A 30-year-old Ocala man who buried thousands of pounds of hazardous waste in an attempt to hide the contents of a stolen trailer will spend the next few years behind bars.
In late September of 2022, a trailer housing several racing vehicles, a 55-gallon drum, various auto parts, and several types of fuel was reported stolen to the Ocala Police Department. Deputies from the Marion County Sheriff’s Office soon located the male suspect, identified as Alex Sloane Herring.
Due to prior felony convictions, Herring was arrested and initially charged with carrying a concealed weapon and resisting an officer without violence.
The stolen trailer was located in Belleview, but its contents had been removed. According to a press release from Marion County Public Relations, investigators later discovered that Herring had used an excavator to hide the contents in two holes.
The buried items were recovered and included multiple types of fuel and the stolen racing vehicles. OPD proceeded to contact the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection regarding the possibility of hazardous waste contamination.
A few days after Herring’s arrest, samples from the dump sites were recovered for analysis. The results confirmed the presence of hazardous waste in the soil surrounding the dumpsites.
Special Agent Robert Freeman with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection stated that the “fluids, fuel, and batteries” are deemed “hazardous.” Freemen added that Herring “did not have permission from the property owner to dump or bury any items.”
According to Florida’s Litter Law (Florida Statute 403.413), illegal dumping of hazardous waste totaling 500 pounds or more is a third-degree felony. The hazardous waste buried by Herring totaled nearly 14,000 pounds.
The Marion County Sheriff’s Office kept Herring in custody. The case against him was prosecuted and won by Kyle Lambert of the state attorney’s office.
Herring was sentenced to two concurrent five-year prison terms in maximum confinement, with a credit given for time served (1 year, 1 month, and 9 days) while awaiting his day in court.
This is the second successful conviction as a result of Marion County’s anti-littering campaign. In a press release, Marion County Public Relations stated that this case is “another great example of how multiple agencies in our community are working together to help prosecute those who commit illegal dumping in our county, because there’s No Horsin’ Around with Marion.”
Marion County Commissioner Craig Curry, who has been an outspoken advocate of the anti-littering campaign, stated that “it has certainly been amazing to see the results of a community coming together to make a change.”
Curry added that “this is more than stopping litterbugs, it’s about preserving everything that makes our community so great, including our natural environment and our wildlife.”