2,000 cherry trees destroyed at ex-49er’s California orchard

BRENTWOOD, Calif. – Former San Francisco 49ers centre Jeremy Newberry says vandals have destroyed nearly half of the 4,000 cherry trees recently planted at his Northern California orchard.

Newberry tells the San Francisco Chronicle that a worker at his Newberry Cherry Farm arrived May 15 to find 2,000 new trees plucked from their roots and snapped.

Contra Costa County sheriff’s officials say deputies responded to the Brentwood orchard to take a report.

Newberry says he can’t imagine the effort it must have taken to cause such widespread damage. He says he’s heartbroken, but will replace the $30,000 worth of destroyed trees. And he plans to set up surveillance cameras.

The farm is still open for customers to pick cherries by the bucketful for purchase.

Newberry, now 43, played nearly two decades in the NFL before retiring in 2009.

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Information from: San Francisco Chronicle, http://www.sfgate.com