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BURNSIDE |
A Huntsville-area man who was found guilty of illegally transporting and storing more than 100,000 scrap tires was sentenced Monday to five years’ probation.
Rodney L. Burnside II, 42, of 5372 County Road 49, could serve as much as 13 years in prison if he violates terms of probation.
He has agreed to repay $250,000 in restitution for the cleanup of an illegal tire dump at 4971 County Road 130, Huntsville.
Money from a state cleanup fund was used to remove the scrap tires.
The defendant previously entered into a plea agreement in which he pleaded no contest to illegal transportation of scrap tires, failure to maintain scrap tire hauler registration in a vehicle and illegal open dumping.
He also pleaded guilty to receiving stolen property in an unrelated case.
Logan County Common Pleas Court Judge Mark S. O’Connor imposed a $1,000 fine on each of the three charges from the tire dumping case and $2,800 in restitution for the stolen property incident.
Local officials tried to work with the defendant to no avail.
Environmental health officials with the Logan County Health District began ordering the cleanup of the property when scrap tire accumulation was first noticed about two years ago.
Logan County Prosecutor William T. Goslee became involved in early 2015 and was able to get state officials, including the Ohio Attorney General’s Office — which prosecuted the criminal case — and the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency involved.
After issuing required notices over the latter part of 2015 to both Mr. Burnside and the property owner, Randall Middaugh, the Ohio EPA used the state’s scrap tire fund, which is financed through a $1 fee on new tire purchases, to remove more than 100,000 tires from the site — work that was completed in May.
Ohio EPA officials reported a $506,708 contract for the work was awarded May 2 to Liberty Tire Recycling of Grove City.
Robert Cheugh, the lead prosecutor for the Attorney General’s Office, previously reported the cleanup cost as $299,000 and said the state is seeking a $250,000 restitution order.
Mr. Burnside has maintained that he was planning to recycle the tires, but that a cancer diagnosis and treatment prevented him from undertaking the task.
As for the receiving stolen property charge, Mr. Burnside admitted to selling a trailer owned by W.R. Dixon in May 2015 to Sims Brothers Recycling, where it was found by authorities.