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Posted on 07/06/2026 3:47:47 AM PDT by DFG
A Florida man accused of stealing Smokey Bear signs from state parks across the state and attempting to sell them online has been indicted by a federal grand jury on a charge of theft of government property, the Department of Justice announced Monday.
Hunter Drake Lovett, 30, of Pace, was indicted on the federal charge, according to U.S. Attorney John Heekin for the Northern District of Florida. If convicted, Lovett faces up to 10 years in federal prison.
Lovett is scheduled to stand trial beginning July 20.
The case stems from Lovett's arrest in July 2025, when authorities accused him of stealing Smokey Bear signs from state parks in Pensacola, Panama City and Orlando. Federal investigators said he then attempted to sell the signs on Facebook Marketplace for $1,900 each.
At the time of the arrest, Florida Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson highlighted the case in a post on X.
"What happens when dumb criminals poke the bear?" Simpson wrote on July 30, 2025. "Big thank you to @smokey_bear for personally assisting in the arrest."
Simpson added that the department's Agricultural Law Team had taken the suspect into custody, who allegedly traveled throughout Florida stealing Smokey Bear signs from state forests and selling them on social media.
The investigation was led by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and the U.S. Forest Service, with assistance from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Office of Agricultural Law Enforcement, the Eufaula, Alabama Police Department and the Florida Forest Service.
(Excerpt) Read more at cbsnews.com ...
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The primary reason so many crooks are caught is their own stupidity.
Floridaman should always be one word.
Yep.
Yup.
Only you can prevent a Florida Man Ping!.....................
Smokey Bear giving thumbs up at the cuff and stuff is an especially nice touch. 👌
See post 7
Pace is next county west of here on US90 just before you get to Pensacola.................
No more pic’nic baskets for him...BooBoo.
Bubba the love sponge.....steer clear of that walking STD.
He reminds me of the ‘Grease Man’, if you remember him, on Jax radio in the 70’s...........
He has to be a natural born citizen, not a transplant in order to be a Florida Man.
If your family has been here at least a hundred years you’re called Floridude
Even “smart” criminals get caught. I knew a person who I believe was a sociopath.
He loved to “push the envelope” to show he could “beat the system”.
When I knew him he was dying of cancer, so perhaps he was less careful. He mostly got away with his crimes.
I recall he told me someone had asked him why he did a particular crime, because he had plenty of money, and the crime (smuggling guns) had harsh penalties.
He said he told them he got a rush from “beating the system”.
You had to be very, very careful around him. He had very little loyalty and no ethics.
FL Man can get up to TEN years for stealing/selling Smokey Bear signs....(FL) Activist judges giving criminal illegal aliens, fraudulently stealing $8B+ in taxpayer monies/murdering Citizens, mere months (if that)
The signs
$1,900 ? He had high hopes.
Now if he murdered someone in NYC...he would be released.
I love Smokey Bear!
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