Florida criminals just keep getting dumber by the day.
One man thought he found the perfect get-rich-quick scheme involving America’s most beloved forest mascot.
But Smokey Bear helped arrest this Florida criminal after he made one dumb move.
Florida man’s bizarre crime spree crosses multiple state forests
Hunter Lovett thought he was being clever when he hatched his plan to steal Smokey Bear signs from Florida’s state forests.
The unemployed Orlando man embarked on what can only be described as one of the most bone-headed crime sprees in recent memory.
Lovett traveled from Pensacola all the way to Orlando, systematically stealing the iconic forest fire prevention signs along the way.¹
But here’s where it gets really stupid.
Instead of laying low with his stolen goods, Lovett decided to advertise his crimes on Facebook Marketplace.
He was hawking each stolen Smokey Bear sign for a whopping $1,900 apiece.
“What happens when dumb criminals poke the bear?” Florida Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson asked when announcing the arrest on Wednesday.²
The brazen Facebook posts made it ridiculously easy for authorities to track down this criminal mastermind.
Simpson’s agriculture law enforcement team didn’t need to launch some complex investigation.
Lovett basically handed them a roadmap to his own arrest by posting the evidence online for everyone to see.
Smokey Bear personally assists in taking down sign thief
The arrest itself was almost too perfect to believe.
When Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services officers moved in to apprehend Lovett, Smokey Bear himself showed up to help.
And we’re talking about the actual costumed mascot – not just some forest ranger wearing a badge.
The photos Simpson shared on social media are absolutely priceless.
https://twitter.com/WiltonSimpson/status/1950622239218356300
One shows Smokey holding the door open as officers load the handcuffed suspect into the back of their cruiser.
Another captures the beloved bear giving a thumbs up while the criminal sits defeated in custody.
“Our Ag Law Team has a suspect in custody who traveled from Pensacola to Orlando stealing Smoky Bear signs from our state forests and selling them on Facebook Marketplace for $1,900 each,” Simpson explained. “Big thank you to @Smokey_Bear for personally assisting in the arrest.”³
Simpson couldn’t contain his disbelief at the sheer stupidity of the crime.
“Smokey is always around our forest and just got lucky today that he saw the bad guy and got him handcuffed,” Simpson told Fox 13. “What an idiot, what an idiot.”⁴
The commissioner made a valid point about why anyone would target such a beloved American icon.
“[Smokey] goes to schools, he’s known by our children, he’s known by our families, he is known throughout the United States. Who goes and steals an image of Smokey the Bear and then tries to profit off of that?”
Serious crime under federal law
The Smokey Bear Act of 1952 specifically protects the beloved mascot’s name and image from unauthorized commercial use.
Violating this federal law can result in up to six months in prison and a minimum fine of $250.⁵
So Lovett wasn’t just stealing state property worth thousands of dollars.
He was also trafficking in federally protected intellectual property when he tried to sell those signs online.
This adds another layer of legal trouble to an already disastrous criminal enterprise.
Lovett picked the worst possible time to target Florida’s fire prevention infrastructure.
Last year’s wildfire season was a wake-up call that torched 24,000 acres across the state.⁶
Simpson’s department didn’t mess around with their response – they burned through $93 million upgrading firefighting equipment while conducting controlled burns across 277,000 acres.
They also sent Smokey on a statewide tour to hammer home the fire prevention message to residents.
These signs aren’t just decorations – they’re critical public safety tools.
Every stolen sign represents a gap in the state’s fire prevention messaging that could potentially cost lives and property.
Simpson wasn’t about to let that slide without consequences.
“If you’re going to go in and commit crimes in our forests, you probably need to find a different place,” Simpson warned other potential criminals. “Not only will you find smoke in some of those forests, but you’ll find our officers.”
He added a final reminder about Florida’s commitment to law and order: “We’re the most pro-law enforcement state in the union. Smokey Bear is on the job also.”
Lovett now faces felony grand theft charges and remains in custody while authorities sort out the full extent of his crimes.
Investigators discovered he wasn’t just stealing Smokey Bear signs – they found other stolen property in his possession as well.
“He was also stealing other signs, beauty signs and things of that nature. So this is your common everyday thief,” Simpson explained during a radio interview.⁷
The suspect’s LinkedIn page lists him as “unemployed,” which might explain his desperate attempt at this harebrained money-making scheme.
But even unemployment doesn’t excuse trying to profit off stealing from children’s fire safety education programs.
This case perfectly illustrates why Florida has earned its reputation for producing the world’s dumbest criminals.
Who else would think stealing America’s most famous forest mascot and advertising the crime on social media was a good idea?
Smokey Bear has been protecting America’s forests since 1944, and now he’s proven he can protect himself too.
¹ Wilton Simpson, “Smokey Bear Post,” X (Twitter), July 30, 2025.
² Ibid.
³ Ibid.
⁴ Fox 13 Tampa Bay, “Smokey Bear helps arrest man accused of stealing signs,” Fox 13, July 30, 2025.
⁵ Jesse Scheckner, “Fur real: Smokey Bear poses with ‘dumb criminal,’” Florida Politics, July 30, 2025.
⁶ Fox 13 Tampa Bay, “Smokey Bear helps arrest man accused of stealing signs,” Fox 13, July 30, 2025.
⁷ Eric Daugherty, “Florida authorities arrest man who stole Smokey Bear signs,” Florida’s Voice, July 30, 2025.
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Author: rgcory
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