Roll Damn Tide; Updyke Charged for Poisoning Auburn Trees
College football in the South is as revered and worshipped as Sunday morning church services, and with such reverence, traditions are born which never die, except in the case of Auburn University. A University of Alabama fan, Harvey Updyke Jr., 62, faces two felony counts of first-degree criminal mischief, two felony counts of unlawful damage, felony vandalism or theft of property from a farm animal or crop facility and two misdemeanor counts of desecrating a venerated object, for his role in poisoning the century-old oak trees at Auburn's Toomer's Corner, at the intersection of College Street and Magnolia Avenue in Auburn, Alabama. Toomer’s Corner is named for businessman and State Senator Sheldon Toomer who founded the Bank of Auburn on the corner of Magnolia Avenue and College Street in 1907. At Toomer’s Corner, Auburn fans have traditionally celebrated wins by heaving toilet paper into the branches of these trees.
How was Mr. Updyke, Jr., caught you may ask. Well, like most criminals, Mr. Updyke admitted to his crime, however, unlike most criminals he decided to do it on the public airwaves. On January 27, 2011, Mr. Updyke called into a local sports talk radio station, claiming to be “Al from Dadeville” and admitted to poisoning the trees at Toomer’s Corner. After hearing this admission, local police traced the call to Updyke’s home in Dadeville, Alabama, and he was subsequently arrested. Updyke is scheduled for arraignment on May 26 before Lee County Circuit Court Judge Jacob A. Walker III, and he has a tentative trial date of June 20. To add insult to injury, Updyke claims he was attacked by unknown assailants at a gas station shortly after leaving the courthouse following his appearance for a preliminary hearing a few weeks ago.
At my alma mater, our tradition has always been to rub Testudo’s nose for good luck and then to set the school on fire when we beat Duke, but I have to wonder if someone had broken Testudo’s nose whether it would have been this big of a deal and would have resulted in felony charges being levied. What would have happened in college towns in the Northeast or on the West Coast if some stunt like this was pulled? You have to wonder if this would have been as big of a deal in places outside of the South…
My name is Christopher Fusco. I am the managing partner of Callahan & Fusco, LLC with offices in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.