El Paso County Attorney Jo Anne Bernal today announced the sentencing of an East El Paso resident who pled guilty to violating the Texas Health and Safety Code by illegally dumping demolition waste on private property in Clint, Texas.
63 year-old Enrique Alfredo Trujillo, doing business as Henry Trujillo Trucking, pled guilty to two counts of illegal dumping, more than 5 pounds but less than 200 pounds, for a commercial purpose, in violation of the Texas Health and Safety Code § 365.012.
The offense was discovered on March 15, 2007 by TCEQ's Criminal Investigator Richard Talamantes who was patrolling the U.S. 54 Highway expansion project at Dyer. At the site, the investigator noticed trucks marked with "Henry Trujillo" on them, removing demolition waste.
Mr. Talamantes followed one of the dump trucks from the site to 1570 FM 1110 Rd., in Clint, Texas. When he arrived, he observed one dump truck had just finished unloading demolition waste into an arroyo and then the truck he followed, proceeded to dispose of the demolition waste contained inside the trailer. The demolition waste contained litter as well as permissible solid waste for fill. The Clint landfill is approximately 1.5 miles from the dump site.
On Friday May 13, 2010, County Criminal Court #1 Judge Alma Trejo ordered Enrique Alfredo Trujillo to pay a $4,000 fine plus court costs, for two counts of illegal dumping.
"Illegal dumping is a serious environmental crime which affects health and quality of life," said El Paso County Attorney Jo Anne Bernal.
"The illegal dumping of demolition waste and its illegal use for filling in natural arroyos is a disaster waiting to happen because it blocks the natural flow of water after heavy rains causing flooding in the area. Illegal dumping costs taxpayers thousands of dollars every year in investigation, prosecution, and clean-up costs, moneys that we could be spending on other worthwhile projects," Bernal finalized.
The penalty for illegal dumping ranges from a fine up to $10,000, or up to 2 years in jail, or both.
To report illegal dumping, the Illegal Dumping Hotline: 1-888-6EL-PASO or call your local law enforcement agency: El Paso Police Dept. at 832-4400, or El Paso Sheriff's Office at 546-2280.
For more information contact Assistant County Attorney Cristina Viesca-Santos at 915-546-2050.
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Trujillo Trucking Press Release.pdf
