A Mariposa rancher who sells firewood harvested on his Mt. Bullion property has been charged with shorting customers the full cord. Jerry Cox, 41, of Mariposa was booked into the Mariposa County Jail on Tuesday.

According to the complaint filed in Mariposa County Superior Court, Cox committed the crimes from Oct. 17, through Dec. 1, 2009. Cox faces two misdemeanor counts of shorting customers and two counts of failing to provide them with an invoice.

Further charges include one misdemeanor count of deceptive advertising. The allegation says that he has an advertisement in the MARIPOSA GAZETTE “specifically stating that firewood is sold by the cord.”

Finally, Cox is charged with one count of failure to obtain a timber license and a separate count of failure to submit a timber harvesting plan. The California Public Resources Code requires both.

Cox was ordered to appear in Mariposa County Superior Court on April 26, but failed to do so. The court issued a warrant for his arrest for $15,000.

This case was investigated by the county’s agricultural commissioner, department of weights and measures, which monitors wood sales.

The department is responsible for local enforcement of California weights and measures laws and regulations, such as cord wood.

The department’s Web site states its mission. “Trade and commerce have been the foundation of every civilization. No society can develop and prosper without its citizens conducting business transactions. No transaction can be conducted to the mutual satisfaction of the parties involved unless each is assured the other is fair and honest. The basis of fair and honest trade is, and always has, rested on the use of accurate weights and measures.”