The Martin County Sheriff’s Office says they caught the man behind hundreds of pounds of trash found on federally owned land.
Julio Hernandez-Ramos, 69, of Indiantown, is accused of dumping old furniture and household items on a piece of land between SW Kanner Highway and the St. Lucie waterway, according to a sheriff’s office report.
A hidden camera placed by detectives and officers allegedly captured Hernandez-Ramos in the act. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers initially tipped the sheriff’s office to the illegal dumping in March.
Then, MCSO agriculture detectives worked with FWC officers to strategically place a hidden camera. When they say they found new piles of garbage, they reviewed their footage.
The camera caught Hernandez-Ramos’s truck and identified it by its tag, the report states. Hernandez-Ramos reportedly told detectives he was paid to remove the load but did not want to pay a landfill, so he dumped it on the land.
Hernandez-Ramos was arrested and is charged with illegal dumping for commercial purposes.