 10, 2012, to theft of government property and a violation of the Endangered Species Act.
Cobb admitted that between January 1, 2010, and February 28, 2010, he took eight saguaro cacti from federal land managed by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, near Wickenburg. He later sold the cacti for approximately $2,000 each. In addition, on Jan. 21, 2011, Cobb exported two saguaro cacti from the United States to Austria without a valid export permit.
“The saguaro cactus is a symbol of the Sonoran desert and Arizona. Saguaros are protected by state and federal law to avoid their becoming threatened by the very actions of people like the defendant.” stated U.S. Attorney John Leonardo. “The defendant stole these precious resources from federal lands and sold them for profit. This prosecution demonstrates that such activity will not be tolerated.”