LINDEN, Calif. — If Dusty D's Junk Removal traveled 12 miles up Highway 26 on Sunday, they would have ended up at San Joaquin County's Foothill Sanitary Landfill.
Instead, San Joaquin County Sheriff Patrick Withrow says they took a literal and illegal shortcut.
"We got a call from a farmer that this guy was illegally dumping a whole bunch of dirt that had stuff mixed in with it in his orchard," said Withrow.
Withrow says the owner of the orchard tried to deal with the situation on his own, asking the person behind the wheel of the truck to stop and clean up.
"Whoever the gentleman was that was dumping this stated, 'I'm not cleaning it up, I'll just take the fine,'" said Withrow.
And it's what Damion Pursley did. Deputies cited him Sunday for illegal dumping, a charge carrying a fine of up to $10,000.
Neither Pursley nor Dusty D's Junk Removal responded to requests for comment Wednesday.
"That was just the beginning of our investigation," said Withrow. "We'll continue our investigation into if there is any other illegal activity this gentleman may have been doing."
Depending on the outcome of the investigation, Withrow says Pursley could face more charges or have his truck seized.
The owner of the orchard says he already has to pay thousands of dollars to clean up illegal dumping on his property each year. Authorities say some of those costs could come back to the illegal dumpers through restitution.
While the sheriff's office has a program allowing jail inmates to clean up trash, the inmates can't step onto private properties like the orchard.
According to the sheriff, cases of dumping are on the rise.
"We have a lot of people now that will take videos of it or pictures. They'll catch a license plate and send it to us," said Withrow. "We've really engaged with the community and we have cameras out and about."
The sheriff's office is asking anyone who sees illegal dumping to get as much information as possible safely, and then call law enforcement.
In case hefty fines and the possibility of having cars towed due to illegal dumping don't scare criminals, Withrow asks people at least consider the impacts.
"It’s very dangerous for our underground water and the farming community," said Withrow. "I’m sure the citizens just like I do, on my way to work or when I’m just out on my days off that you see these piles of trash and it’s just so frustrating.”
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