Baltimore City - On Monday, July 16, Michael Sean Buchanan, 47, of Fresno, Calif. pled guilty in Baltimore City District Court to operating a tree expert business without a license and false advertising or soliciting an unlicensed tree expert business.
Maryland Natural Resources Police filed charges after the Maryland Forest Service received a complaint from a neighbor of a client of Buchanan's business, Tree Solutions, Inc. of Baltimore. The complainant alleges that in February of 2006, Buchanan's crews dropped a portion of a tree on her home during tree care operations on the adjacent property, causing over $6,000 worth of damage. Buchanan was reportedly unresponsive to the complainant's attempts to get resolution. The neighbor spent weeks during the coldest portion of the year with a hole in her roof and other significant outstanding property damage while trying to get Buchanan to repair the damages.
In April of 2006, Buchanan failed to appear at his trial date and sometime afterward moved to Fresno. In November of 2006, a warrant was issued for Buchanan failing to appear for trial, which was served in December.
According to District Court officials, just prior to the April 2007 trial a woman identifying herself as Buchanan's mother called the court and advised that Buchanan was deceased, having passed away at St. Agnes Hospital in March of this year. She refused to provide a death certificate to substantiate the allegation.
Buchanan was fined a total of $245 for both offenses.
Contact:
Michael F. Galvin, Registered Consulting Arborist #432
Supervisor, Urban & Community Forestry
Maryland Department of Natural Resources-Forest Service
580 Taylor Avenue
Annapolis, MD 21401
410-260-8507
mgalvin@dnr.state.md.us
