KJZZ's The Show

A Scottsdale man has been sentenced for stealing cacti from public lands in Arizona. From Phoenix, KJZZ’s Mark Brodie has more.

MARK BRODIE: U.S. District Judge Roslyn Silver this week sentenced 46-year-old Kenneth Brian Cobb to five years of supervised probation and eight months of weekend incarceration for the theft. He also has to pay back $32,000 in restitution. Cobb had pleaded guilty in September to theft of government property and violating the Endangered Species Act. He admitted to stealing eight saguaros from BLM land near Wickenburg in early 2010. He sold them for $2,000 each. Saguaros are protected under both state and federal law. In a statement, U.S. Attorney for Arizona John Leonardo says that’s to “avoid their being threatened by the very actions of the defendant,” and that the prosecution shows “such activity will not be tolerated.”