'Brazen Botanist' sentenced to jail for plant thefts

Oct 17, 2018

Massachusetts man who police dubbed the "Brazen Botanist" after he was captured on surveillance camera stealing plants from a porch pleads guilty

SALEM, Mass. — A Massachusetts man who police dubbed the "Brazen Botanist" after he was captured on a surveillance camera stealing plants from a porch has pleaded guilty.

The Salem News reports 43-year-old Joseph Gardner was sentenced Tuesday to one year in jail.

Police say a man was seen on a doorbell camera taking hanging plants from a Salem home at around 1:30 a.m. on May 16.

Tips to police lead them to Gardner's girlfriend's home where they found two of the three missing plants.

Police recovered the plants and returned them to the owner. Gardner was arrested in August.

Gardner's attorney says he had been working as a landscaper before his arrest.

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