DALLAS — A Dallas man is under arrest and facing multiple felony charges for allegedly dumping thousands of old tires, officials say.
Investigators with the Dallas Marshal’s Office Environmental Crimes Unit have been working the case for several months. They say the man they arrested was seen on surveillance cameras casing different areas and returning to those sites to dump tires.
"We started to notice that we saw the same suspect at other locations,” said Sgt. Paul Steele.
The illegally dumped tires, from this case, were mostly found piling in remote areas across southern Dallas, according to investigators.
The Dallas Marshal’s Office has been working with Dallas Code Enforcement and sanitation departments to collect the evidence and to clear the sites. It’s a costly process that also ties up public resources.
“This has been one of the longest, but yet most productive cases that we’ve worked,” said an investigator.
Illegal dumping, like this, is a problem deputy marshals are seeing across the City of Dallas.
Data shows the Dallas Marshal’s Office has collected 1,038,212 pounds of illegally dumped debris in the last fiscal year, removed more than 7,000 tires, investigated 1,234 cases, and made 275 arrests.
Dallas Marshal Gary Lindsey said reports from community members are helping.
“We really want to encourage them to call in with 311, because it also alerts CODE and the Marshal’s Office with issues going on in the community,” said Marshal Lindsey.
As for this dumping case, the investigation is ongoing. The deputy marshals said the suspect is also facing felony dumping charges in Ellis County. They said the probe could extend to local tire shops.
“The City of Dallas does prosecute and you will go to jail,” said Sgt. Steele.