View VideoJamestown, CA – A Jamestown man was arrested for allegedly trespassing and digging a mine on private property that investigators say he was building up with stolen railroad ties.
A report of a transient camp belonging to 36-year-old Luke Thomas Seagraves behind the Woods Creek Mobile Home Park, off Highway 108/49 in Jamestown, with responding Tuolumne County Sheriff deputies hiking onto the property around 8 a.m. on September 29, 2025. Click the video tab under the image box to the left to see what they found. Large piles of trash were discovered at the camp where Seagraves was living. At that time, he was given a 72-hour notice to vacate the private property.
A week later, sheriff’s officials report follow-up camp checks uncovered a pile of cut railroad ties and stolen split wood from the property used for firewood. They also found lead-acid automotive batteries and other hazardous waste at the camp.
“After inspecting a neighboring property, it was found that Seagraves had dug a mine on the property and was using stolen railroad ties to shore up the sides,” disclosed sheriff’s officials.
Seagraves is facing felony charges of dumping hazardous substances on a road or waterway and grand theft, and misdemeanor charges for driving/riding along railroad tracks and trespassing to remove timber. He was arrested on Thursday, January 29, 2026.
