Former United States Forest Service Special Agent Edward Williams, age 49, has entered a guilty plea for theft of government property, Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith confirmed on Thursday. Williams, who served in the U.S. Forest Service's Grass Valley field office, admitted to the illegal appropriation of retired military-grade equipment from the Truckee Ranger District office on October 25, 2021. The stolen items were originally obtained through the Defense Reutilization Marketing Office (DRMO), indicating equipment no longer in active service from the U.S. Department of Defense but still property of the USFS, as per the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Caught in the act on May 19, 2022, by law enforcement, Williams confessed during an interview to the theft that took place the previous year. Later the same day, authorities, acting under a federal warrant, searched Williams' Auburn residence and recovered quantities of USFS equipment, not only from the aforementioned incident but from other occasions as well. Included in the seizure were items Williams had passed on to friends, such as pieces of night vision equipment. According to the Justice Department's press release, he has agreed to return these items, assessed to be worth around $206,371, as part of his plea deal.
The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General and the USFS Office of Professional Responsibility, with support from both their respective departments and the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorney Denise N. Yasinow is handling the prosecution.
Williams is scheduled for a sentencing hearing before U.S. District Judge Daniel J. Calabretta on Sept. 18. Having pleaded guilty, the former special agent now faces a potential maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. However, the actual sentence will be the result of the court's discretion upon reviewing statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which consider a number of variables.
