CAPISTRANO BEACH : Charges Sought Against Developer

California State Police said Wednesday that they will seek a vandalism charge against a builder who allegedly hired a tree cutter to fell a 75-year-old Bishop pine so he could have an unobstructed view of the ocean.

On Monday, Dennis Michael Hall, the owner of Mission Tree Service in San Clemente, was arraigned in South County Municipal Court in Laguna Niguel on a misdemeanor vandalism charge. Hall, 35, is being held at the Theo Lacy Jail in Orange, where he is serving a four-month sentence for possession of narcotics, violation of probation and indecent exposure.

Detective Aaron Tassin of the California State Police declined to identify the builder but said Hall’s arraignment “in no way signaled” the end of the state’s investigation.

“He (Hall) had no other motivation to cut down the tree other than to get paid,” Tassin said. “This is a high-dollar crime that eventually comes out of the pockets of taxpayers . . . and we want the payer (of the cutter) to be financially liable.”

Officials of the California Department of Transportation said the 45-foot conifer, which was a landmark on the Camino de Estrella on-ramp of north Interstate 5, was leveled on May 12, two days after Caltrans maintenance supervisor Alan Kato intervened to prevent Hall and his crew from chopping it down.

Neighbors said Wednesday that they were saddened by the felling of the tree.

“The kids played on it, it was a noise barrier, and it provided us with lots of privacy,” said Estelle Peters, whose house was partially shaded by the pine’s boughs. “When I came home and saw it gone, I felt as if I had lost a close friend.”

Kato said the tree’s size and age made it “irreplaceable.”

If convicted, Hall could receive a year in jail and be ordered to pay restitution for his alleged involvement.