A 56-year-old man was arrested last week after he allegedly dumped thousands of pounds of litter, including numerous tires and scrap metal, at two sites in Marion County.
On Monday, March 16, a Marion County Sheriff’s Office deputy spotted a “large dump site” in the 16600 block of SE 255th Avenue in Umatilla while on patrol, according to the arrest report.
The deputy inspected the debris pile and reportedly observed “numerous tires, scrap metal, a fuel tank, and other miscellaneous debris.” A “very faded” receipt was also found, which listed the address of a property located on SE 171st Street in Umatilla.
Marion County Solid Waste collected the debris and transported it to the Baseline Landfill in Ocala. According to the report, the debris weighed approximately 1,080 pounds.
On Friday, March 20, the deputy responded to the address listed on the receipt and spoke with a woman. After viewing photos of the dump site, she stated that one of her neighbors – identified as Steven Russell Heifner – “sometimes does work like that,” according to the report.
The deputy made contact with Heifner at his home. When he was shown a photo of the dump site, he allegedly admitted that “[it] was his,” adding that he had “dumped all of the tires, scrap metal, and other materials.”
After being advised of his Miranda rights, Heifner reportedly confirmed that he “dumped [the litter]” and mentioned that he “had no excuse other than not having the money to properly dispose of it.”
Heifner was placed under arrest and transported to Marion County Jail. During a post-Miranda interview at the jail, an MCSO corporal questioned Heifner about another illegal dump site that had been discovered in the 16300 block of SE 255th Avenue in Umatilla back in August of 2025.
The report stated that this previous dump site contained a “large pile of trash” that included “pieces of trees, tires, boxes, vehicle parts, and other miscellaneous items.” Marion County Solid Waste collected this debris and brought it to a local landfill, where its weight was determined to be approximately 5,200 pounds.
During questioning at Marion County Jail, Heifner allegedly admitted to dumping the 5,000-plus pounds of litter at the second site in August. He told the corporal that he “did not have the funds to haul the debris to the Baseline Landfill and elected to dump it at the incident location [instead].”
Jail records show that Heifner was released on bond hours after his arrest. He is being charged with two felony counts of dumping litter over 500 pounds. A court date for Heifner has not been scheduled yet.