MCCALL, Idaho — Timber Roberts, who illegally lived on public lands in Idaho for three years, and assaulted and threatened federal officers, received his sentencing Monday, Oct. 30. Timber was sentenced to five and a half months in prison, of which the presiding judge in the case deemed "time served."
Meanwhile, Timber's brother, Brooks, still has a $50 million tort claim pending against the government because of how officers handled the arrest - which resulted in him being shot by responding officers and ultimately paralyzed.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office had sought to sentence Timber for six months, in addition to the five and a half months already served. However, the judge did not agree, stating that Timber already served that requested sentence and therefore does not have to serve any additional time in prison.
Court records show Timber accepted a plea deal, pleading guilty to four misdemeanors: Camping on BLM lands for longer than allowed; threatening, intimidating or interfering with a forest officer; assault on a federal officer; camping on forest service lands longer than allowed.
The Court imposed the following sentence:
- Time-served prison sentence (5 ½ months)
- 3-year term of probation
- A ban on recreating, living or camping on BLM or FS lands in the United States during the 3-year probation period
- Restitution to the United States government
The Investigation:
An undercover operation, involving several law enforcement officers at a trailhead in the Payette National Forest resulted in one man paralyzed after being shot multiple times by responding officers.
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), U.S. Forest Service (USFS), state and local officers were attempting to arrest Judy Roberts and her sons, Timber and Brooks, for unlawfully living on public lands.
Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) agents went undercover at a trailhead in Adams County in May to take the Roberts into custody.
The feds claimed Timber, Brooks and their mother, Judy, were "living off the grid" - illegally on public lands - and used their money to make their stay on public lands more comfortable, buying an AC unit, fridge, bus, solar panels, a boat and even a hot tub.
The government stated that, along with the family's illegal inhabitance, Timber threatened violence and intimidation tactics, all which motivated the arrest.
During the attempted arrest, officers shot Brooks, leaving him paralyzed. His attorneys have since filed a tort claim against the agencies.
Brooks' attorney, Ritchie Eppink, accused the agencies of "needlessly and recklessly" shooting him as part of a "pointless and wildly dangerous ruse operation." Their tort claim accuses law enforcement of illegally targeting Brooks because he was homeless.
Eppink said that the family had nowhere else to go.
"They ended up trying to survive in what they had left, which was their vehicles," Brooks' attorney Ritchie Eppink said. "Had Brooks and his family had any other choice but to be where they were, they would have been there."
The sentencing memo states: "When considering how to effectuate the safe arrest of Defendant and his family, law enforcement considered, among other things, Timber Roberts’ past violent and threatening behavior, his disdain for authority and law enforcement, the propensity for him and his family to lose their cool, and the known fact that the Roberts family kept weapons in their trailers."
Federal officers charged the family with federal crimes and obtained warrants for their arrest.
The Incident:
On May 19, Authorities planned to draw Timber out of the family's trailer at the West Face Trailhead outside of McCall and arrest him first (before Judy and Brooks).
Undercover officers staged a scene, pretending their truck had died, knocked on the family's trailer door to ask for a jumpstart on the vehicle, and intended to conduct the formal arrest once Timber came out.
According to investigative reporter, Morgan Romero, the officers revealed their law enforcement badges, told Timber they had a warrant and that he was under arrest.
While officers attempted to apprehend Timber, he began to yell for help from his brother as he resisted. In the body camera video, Brooks can be seen exiting the trailer and wheeling towards Timber. Brooks then pointed his gun at the undercover officers, prompting police to shoot Brooks 11 times.
The U.S. Attorney's Office said Timber's actions led to the police shooting that "threatened the lives of law enforcement and his family." They said he has a serious disregard for the law and asked a district judge to sentence him to six months in prison followed by three years of probation, as well as ban him from camping or living on Forest Service and BLM lands.
Federal court records show Brooks and Judy took plea deals in their criminal cases recently. Brooks pleaded guilty to improperly disposing of garbage on BLM lands and occupying a developed recreation site for purposes other than recreation. He will be sentenced in January.
Judy pleaded guilty to camping on forest lands for longer than allowed.
Brooks' civil case is still pending, with his attorneys claiming the government response to the family's situation was counterproductive over the last three years, and way out of proportion for a family trying to survive poverty.
That shooting remains under investigation by the FBI.
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