Felony arrests made for environmental crimes…
Two men have been arrested after a Waller County Grand Jury returned two indictments each against Fidel Monter and Jose Mario Garcia of Hempstead. Both men are accused of illegal dumping and tampering with evidence after an investigation that lasted several months. Lead agencies included the Waller County Sheriff’s Office, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, and Waller County’s Environmental Division, and they were assisted by the Waller County Fire Marshal and the Texas State Fire Marshal.
Complaints were forwarded to the County’s Environmental Division earlier this year. Accusations centered around an alleged illegal landfill in Hempstead where debris was being brought in and burned at night, and then possibly submerged in the ponds on the property. When investigators initially made a site visit, they observed in plain view several piles of solid waste and debris.
Monter and Garcia were identified through county records. Subsequently, a search warrant was executed and evidence was gathered and photographed. A search of the properties located in the 23000 block of Brazos Estates Dr revealed rubbish, tires, paint cans, wood, and asphalt shingles. Over 3200 cubic feet of debris was unearthed during the search.
A defendant convicted of dumping as little as 5lbs of litter can be sentenced to 180 days in jail and fined up to $2,000. Dumping over 200 cubic feet or 1000 pounds of litter is a state jail felony, punishable by up to two years in jail and ordered to pay fines up to $10,000.
Waller County Judge Duhon and the Commissioners along with Sheriff Guidry and other appointed officials have taken steps to strengthen the county’s environmental infrastructure. Since January 26 of this year, the District Attorney’s Office has filed nearly 400 cases on defendants accused of environmental crimes. These cases range from a Class C all the way up to a 3rd degree felony.
“Waller County is no longer going to be a place to dump your trash.”, stated one official. Efforts to clean up the county have been widely accepted. An indictment is not proof of guilt and all people are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law.”
