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Prosecutors also
requested a court order to keep Cody Lee Miller, 28, from going
near the 80-foot-tall (24-meter) tree again, according to
charging documents filed in King County on Monday.
Miller was arrested last week after a day-long confrontation
with authorities who tried to cajole him down from the tree,
located on public property in downtown Seattle, police said.
As the encounter played out on live television, police closed an
area at the base of the tree to protect the public from the
possibility of falling objects, including the man himself, who
became a top trending topic on Twitter as "#ManInTree."
Holding authorities at bay, Miller threw pine cones and branches
at firefighters, police and pedestrians, according to
prosecutors, and drew a crowd of onlookers whose reactions
ranged from awe to annoyance.
"This caused an incalculable waste of time and services," King
County prosecutor Stephen Herschkowitz wrote in the charging
documents.
Miller was charged with assault on a law enforcement officer and
malicious mischief for allegedly causing roughly $7,800 in
damage to the tree, which the city planted more than 40 years
ago, the documents said.
Giant sequoias, which rank as the world's largest trees,
normally can be expected to survive 200 to 300 years in an urban
setting.
It was not clear whether Miller had obtained an attorney. His
motivation in scaling the tree has not been explained.
A police statement during the standoff last Wednesday said
Miller appeared to have been going through a personal crisis.
Miller is due to be arraigned on April 11, prosecutors said.
(Reporting by Eric M. Johnson in Seattle; Editing by Steve
Gorman and Leslie Adler)
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