Illegal Dumping Investigation Yields Three Indictments in Northeast Ohio

(AKRON, Ohio) — A Summit County grand jury this week indicted two men and a junk-removal business in connection with illegal dumping in Copley Township, Attorney General Dave Yost announced. DeShawn Dixon, 47, of Akron, faces charges of open burning and dumping of solid waste, operating a solid waste facility without a license, illegal disposal of construction and demolition debris, and tampering with evidence. Zachary Dupert, 34, of Akron, and his business, SOS Junk Removal, are each charged with open dumping of solid waste and illegal disposal of construction and demolition debris. “We have shined a light on this dumper,” Yost said. “Taking a shortcut to get rid of your waste is not acceptable.” According to the indictments, the defendants allegedly disposed of solid waste illegally on two vacant lots that Dixon owns in Copley Township. The properties – located near homes, playgrounds and wetlands – has been the site of several open burning incidents requiring fire department responses in recent years. Last year, the township used grant funding from Yost’s Shine a Light on Dumpers initiative to install a surveillance camera near the properties. On multiple occasions, the camera captured SOS Junk Removal trucks entering the sites carrying loads of waste and debris and driving away empty. Investigators with the attorney general’s Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation executed a search warrant at the properties in February, discovering household trash, carpet, furniture and other waste, as well as burned materials buried underground. Yost’s Environmental Enforcement Section is prosecuting the cases in Summit County Common Pleas Court. Indictments are criminal allegations. Defendants are presumed innocent unless proved guilty in a court of law.