Cleveland County Deputy Cleans Up Illegally Dumped Trash

Nines tons and counting: A Cleveland County deputy is taking it upon himself to clean up illegally dumped trash while catching the people responsible. 

Deputy Don Hudgins noticed in March that trash was piling up on a field near Interstate 35 and State Highway 9 in the southwest Norman area, said Hunter McKee, public information officer for the Cleveland County Sheriff's Office. As the months passed, Hudgins saw more and more trash accumulating on that land, which is private property. 

"Took a house and just pitched it and shook it, and all the contents landed in this field," Hudgins said of the amount of trash that had been illegally dumped. 

McKee said there were more than a dozen piles of household items on that field. He said all that trash presents a danger to the environment. 

"In this field where this trash is laid out, the Canadian River kind of lies right behind there. So when it rains, all that trash kind of flows into that river and obviously hurts the environment, not only in Norman but throughout the entire county," McKee explained. 

With that in mind, Hudgins has been clearing the trash from the field himself. 

"Don has actually picked up nine tons from this site so far since he first saw that trash in March. And there is still a lot of trash left," McKee said. 

In addition, Hudgins set up hidden cameras throughout the dump site and identified three suspects so far. 

"We've charged three people, other charges are pending," said McKee. "So just know that Don has done a good job and if you try to do this or you try to dump trash where you shouldn't, you can very easily get caught." 

When that happens, the penalties could be steep. 

"The minimum fines range from $500 to $1,000 and go all the way up to $6,500 per incident," said Hudgins in a video posted on the Sheriff's Office Facebook page. "If we get the awareness out that we are enforcing this, you roam past one of my cameras with a load of trash, you may be hearing from me in the future." 

Anyone who sees illegal dumping is asked to call the Cleveland County Sheriff's Office at 405-701-8916 or Norman Crime Stoppers at 405-366-7867.