Crop vandal faces felony charges in Willmar

WILLMAR, Minn. — A Willmar man is accused of driving his pickup through multiple crop fields near Willmar and Pennock, causing thousands of dollars in lost crop yields.
Bronson Cody Evenson, 20, made his first court appearance Wednesday on three felony charges of first-degree criminal damage to property. According to the court file, the estimated damage is at least $13,000 in lost yields.
Evenson was arrested after Kandiyohi County deputies found his 1995 Chevy pickup with soybean leaves in the front grill, wheat tops on and around the vehicle and corn leaves and plants hanging from the underside of the pickup.
According to the complaint, the Kandiyohi Sheriff’s Office received reports July 28 and 29 from farmers that someone had driven a vehicle through their fields near the Willmar airport and north of Pennock.
July 30, a citizen, who had read new reports about damage to the fields, reported seeing a young man removing corn stalks from his vehicle in Willmar, leading deputies to the pickup.
Evenson allegedly admitted that he and a friend had driven through the fields after they’d left a party near Pennock.