An investigation by state wildlife officers led to a conviction on charges of aggravated criminal littering, according to a news release from the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency.
Wildlife officers Colt Elrod and Garrett Long got a call about trash illegally dumped on the Vandergriff tract of North Chickamauga Creek Wildlife Management Area on March 28, Friday's news release states.
Elrod and Long found several bags of trash, tires, a muffler and a portion of a car frame illegally dumped at the site, according to the release. The officers sifted through the trash and found enough evidence to lead them to a local business and from there to Jayson Hood, 23, of Hamilton County, according to the release.
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Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency / The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency on Friday announced the conviction of a Hamilton County man linked to this trash found in March in the North Chickamauga Creek Wildlife Management Area.Hood confessed during questioning to illegally dumping the items found, according to the release, but refused when encouraged to return to the site to clean up his mess.
Hood was sentenced to five days of community service and must pay court costs. Hood also received a fine of $250 for restitution of the costs of the trash removal by state employees, whose salaries are primarily funded by the sale of hunting and fishing licenses.
"It is easy to dispose of trash legally, rather than taking dollars from the hunting community," Elrod said in the release.
— Compiled by Ben Benton
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Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency / The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency on Friday announced the conviction of a Hamilton County man linked to this trash found in March in the North Chickamauga Creek Wildlife Management Area.