LAFAYETTE, Ala. (WRBL) – An East Alabama businessman is facing with multiple counts of criminal littering after investigators found hundreds of filthy mattresses and box springs dumped in the woods along County Road 92 in LaFayette.
The illegal dump site was discovered after a motorist saw the box springs and mattresses and alerted LaFayette Police on May 1. Chief Investigator Lt. Roderick Brock expressed disbelief when he first saw the site, stating, “I couldn’t believe the amount that was located in this area. I was just surprised that someone would do it.”
Gator Kincaid shared several photos of the dumpsite and the city’s cleanup effort with Nexstar’s WRBL.
The discovery kickstarted a costly cleanup effort, which took a dozen or so city workers about a day and a half to clean up the 200 or so mattresses and box springs. The cleanup operation is estimated to have cost upwards of $10,000. What’s even more disgusting is police say the mattresses themselves were infested with bedbugs.
Investigators arrested the owner of the Lanett Inn, Dharmeshkumar Patel, and charged him with five counts of criminal littering. Patel told police he was renovating the motel and was trying to dispose of the mattresses, but no facility would take them. According to Lt. Brock, Patel knew he was dumping the mattresses illegally, stating, “He called around to the proper places where you can dispose of them, and they would not take them, so he was aware that the surrounding locations would not take that amount.”
Patel claims he hired a crew to dispose of the mattresses but has not shared their names with investigators. The case remains under investigation, and more arrests could be made.
Lt. Brock urged anyone with information on illegal dumping to reach out to the LaFayette Police Department. If you have any information on dumping happening anywhere in East Alabama, please call your local law enforcement agency.
