Charges: Lawn Care Worker Dumped Garbage In Ditch

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A 25-year-old Inver Grove Heights man who owns a lawn care company is accused of illegally dumping trash in a road ditch last November, according to charges filed Wednesday in Dakota County Court.

Tyler Glenn Swaser was charged with one misdemeanor count of littering on a highway in connection with the incident.

According to a complaint, the Dakota County Sheriff's Office was called on Nov. 8, 2011, to the area of Orlando Avenue and 267th Street in Douglas Township on a report that a man was dumping garbage in the ditch. An officer reported that he had seen two men with and East Metro Lawn Care truck back their vehicle up to a ditch and take a tarp off the back of their truck.

A sheriff's deputy later found a large pile of garbage near the area that had been dumped on the west side of the road. It included lawn bags with plastic bottles and trash, fertilizer bags, pink plant holders, a broken shovel, a bag from a lawnmower, tarps and fast food packages, the complaint states.

There were also four signs with a phone number for Swaser with East Metro Lawn Care. Swaser returned a phone call from police saying he had permission to dumb garbage on a property.

Police then informed Swaser that they found garbage, including his signage, a mile down the road in a ditch.

If convicted, Swaser faces up to 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.