Harvey Updyke (Auburn tree poisoner) now living in his car
Just guessing that this is how Harvey Updyke looks when he wakes up in the morning in his car. (AP photo)
I’m assuming this will not elicit a lot of sympathy, but the yahoo who allegedly poisoned the Auburn oak trees apparently so concerned for his safety that he’s living in his car. Also, he’s now being defended by an attorney who represented the former Birmingham mayor, who’s now in prison for bribery, fraud and money-laundering.
Is this a movie of the week or what?
According to a friend of Harvey Updyke, who phoned a Birmingham sports talk show that he poisoned the iconic oak trees at Toomers Corner in Auburn, public enemy No. 1 has gone into seclusion and is living in a car by a creek somewhere in Alabama.
So I guess it follows that if Updyke phones another sportstalk show, his handle of “Al from Dadeville” becomes “Al from Chevy.”
Wayne Barnes, a friend of Updyke’s, told the Birmingham News: “He left [his home] and went to buy a new cell phone, and while he was at the Wal-Mart somebody cut two of his tires.”
Hah! Roll Tide.
It’s not all bad news for Updkye. After three court-appointed attorneys in succession managed to talk their way off the case, somebody finally has stepped forward and taken the case: Glennon Threatt Jr. Representing hated and morally reprehensible individuals is nothing new for Threatt. He defended former Birmingham mayor Larry Langford, who last year began serving a 15-year sentence in federal prison following his public corruption trial.
Threatt said of Updyke in an interview with the Paul Finebaum radio show: “He has very limited resources He is exactly the kind of person the law requires to get adequate representation. Now he’s facing a hostile crowd that rather than have a jury, he’ll probably have a crowd of pitchforks and torches out there waiting for him.”
No sympathy here.
By Jeff Schultz
Tweet
♦
Last 3 posts (no charge)
– Rod Barnes still waiting for payoff at Georgia State (so are we)
– Braves’ Heyward, Freeman make Sports Illustrated cover (uh, danger?)
– Carmelo Anthony goes to New York — will Hawks respond?
Follow me on Twitter @JeffSchultzAJC; friend me at Facebook.com/JeffSchultzAJC
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
500 comments Add your comment
woody
February 23rd, 2011
2:27 pm
AU thinks losing a few trees is bad, they ain’t seen nothing yet until all the mess about their corruption is brought to light.
Auburn90's boss
February 23rd, 2011
2:27 pm
Auburn09, shut up and get back to work ..you still have ten more blocks of garbage cans before quitting time
joe
February 23rd, 2011
2:27 pm
“I read on one of the new’s channel’s…”–talented.
Great use of the apostrophe by the way 7576…that UGA education paid off, eh?
reasoning
February 23rd, 2011
2:27 pm
So someone is so outraged that he poisoned a tree, breaking the law, reasons that its ok to slash his tires. What happened to the Golde Rule. What the guy did was ignorant and criminal, however, that doesn’t justify the law being broken in order to get revenge.
joe
February 23rd, 2011
2:30 pm
Best comment ever:
“Did you realize…they make trailers nicer than some of these houses in Atlanta..”-Crimson and White
We can all sign off now, it won’t get any better than that…
Demetrio
February 23rd, 2011
2:31 pm
Bangkapi Ajarn, “Get Out of Dodge!” THAT’s funny, even funnier than “Al from Chevy”!
DawginLex
February 23rd, 2011
2:31 pm
Bartender, that was some funny stuff about the trailers no matter who you are……………..
Justin Beaver
February 23rd, 2011
2:31 pm
you might be a redneck if………
DawginLex
February 23rd, 2011
2:33 pm
Aubie09,
I make a statement about comparing a tree dying to a dog dying not being a good comparison and you go all apesheet on me.
Lighten up dude. Yes I was alive the last time UGA won a national title. I graduated UGA in 1983.
I said nothing derogatory about Auburn, you or the tree.
Bit touchy aren’t we?
Forrest
February 23rd, 2011
2:34 pm
Stupid is as stupid does
Evansdawg
February 23rd, 2011
2:34 pm
I think they ought to plant a new tree at Toomer’s corner and name it “The Harvey Updike Tree.” He hates Auburn so much….it’d be the ulimate hell to have something named after you on your rival’s campus.
Lum
February 23rd, 2011
2:35 pm
That’s the Alabama way: answer one criminal act with another. Hoo-raw!
Goober Pyle
February 23rd, 2011
2:36 pm
Make him wear orange coveralls and pick up trash (not the co-eds) at Auburn.
John Wayne
February 23rd, 2011
2:37 pm
Life is hard. It’s even harder when you’re stupid.
gdawginkalamazoo
February 23rd, 2011
2:39 pm
I can’t count how many times people on here have said “He made a dumb mistake he shouldn’t be punihsed so severely” etc.
People like this man did not think like the rest of us. He needs to go to jail for a very long time. WHo the hell thinks stuff like this…”Well dadgummit Auburn won the NC so I think I will go get some highly toxic tree killer, walk around Toomer’s Corner and kill every single 130 year old tree there.” That is insane and this man should be made to drink a 32 oz cup of what he gave the trees. That would be fair. No chasers to clean it out of his system and if he throws up he has to start over.
Next time this dude just might decide to kill a person or animals.
Justin Beaver
February 23rd, 2011
2:41 pm
How do you know when you’re staying in a Alabama hotel?
When you call the front desk and say, “I gotta leak in my sink,”
and the clerk replies, “Go ahead.”
Justin Beaver
February 23rd, 2011
2:43 pm
How can you tell if a Alabama redneck is married?
There’s dried tobacco juice on both sides of his pickup truck.
Justin Beaver
February 23rd, 2011
2:44 pm
Did you hear that they have raised the minimum drinking age
in Alabama to 32?
It seems they want to keep alcohol out of the high schools.
Justin Beaver
February 23rd, 2011
2:45 pm
A guy from Alabama passed away and left his entire estate to his
beloved widow,
but she can’t touch it ’til she’s 14.
Bug Zapper
February 23rd, 2011
2:46 pm
Justin, the post at 2:18 was tooo funny….Don’t care who you are!
Justin Beaver
February 23rd, 2011
2:47 pm
The governor’s mansion in Alabama burned down!
Yep, nearly took out the whole trailer park.
The library was a total loss, too.
Both books — poof! — up in flames
and he hadn’t even finished coloring one of them
You know you are in Alabama when
February 23rd, 2011
2:49 pm
In most states, the town square is where a statue of a prominent citizen resides..
In Enterprise. Alabama that statue is a boll weevil.
Justin Beaver
February 23rd, 2011
2:49 pm
A new law was recently passed in Alabama:
When a couple gets divorced, they are STILL cousins.
Red Clay Hound
February 23rd, 2011
2:50 pm
He can always become a motivational speaker after prison.
Tom
February 23rd, 2011
2:51 pm
You folks that are talking PRISON are out of your mind!! He’s not Dahmer or the woman who cut off the Johnson, just some old-guy who committed Damage to Property. Probably probation(first offense), and community service. Lighten up folks. Tom(retired-cop)
indianman
February 23rd, 2011
2:51 pm
leave the guy alone cry babys your will get over the dead trees
Justin Beaver
February 23rd, 2011
2:51 pm
You might be a redneck if……….You think loading the dishwasher (in your new nice Alabama trailer) means getting your wife drunk
shankit
February 23rd, 2011
2:52 pm
I read where the tree is not actually dead, yet, and may survive.
If it survives, what then?
Anyway, Big Al got out of Dodge in his ol’ Chevy.
Tom
February 23rd, 2011
2:53 pm
JustinBeaver@2:49p Does that make Alabama the sister state of Kentucky??
dano
February 23rd, 2011
2:53 pm
get him a good lawyer….give him a fair trial….if convicted give him an appeal….if conviction affirmed on appeal….give me a rope….tie him upside down from the highest branch of Toomers tree (if still standing)….take a switch branch from the tree…..give switch branch to auburn alumni….let justice be served…..play ball….
shankit
February 23rd, 2011
2:54 pm
Group of good ol’ Alabama boys were over here in Georgia
last week, and saw a sign, SUITS $5.00, SHIRTS 2.50
TROUSERS $3.00
Rumor is they went in to purchase a suit, shirt and trousers,
only to learn the store was a laundry.
Justin Beaver
February 23rd, 2011
2:55 pm
Tom, the law in Kentucky is after divorce you are still brother and sister
BartenderBart
February 23rd, 2011
2:56 pm
Tom -
No, Kentucky is Alabama’s mommy-sister on the daddy-brother’s side.
AU Grad '87
February 23rd, 2011
2:56 pm
You’re right, Tom. Updyke knows it, too. Sounds like he admitted to the phone calls (they can prove that) but not to actually applying the Spike 80DF to the ground around the trees (which they’ll have a very hard time proving). Updyke might be stupid but he’s not dumb.
Beast from the East
February 23rd, 2011
2:57 pm
Karma’s a %#$^@, ain’t it?
Justin Beaver
February 23rd, 2011
2:58 pm
Alabama Computer Terms
——————————————————————————–
BACKUP – What you do when you run across a skunk in the woods
BAR CODE – Them’s the fight’n rules down at the local tavern
BUG – The reason you give for calling in sick
BYTE – What your pit bull dun to cusin Jethro
CACHE – Needed when you run out of food stamps
CHIP – Pasture muffins that you try not to step in
TERMINAL – Time to call the undertaker
CRASH – When you go to Junior’s party uninvited
DIGITAL – The art of counting on your fingers
DISKETTE – Female Disco dancer
FAX – What you lie about to the IRS
HACKER – Uncle Leroy after 32 years of smoking
HARDCOPY – Picture looked at when selecting tattoos
INTERNET – Where cafeteria workers put their hair
KEYBOARD – Where you hang the keys to the John Deere
MAC – Big Bubba’s favorite fast food
MEGAHERTZ – How your head feels after 17 beers
MODEM – What ya did when the grass and weeds got too tall
MOUSE PAD – Where Mickey and Minnie live
NETWORK – Scoop’n up a big fish before it breaks the line
ONLINE – Where to stay when taking the sobriety test
SCREEN – Helps keep the skeeters off the porch
SERIAL PORT – A red wine you drink with breakfast
SUPERCONDUCTOR – Amtrak’s Employee of the year
You know you are from Alabama when....
February 23rd, 2011
3:01 pm
You see a sign that says “Say No To Crack,” it reminds you to pull your jeans up.
In tough situations you ask yourself, “What would Curly do?”.
your front porch collapses and kills more than five dogs.
Your idea of a 7 course meal is a possum and a six pack.
Jimmyc
February 23rd, 2011
3:04 pm
J Smith, great comment .. A full Pardon…I love it !
shankit
February 23rd, 2011
3:05 pm
Hope ol’ Big Al don’t wind up in the same cell block
as Louder and MacGregor.
I knew a guy from Alabama once
February 23rd, 2011
3:05 pm
He had a sheet hanging in his closet and a gun rack hanging in his truck.
Tom
February 23rd, 2011
3:06 pm
Justin, if you ever get arrested, just plead Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity! We, on this blog will be your witnesses! Changing the topic just a moment, about the pirates who killed the four Americans, the only Good Pirate is a DEAD Pirate!!!
Justin Beaver
February 23rd, 2011
3:07 pm
Do people from Alabama make fun of people in Mississippi like Georgians do of Alabamians??? Crap flows down hill doesn’t it?
Auburngrad
February 23rd, 2011
3:09 pm
Those who post that this is all over “a tree” are sadly missing the point of the anger and the entire reason this fool chose to act out in this manner. The oaks at Toomer’s corner have been a major part of Auburn tradition for decades and part of the landscape for over a century. Absolutely everyone who is still living and has visited Auburn’s campus has seen these trees and many have experienced the celebration held there after an Auburn victory. This idiot wasn’t trying to kill a tree, he was trying to destroy a tradition.
I hate for any human to suffer but I am also in favor of learning from your mistakes. This man has brought shame to his family, shame to Bama fans and shame to the state. Hopefully this experience will change him for the better but from what I have learned of him so far, that is doubtful.
My hope is that we all learn from this. Idiotic acts that go beyond pranks have long-term impact and should be punished. Retribution for idiotic acts must be left to the authorities OR vigilantes should be prepared to be condemned as just another idiot… and serve jail time.
Phil
February 23rd, 2011
3:15 pm
HARVEY SHOULD BE GIVEN THE PRESIDENTIAL MEDAL OF FREEDOM. DEATH TO THE TOOMER TREES. IM TIRED OF PPL SPEAKIN FOR US SEC FANS-WE DONT CARE ABOUT THOSE TREES AND WISH IMMEDIATE DEATH TO EVERY TREE WHO WITNESSED CAM’S SCAM
Phil
February 23rd, 2011
3:16 pm
AUBIEBOY LOVES UGA
Phil
February 23rd, 2011
3:17 pm
BOO HOO HOO-ESPN SHUT-UP. WE DONT LIKE THE TREES- READ THIS ALOUD ON AIR. WE’RE NOT UNITING AS A CONFERENCE TO SAVE THOSE UGLY OVER-HYPED DEGRADING THUG TREES
Justin Beaver
February 23rd, 2011
3:18 pm
David Letterman’s top 10 things you WILL NOT hear someone from Alabama say.
——————————————————————————–
10. Oh I just couldn’t, she’s only sixteen.
9. I’ll take Shakespeare for 1000, Alex.
8. Duct tape won’t fix that.
7. Come to think of it, I’ll have a Heineken.
6. Wrestling’s fake.
5. I’ll have grapefruit and grapes instead of biscuits and gravy.
4. I just couldn’t find a thing at Walmart today.
3. Checkmate.
2. She’s too young to be wearing a bikini.
1. Those shorts ought to be a little longer, Darla.
Bonus….. Nope, no more for me. I’m drivin tonight.
Phil
February 23rd, 2011
3:18 pm
ILL CARE FOR THAT TREE WHEN AU CARES ABOUT SCAM NEWTON, ILLEGAL TROOPER RECRUITS, FAIRLEY’S DIRTY HITS, THE ILLEGAL HIT OF REGGIE BROWN WITH THE THUG CELEBRATING AFTERWARD, THE FIRE HOSES, PAT DYE AND BOWDEN’S ILLEGAL RECRUITING AND A STUPID EAGLE MASCOT FOR A TEAM NAMED TIGERS
Whocaresitsatree
February 23rd, 2011
3:19 pm
Good riddance. It is a worthless tradition anyway. Throwing toilet paper into a tree to celebrate? Really? I grew out of that stage when I left middle school. Roll Tide Roll
Phil
February 23rd, 2011
3:19 pm
GENE SMELLS LIKE DEAD GOAT CARCASS