A Kern County jury returned a guilty verdict Monday against a man who damaged a railroad track last year.
 
The jury found Daryl Stempfley guilty of a felony charge of malicious damage to a railroad track, according to a District Attorney's office news release.
 
It also found him guilty of a misdemeanor charge of being under the influence of drugs.
 
Mojave residents witnessed Stempfley removing train spikes from a Union Pacific railroad track near the intersection of Sopp Road and Sierra Highway on 19 Mar 2014, the news release said.
 
They called the Sheriff's Office, and responding deputies found Stempfley in possession of a crowbar, 21 railroad spikes, and scrap metal.
 
Deputies found another 10 spikes had been completely removed and many others were in the process of being removed.
 
The news release said a supervisor for track maintenance testified that a train would have derailed if it had gone over the affected portion of the track due to the number of missing or partly removed spikes.
 
Stempfley faces up to three years in custody at his 22 Sep 2015 sentencing.
 
Author unknown.