An Alabama Crimson Tide fan convicted of poisoning famed oak trees at in-state rival Auburn University nearly a decade ago failed to attend a court hearing Wednesday on why he hasn’t paid court-ordered restitution.
Lee County Judge Jacob Walker will decide at a later date whether to grant prosecutors’ request to order the arrest of Harvey Updyke, 71, a retired Texas state trooper who lives in Louisiana.
Walker gave prosecutors a month to review a letter from Updyke’s doctor saying he isn’t well enough to travel to court.
COURT DOCUMENTS: AUBURN TREE POISONER HARVEY UPDYKE HAS PAID $99 TOWARD SIX-FIGURE RESTITUTION
Harvey Updyke, left, leaves the Lee County Justice Center in Opelika, Ala., with his bail bondsman and his attorney in this 2013 photo. (AP Photo/Dave Martin, File)
The letter said Updyke suffered from several ailments, including coronary disease, congestive heart failure, diabetes, strokes and depression.
DA: ‘BAMA FAN WHO POISONED AUBURN TREES NOT MAKING REPAYMENT
Updyke pleaded guilty in 2013 to poisoning trees at Auburn’s Toomer’s Corner following the 2010 Iron Bowl between the schools, which Auburn won 28-27. He was busted after calling into a local sports radio show under a false name to confess to the crime.
“I wanted Auburn people to hate me as much as I hate them,” he told a CBS News podcast earlier this year. “You know, there are several things in this world that I really and truly don’t like, and Auburn is one of them.”
Updyke spent 76 days in jail and remained on probation for several years.
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He’s paid only $6,900 of the $800,000 in restitution he was ordered to pay in penalties. In a Facebook post earlier this week, Updyke wrote that he planned to take a bus to Alabama and expected to be jailed.
He ended the post with “ROLL DAMN TIDE!!”
