newsnews

Local Man Sentenced In 'Big Dumping' Case

UPDATE: A local man accused of putting his trash underground instead of paying to take it to the landfill is sentenced Tuesday.

By Donna Willis
Published: November 24, 2009

» 3 Comments | Post a Comment

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A local man accused of putting his trash underground instead of paying to take it to the landfill was sentenced Tuesday.

NBC 4 reported with the FAST FACTS.

Ronald Gunn, 57, was sentenced to three years of probation, including six months of house arrest, and 40 hours of community service of removing trash from the county's roadways and was ordered to pay $120,000 in restitution and court costs.

Four years of prison time were suspended.

Gunn pleaded guilty to two counts of open dumping, five counts of operating a solid-waste landfill without a license and one count of water pollution Tuesday, Sept. 1.

Investigators said Gunn was running his own landfill on Columbus’ East Side.

An entire garbage truck full of trash, 2,000 tires and countless other items were buried 20 feet underground and contaminating the ground water.

SWACO Communications Director John Remy said one trash truck was found five feet down at a junkyard at 1888 East 17th Ave., near the fairgrounds.

Bill Palmer with the Ohio EPA said there were rims off tires and scrap metal.

Gunn was arrested Wednesday, March 11, 2009 and was charged with open dumping, operating a landfill and polluting ground water.

The actual owner of the property apparently didn’t know that his property was being used as a landfill.

The illegal actions were discovered Nov. 5, 2008, but it took days to uncover and months to investigate.

The Nail-A-Dumper program is funded by SWACO.

Residents may call the hotline at 614-871-5322 24 hours a day to report illegal dumping or littering or go to http://www.co.franklin.oh.us/board_of_health/nailadumper.htm.

For additional information, stay with NBC 4 and refresh nbc4i.com -- Where Accuracy Matters.
To submit a story idea or news tip, e-mail stories@nbc4i.com.
MORE: NBC 4 Local News | Local Crime News
NBC 4 SPORTS: Sports News, Video
NBC 4 POLITICS: Headlines, Interactives & Video